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Miyuki Kazuya was an asshole and a half.
His bad personality was quite well-known to many, but somehow Kuramochi was caught off-guard at the realization that it was only a fact he kept in the back of his mind rather than an alarm blaring at him to run in the opposite direction. Because after spending three years by Miyuki’s side and patiently sifting through all the gears that made him tick, it couldn’t be helped that he’d grown a soft spot for the bespectacled catcher.
Of course he’d rather bite his own legs off than admit it out loud, but it’s a sentiment Kuramochi had acknowledged to himself a long time ago, back when he first realized there was more to Miyuki than his snark, that the silver tongue he so proudly wields was just as much a shield as it is a sword.
But that morning, after rushing out of their shared dorm room, dressed in uniform he’d hastily thrown on and his hair half-styled, the only feeling consuming him was the visceral need to kick ass.
“Miyuki!” With a grunt, Kuramochi unceremoniously kicked open the doors to the dining hall and glared at the sea of faces turning at the commotion, his eyes searching.
The chatter inside the room immediately tampered down until only the sound coming from their television set could be heard clearly, the tape of their game against Ichidai Sankou playing on screen.
Miyuki was in front of the monitor with an arm around Sawamura’s shoulders, the mirth dancing in his eyes a clear indicator that he was teasing the pitcher just moments ago. Sawamura’s mouth was still hanging open, like he was in the middle of yelling at his former battery partner before Kuramochi burst in.
“Kuramochi-senpai, you’re late!” He flinched at the volume, the annoyance he felt for Miyuki letting him forget how loud his kouhai could be for a short while. “It’s a good thing I saved you a bowl of breakfast! This bastard tanuki was just telling me that you were planning to skip!”
“Oh he did, did he?” Kuramochi said in a throaty voice, his attention solely on Miyuki to let him know how screwed he was going to be later. “Funny because Miyuki didn’t even try to wake me earlier.”
He casually sauntered over to him, hands in his pockets like it’s a normal day. But his sharp eyes never left Miyuki’s and from this distance he could clearly see how Miyuki’s throat bobbed as he swallowed.
“Ah Mochi-chan, you were sucking your thumb so peacefully I didn’t want to disturb you!”
Kuramochi’s jaw fell, and he could feel the rest of the team hold their breath as they stifle their laughter at the image.
“Lies,” he growled because Miyuki must be messing with him.
Miyuki snickered behind his palm and it took every last bit of Kuramochi’s self-control not to jump him. “How mean, Kuramochi. I’m being honest~I even took a picture to prove it!”
He waved his ancient flip phone around, grinning ear-to-ear. “You guys wanna see?”
“If you show that to anyone, I swear to god none of you are ever going to leave this room.” The threat escaped Kuramochi’s mouth like second nature, mostly venomless, but the implication still made Sawamura squeak in horror, while he spotted Shirasu and Zono rolling their eyes at him from the corner.
Miyuki, to Kuramochi’s unending frustration, was still as impervious as ever. He batted his eyelashes at him and he once again had to reel in the urge to grab him by the collar. “Why, Kuramochi! If you wanted to spend more time with me, you could’ve just asked!”
Kuramochi snorted, “We already spend enough time together.”
“Well, I must be a delight to be with!”
“Up yours, jerk!”
“Thank you!”
“It’s not a compliment,” he growled. “Now give me that phone!”
Kuramochi lurched towards the device in Miyuki’s hand and they had a small scuffle until Kuramochi emerged victorious, a grin in place as he raised the phone triumphantly in the air.
But no one was looking at them anymore. In the short time he was preoccupied, the attention of the team had already wandered to the Sankou tape that was playing on their television. Kuramochi watched as Shirasu stepped up to the plate, a quiet fierceness set in his features and batting stance as he waited for Amahisa to throw.
“Why’re you watching this so early?” He asked no one in particular as the Kuramochi on screen started making small skips away from third base.
In an uncharacteristically quiet voice, Sawamura answered, “We have a practice game with them soon. And while Amahisa has already retired, they’re still a formidable team! Toujou gathered material on their new ace, but I thought it would be a good idea to rewatch this game first to reflect on all our shortcomings during this time!”
Kuramochi hummed in agreement. Ever since Sawamura was unanimously appointed captain, he had accepted his role graciously and was making sure the new Seido team was prepared to win the tournament in the fall and punch another ticket to Koshien. So far he was doing a good job at keeping the team in harmony, and Kuramochi was pretty sure Haruichi and Kanemaru were doing their part in supporting him as the new vice-captains.
