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"Thank you for allowing me to stay in your room, Naegi-kun!" Kiyotaka exclaimed as he placed down his boots side-by-side near the bedroom door.
Makoto laughed. "It's no problem, Ishimaru-kun! 'Sides, where else would you stay?"
"I suppose I'd have to sleep outside!"
Makoto almost expected Kiyotaka to add on an extra "ha-ha" at the end, indicating that he was just joking. What an odd statement. He didn't really mean that, did he?
Ah, well. Makoto was aware that Kiyotaka's socialization skills weren't the best. His eyes would always wander around the room when speaking, never daring to make full eye contact with the person he was talking to. He'd also regularly flap his hands or stomp his feet when he seemed to be extremely enthused. Typically this occurred when Makoto was allowed over, and vice versa.
"Anyway, Naegi-kun! What shall we indulge in together?! You don't happen to have any extra upcoming tests we haven't studied for, do you?!"
No, I don't.. ah, but I wish Ishimaru-kun would prefer to spend some actual time with me rather than staying up all night studying..
He sighed, shaking his head and itching right below his hairline as a subconscious excuse to find something to distract himself with in case this conversation didn't go the way he wanted it to.
"I don't," he muttered, "but.. we don't need to study to have fun!"
Kiyotaka looked conflicted, and most certainly bewildered.
Makoto continued. "For example, we could play video games! I have some here. We could also just talk about ourselves. There's always something to do besides studying!"
Pursing his lips in intense thought, Kiyotaka furrowed his brows quizzically and scratched the space between his lower lip and his chin. He looked really focused. Makoto briefly wondered if he knew he looked that way or if it just happened naturally.
"So.. what you're saying is.. I'll have to try twice as hard to act my age..!!"
Makoto swiftly shook his head and stood closer to the prefect, placing a palm over his mouth to hush him. Both their faces flushed, color rushing to their cheeks and painting them a loud shade of red. Kiyotaka's breath was warm against his palm. The feeling made his heart slam against his ribcage like a trapped bird, fluttering around in a desperate attempt to free itself.
"U- Uh, no.. no. I don't want you to do that. I just want you to engage in some more activities with me! Surely you understand!"
He smiled sheepishly and removed his hand from Kiyotaka's lips. His cheeks looked equally as red as Makoto's.
"Right! How about we start off with a simple conversation?"
Makoto nodded and plopped down on his bed. Kiyotaka joined him shortly after brushing off the front of his shirt for some unexplained reason.
"I'll go first!" Kiyotaka boldly stated. "Did you know that I actually know quite a bit of karate?!"
Makoto gasped. He didn't know that.
"No, I didn't! I knew you took kendo classes, but I didn't know you knew karate! You 'outta teach me sometime!"
He giggled, covering his mouth with a hand. Makoto could only imagine what that would look like, and it made his heart soar. Practically everyone knew that Makoto had a crush on the moral compass.. except for the prefect himself.
"Sometime? Hahaha! How about.. NOW?!"
Before Makoto could even register what Kiyotaka meant by that, he had his hand on Makoto's wrist pulling his fist forward into his chest to demonstrate a punch. Kiyotaka then grabbed the exposed part of his arm and pushed it back. Now that Makoto's hands were off of him, Kiyotaka turned the arm and pinned it to the bed, repeating the motion with his other arm. Now Makoto was forced against the bed with Kiyotaka straddling his legs with his knees. Makoto laid there, entirely helpless and dumbfounded. He did it all so fast. Kiyotaka expressed such pride in his movements, too. He would've exploded if the human body was capable of doing so on command.
"W- Wow, Ishimaru-kun!" He breathed. "That was.. quite impressive!"
"I'd say so! Hahaha! Though, I suppose that's subjective."
He let out a long string of strained breaths before releasing Makoto and moving off of him, instead opting to lay next to him in bed. Makoto didn't know if he wanted to turn to face him. On one hand, he'd be able to bathe in the beauty that was Kiyotaka Ishimaru up close. On the other, his heart might've burst if it had to work any harder.
He decided against the latter, rolling over on his side like Kiyotaka did. Now they were both facing each other, cheeks pink and warm to the touch.
"I.. I still think you did a great job."
"What?"
"I don't know. Um.. can you show me more sometime?"