Lost in that train of thought, Kuramochi almost missed the hit Shirasu pulled off to tie the game, and he almost wished he did. His cheeks burned as he watched himself rush back to the dugout to jump straight into Miyuki’s arms. The expression on Miyuki’s face told him he was caught off-guard from the unexpected hug, but he didn’t fail to catch and support Kuramochi’s entire weight with one hand.
Kuramochi could still remember the feeling of their bodies flushed against each other, and with the knowledge that Miyuki’s touch was still very much branded on his waist, he blushed even harder.
Kuramochi wasn’t a coward in the least, but at that moment all he wanted was for the ground to swallow him whole.
“Our previous captains sure are close! This Sawamura Eijun will make sure our new team will forge a bond just as deep as yours!”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Kuramochi replied, because that was the only word he could think of to describe the implication—plain ridiculous.
“Wahahaha! You don’t have to hide it from us, senpai. It’s clear as day, just like the strong bonds exhibited by the Strawhat Pirates in One Piece!”
Before Kuramochi could give Sawamura a noogie for his sheer audacity at embarrassing him further, Shirasu spoke up.
“Sawamura does have a point. I think I can speak for the entire team when I say we saw that coming from a mile away.”
“I think so too,” Haruichi also chimed in. “Yoh-san and Miyuki-senpai are very close.”
Kuramochi blanched and suddenly found it very hard to meet Miyuki’s eyes, whose gaze was burning holes into his skin. Just a moment ago, he barged in there looking for Miyuki and now all he wanted to do was run far far away from this situation.
There was tension in the air as the entire team waited for Kuramochi to say something; to deny the whole thing or laugh it off like he usually did, but what bullshit explanation could he spout when there was clear evidence caught on tape? For the first time in a long time, he was at a loss for words.
“Now, now.” He almost jumped out of his skin when he suddenly felt an arm around his shoulder. “You’re scaring him.” Kuramochi cocked his head for a perfect view of Miyuki’s shit-eating grin. It was an expression he’d wanted to smack off more times than he could count, but this time Kuramochi prayed it meant he could talk their way out of this.
“Kuramochi and I have been classmates, teammates, and now roommates for a long time. It’s not unusual to be seen together all the time. And I reckon it’ll remain that way until we graduate.” He steered clear of any mention of what Kuramochi now dubbed as That Stupid Thing He Did, but he knew Miyuki was right; they had no other relationship beyond what he had described, but he couldn’t understand why the knowledge of their inevitable separation left him feeling cold inside.
“AHHHH that reminds me, Miyuki Kazuya! Now that you’re officially retired, you can’t weasel your way out of telling us which pro team you’re thinking of joining!”
Kuramochi breathed a sigh of relief when everyone waited with rapt attention, finally dropping That Stupid Thing He Did in lieu of Miyuki’s answer.
Still pressed to his side, Miyuki remained quiet and Kuramochi couldn’t place the look he had on his face; he didn’t seem as uncomfortable as the last time the topic was brought up, and there was a sharpness in his amber eyes that wasn’t there before. Kuramochi found himself leaning into Miyuki’s warmth against his better judgement and waited with everyone else, suddenly keen to know now that they’d retired.
In true Miyuki fashion and with his grin still intact, he answered, “Bold of you to assume I’m going pro after graduation.”
“Lies, lies!” Sawamura pointed at him accusingly. “I know for a fact that you plan on going pro because I heard you telling Furuya before the finals in the summer!” he revealed, Furuya nodding in quiet assent by his side.
Miyuki was speechless for a second, apparently unaware that Sawamura overheard whatever talk he had with Furuya on the eve of the finals, but the smirk he flashed was one Kuramochi inwardly categorized as the type he used when he was trying to avoid a conversation.
“It’s been a while. Maybe I changed my mind, maybe I’m going to college. Even I’m not sure what I want to do yet.”
Kuramochi stared long and hard at Miyuki’s side profile because he was definitely lying. If he was in any way still uncertain about his decision, he would never have told Furuya.
But Sawamura seemed to have believed him, because he deflated and slumped forward in disappointment. “That’s irresponsible, Miyuki Kazuya!” he whined. “I was looking forward to it, too!”
“Aww, did you want to chase after me and form a battery again?” Miyuki teased.
Sawamura straightened up and let out a huff. “I’m not sure yet! I want to form a battery with Chris-senpai as well, so I will think long and hard on my career path this year!”
This time it was Kuramochi who was left speechless. Although he was still as loud as ever, there was a certain maturity to him now that wasn’t present before. Maybe it was the air of a captain or aura of an ace responsible for leading the team weighing heavily on his shoulders, either way he had certainly grown up from the snot-nosed first year he met two years ago and Kuramochi was proud of the kid.
The glance and small grin he caught Miyuki shooting him told him they shared the same sentiment. But of course, neither would say so out loud.
“Right. I’m looking forward to what you decide a year from now, Sawamura.” With an arm around Kuramochi’s shoulder since a while ago, Miyuki steered them towards the doors. “But on a related note, if you get marked tardy, the Coach won’t be too happy, will he?”
He laughed obnoxiously as Sawamura started yelling and flailing around in a fit of panic. Haruichi tried to calm him down, and the rest of the team also seemed to realize the time, and they both managed to sneak out undetected.
Once they reached the path leading to their school building, Miyuki retracted his arm and, try as he might, Kuramochi could not help but lament the sudden loss of warmth. But Miyuki’s grin was still as wide as it had been.
“Ah, that was fun,” he snickered.
Kuramochi chose to play along for the time being and scoffed, “Don’t think I’ve forgotten what you did to me this morning just because you saved my ass in there. There’ll be hell to pay.”
“Scary, Kuramochi~” Miyuki’s smile was all teeth and it was so blinding Kuramochi couldn’t decide whether he wanted to punch or stare at it. “I don’t know what you mean by saving your ass though. I don’t think I did anything that heroic.”
“Oh, shut up.” Kuramochi shoved him with his shoulder as Miyuki continued to snicker. He didn’t know why he brought up That Stupid Thing He Did, but he should’ve known Miyuki would deflect from the topic. And for once, he was thankful. It meant he could continue to ignore the searing tingles on his skin at the memory of Miyuki’s touch.
But as grateful as he was, he could not squash his curiosity on the other forbidden topic Miyuki brushed off. “Why did you lie to Sawamura though?”
When Miyuki only regarded him silently, he pressed on. “Don’t look at me like that. You’re not as hard to read as you think! You really do want to go pro, right?“
Miyuki was quiet for another beat, and just as Kuramochi thought he’d scared the guy off, he answered with a resolute, “Yes. I want to be able to make a living as a professional player and repay my old man for indulging my selfishness.”
This had been the most personal Miyuki had shared to him in all their time together, and Kuramochi willed himself not to let his jaw drop in surprise. “Heh, I never pegged you to be so thoughtful.” Ignoring Miyuki’s indignant protest, he carried on. “But for what it’s worth, I dont think he was indulging you. You shine on the diamond and anyone with eyes can see how happy you are to be there.”
Miyuki blinked owlishly at him. “Happy?”
“Yeah, you idiot.” Kuramochi gave him another gentle shove. “You always look like you’re having fun. It’s nice to see.” What he didn’t say was how much his heart constricted every time he spotted the genuine smile on the catcher’s face. Rare as they might be, it was a jewel he was always eager to unearth from Miyuki.
Miyuki looked lost for a moment, like he had no clue how to follow-up on that. Kuramochi could understand why; he had known Miyuki long enough to imagine that he doesn’t usually reveal that side of him often. But Kuramochi had always been observant, and if he was being honest with himself he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the catcher at all.
Another second passed and Miyuki recovered enough to plaster a smirk onto his face. “Aww, Kuramochi. Are you saying you watch me often?”
Kuramochi’s entire face heated up as he barked out, “Shut up! Forget I ever mentioned it.”
Miyuki laughed, but there was a gentleness in his smile that wasn’t there a moment ago. “You do too. Look happy when you play baseball, I mean.” With that one short sentence, Kuramochi felt like he was close to combusting. From embarrassment or the wild beating in his chest, he wasn’t sure. He just wished the roar in his ears would quiet down so he could hear the next words from Miyuki’s mouth. “Are you planning to join me in the pros?”
“I-I don’t know yet,” he stammered out. “I’m not sure I’m good enough for the pros yet, honestly. I was thinking of going to college first and decide from there.”
Miyuki shrugged. “It’s your choice. But you underestimate yourself, you always have. Your legs and speed are your assets and even your batting has improved. I think you can make it anywhere if you set your mind to it. Plus, it’d be fun to play with or against you after high school.”
Although many would call him Miyuki’s closest friend, this was the first time Kuramochi had ever heard him being so honest. Speechless with shock, a brash laugh escaped his mouth instead. “Hyaha! Well, this is rare. But if the best catcher of our generation says so, I’ll take your word for it.”
Miyuki grinned at him toothily. “Good.”
“There’s just one more thing I don’t understand. If your mind is already made up, why didn’t you just say so when Sawamura asked?”
Humming, Miyuki replied, “I wanted to let you know first. Well, not first since Furuya already knows, but I thought since you stuck with me the longest you deserved to know a bit earlier than the others or something...” he trailed off awkwardly.