Makoto gulped softly, the lump in his throat refusing to roll with it even the slightest bit. Kiyotaka was so pretty up close, but his eyes.. his eyes told a different story. They were the red in a world of grey, demanding to be seen above all other visual discord. The rings spiraling towards the center where his pupil stayed held a pinkish hue, though the color sometimes depended on the direction he looked. They were so large, too. That was just one of the many unique feats Kiyotaka had with him, wearing them all with pride like the golden pin displayed on his chest.
"Of course!" Taka shouted, shattering the silence in the room that hadn't even lingered for more than a second or two.
However, now that the conversation was coming to a close, the silence started to drag on and on. The longer they laid there, the more Makoto's brain screamed at him to make a move. Perhaps he should roll over on top of him and snuggle his head into his chest. Maybe he could nonchalantly reach for his hand and intertwine their fingers. Surely Kiyotaka wouldn't mind, right? He was an affectionate guy! He wouldn't be able to differentiate Makoto's intentions from platonic or romantic!
Well, Makoto wasn't the first one to, quote/unquote, "make the move". He suddenly felt warm arms wrap around him, followed by a pressure against the side of his face. Makoto's eyes widened when he realized the pressure against his cheek was Kiyotaka's chest. The prefect had positioned Makoto to lay on top of him.
He was in quite the predicament now.
"Would you like to move?" Kiyotaka said with the click of his tongue, clearly picking up on Makoto's flustered mannerisms. He shook his head.
"N- No! It's okay!"
Kiyotaka gave him a toothy grin. "Wonderful!"
What happened next was something that Makoto presumed would only happen in his dreams. Kiyotaka placed a firm hand on Makoto's head, pushed it downwards so his cheek was smushed against his chest, and began to stroke his hair.
"You seemed tense..!" Was the only explanation Kiyotaka could seem to conjure up for the position he had put his friend in. Meanwhile, Makoto was absolutely losing his mind.
While Kiyotaka kept at the petting, Makoto laid there, stiff as a board. That was usually Kiyotaka's job, but he seemed to be rather relaxed. At least, more than usual.
Kiyotaka's heartbeat and breathing sounded so loudly in the ear pressed against his chest, the steady rhythm sticking in his brain and melting it all to mush. God forbid Kiyotaka shouted like he usually did when he spoke up, because Makoto's eardrums would most likely rupture. That didn't happen. The room was silent.
And yet, the smaller boy was still so rigid.
"...My apologies," Kiyotaka said, "I can tell you're uncomfortable."
Makoto was then stripped from Kiyotaka's warmth and comfort, instead met with the comforter he was lying on previously.
"Wait, no!" Makoto reached out—why? He knew deep down that Kiyotaka wasn't going anywhere. Was it in an act of desperation?—and grasped Kiyotaka's arm tightly, keeping his grip on it firmer than it should've been.
"You- you didn't make me uncomfortable. I was just.. surprised..! That's all! I really don't mind if we lay like that together!" He paused. "I.. actually enjoyed it.. a lot! You're v- very warm, Ishimaru-kun..!!"
Makoto's wrist trembled with the force he was holding onto Kiyotaka's arm with. The prefect let out a boisterous laugh, and Makoto released his arm.
"Hahahaha! I see! Well then," Kiyotaka proceeded to wrap his arms around the smaller boy and pull him into his body, chin resting atop his head. Makoto's eyes only briefly widened this time before they fluttered shut.
He wouldn't want to waste the moment by panicking internally anymore.
...
"...Naegi-kun?"
"Yes, Ishimaru-kun?" Makoto's voice sounded deep within his chest. It made Kiyotaka's spine tingle.
"You're.. also quite warm."
Kiyotaka heard the other boy giggle and sputter some incoherent nonsense as a reply.
"And.. you... I like your freckles!"
That got quite the reaction out of Makoto. He lifted his head up, cheeks red as red could be and jaw slack.
"You think so?"
"I do! Sometimes I wonder if I'd be able to count them all in one go. However, I highly doubt that!"
Kiyotaka shimmied his hips a little, and it was clear that Makoto was too stunned to speak at the moment.
"...Thank you! I like your freckles t- too..!"
The prefect watched with a childlike sense of curiosity as Makoto reached out towards his face and began to count the few freckles dotted across his pale skin. He ended up counting to 8.
"You have 8 here," Makoto exclaimed.
"I bet you have at least 50."
"I'm sure I do..!"
"May I try to count them?"
Makoto nodded after taking a moment to pause and collect himself.
Kiyotaka never was able to finish counting Makoto's freckles. He'd grumble under his breath each time he'd accidentally overlap or miss one. Makoto had to hold really still for him, too, so after the 4th try, he caved.
"I don't think I can hold my face like this any longer. Sorry, Ishimaru-kun."
Kiyotaka laughed. "No worries, Naegi-kun! This only motivates me to try harder next time! Now we know you have at least 72 freckles on your face!"
Based on Makoto's expression, Kiyotaka could tell he had made him a little flustered.
"Th- uh, thank you, Ishimaru-kun!"
Kiyotaka beamed, feeling genuinely proud of himself for counting that high without losing focus.
And then came the next wave of silence that washed over the two. However, it was more peaceful this time. They both gazed at each other softly, basking in the other's presence.
"...Naegi-kun...?"
"Hm?"
"...I have something I'd.. like t- to say to- err, ask you..!"
Kiyotaka stumbled over his words, rubbing his calloused fingertips over the soft skin on his bony wrist.
"Y- Yes..?"
"...Uh.."
Makoto waited.. and waited... and waited.. and he waited some more.
"Do you.. like me..? As a friend, I mean! I.."
He paused. His eyes glistened tearfully, and his expression scrunched up.
"I've never actually had someone who.. who was as patient with me like you are.. errr, n- nobody really wan- nted to spend time with me. Some said it was b- because of how scary I looked, others.." he paused to sniffle, "others claimed it was because I was an.. an Ishimaru..!"
His fists clenched, veins bulging with the strength of which he pushed his hands into his own thighs. Thick globs fell from his eyes as tears, snot invading his mouth and lips while he carried on mindlessly.
"They thought I was h- horrible! Nobody loved me apart from my father, but he- he wasn't around to hold me when I wanted him to!"
Kiyotaka, now on the verge of sobbing at this point, leaned forward in Makoto's face and asked:
"Do you think I'm scary, Naegi-kun?!"
...
"N- No! No! I don't think you're scary!" Makoto blurted out, waving his hands frantically at Kiyotaka. "I think you're.. agh, you're far from scary! Your eyes make you look so bold and- and loud, and your hair is so neat and soft, and your lips look so gentle, and your skin is so pale and clear, and-"
Makoto paused to take a breather, but he didn't stop there. The frantic run-on sentences kept going.
"Don't even get me started on your hands! Your body is also really impressive! Gosh!! Ishimaru-kun, can I kiss you?!!"
Makoto popped the question, and all the color in his face drained right in that very moment.
Everything went silent. The air held a heavy weight to it, both of the boys' breaths caught somewhere deep in their chests. The atmosphere was so tense, so frightful and new and.. new. It was all so new. Everything Makoto felt was new, from the way his heart skipped a beat when Kiyotaka smiled, to the way his cheeks would burn a bright red when he laughed. Every single little thing was different, and Makoto didn't like different. He despised different so heavily, heavy with more force than the world was prepared to handle.
The weight was crushing, expanding Makoto's chest so uncomfortably inside him. Just as he was about to open his mouth to ask why Kiyotaka had gone silent, lips pressed against his own. Everything from that point forward felt like a fever dream.
Despite this being both their first kisses, Kiyotaka was quite the natural. His tongue didn't need to press against closed lips; Makoto's mouth was already open, so he took the invitation and rolled with it. They made out on the bed, warm mouths breathing in and out into each other and bodies colliding as one.
After it was all over, both boys parted. They panted, chests rising and falling in unison. There were no words to describe how they felt in that particular moment other than shocked.
"Ishimaru-kun.."
Was that even an appropriate thing to call him anymore?
"Let's just.." Kiyotaka slid his fingers up Makoto's jacket and pulled the smaller boy's body into his own, leaning back and wrapping his arm around him tenderly, "try and.. think about this when we're both in.. more rational state of minds..!"
Kiyotaka clearly attempted to force out a chuckle, but he appeared to be too dazed and tired to do so. Makoto understood.
"Okay," he muttered, pressing his face into the crook of the prefect's neck. The room was yet again silent, and for the rest of the night, it would stay that way.
Well.. if you count Kiyotaka's snores as silence, that is.