Kuramochi froze in place. When Miyuki half-turned to look at him, he spotted the small crease between his brows, an obvious sign that it was not easy for him to open up like that.
“You...wanted to let me know first?” He repeated in a low voice. As happy as he was, it was hard to believe that anyone would put in so much thought and sincerity for him. It felt surreal because over three years ago, he lost his friends because of the opposite reason.
When he came to Tokyo, the only thing in his mind was baseball. There was no need to make friends because he was going to play the sport he loved with a team who shared a common goal. He didn’t anticipate meeting a beautiful boy who enamored him with his baseball skills, and he certainly didn’t expect them to complement each other so well on and off the field.
As Kuramochi stared at a smiling Miyuki, the light of the morning sun catching his glasses and casting him in an ethereal glow, an earth-shattering revelation sunk into his head for the first time.
One: Holy shit, Miyuki Kazuya’s my best friend.
And two: I have the biggest, fattest crush on him.
Fuck my life.
———
After realizing his true feelings, Kuramochi did what anyone with trust issues and a crush on their closest friend would do: he started avoiding Miyuki. His fifteen year old self would probably kick his ass for being a coward, but the younger version him had no inkling to what it felt like to protect and stay loyal to those who would spit at all his efforts behind his back.
He knew Miyuki would never do that to him; he had a shit personality and was more closed off than anyone else he’d ever known, but he had also been the witness to all of Miyuki’s kindness. He might not be the best at communication, but he was always honest and blunt to his face, secretly thoughtful and sensitive, and would never wish harm on anyone. He knew Miyuki was a good guy from the start, which was why he chose to stay beside him for so long. But little did he know his good will would get him stuck in this situation.
He didn’t want to lose Miyuki‘s friendship over some silly feelings, and if he had to squash it all away then he would do so.
Kuramochi didn’t ignore him in a way that was obvious; they still went to school together, played videogames in their room, and bantered over trivial things as usual. But Kuramochi stopped going over to his desk during breaks and he made perfectly valid excuses not to have lunch with Miyuki for a few days.
The view of Miyuki’s lonely figure in the classroom was eating him from the inside. He felt like the worst friend, but that was exactly why he had to do this. He didn’t want to treat Miyuki differently and ruin what they had. There were high stakes in play, and Kuramochi told himself it was only until he could become subtle enough not to look at Miyuki like he hung the moon and stars.
After sneaking away from their room before Miyuki could return from the baths one night, Kuramochi found himself swinging a bat to clear his mind until he heard a rustle behind him.
He stiffened, thinking it was Miyuki who found him, and had never been more relieved to see Haruichi instead.
“Yoh-san,” he greeted. “Do you mind if I join you?”
Kuramochi grinned and gestured to the spot next to him. “Go ahead, we haven’t practiced like this for a while.”
After a few minutes of swinging in silence, with only the sound of their bats cutting through the air, Haruichi spoke up casually. “I don’t see you and Miyuki-senpai together much these days.”
Completely unprepared for that opening, Kuramochi swung wide and cursed under his breath. “Ah, it’s no big deal,” he lied through his teeth. “I had things to take care of these past few days.”
Haruichi stopped swinging and regarded him, obviously unimpressed at his attempt if the sharpness in his eyes was any indication. “You’re not a very good liar, Yoh-san. It’s even stranger now that I know you’re hiding something.”
Kuramochi started sweating under his clothes despite the cool evening. Even though he never compared them before, there were times when Haruichi and his brother were too alike. It felt like all his secrets were being peeled back and scrutinized under their intense gaze. And now that Haruichi was nearing his third year, it was becoming prominent how scary his pink-haired kouhai actually was. “I-I dont know where to start, so you can take a guess if you want.”
Haruichi didn’t break eye contact, but after staring at him for a moment, the corner of his mouth turned up into a smile. “Did you finally realize you have feelings for him?”
Kuramochi’s jaw fell in disbelief. “How the hell did you know?!”
“You weren’t exactly subtle Yoh-san,” Haruichi chuckled lightly. “Especially not after you jumped into Miyuki-senpai’s arms during the Sankou match. Nearly everyone could tell.”
“Everyone knows?!” he yelped, suddenly terrified. How the fuck could he hide his feelings from Miyuki if he was this transparent.
“Not everyone,” Haruichi assured. “Eijun, Furuya, and Zono-senpai are unsurprisingly still in the dark.”
Kuramochi nodded slowly, a bit relieved. If the densest ones on the team hadn’t realized, then there was hope that Miyuki hadn’t yet either.
“But I heard the seniors and first stringers were placing bets on how long it would take for you to realize.”
“Oh, did they.” Kuramochi was going to need a word with them once this crisis was over.
With his bat still in hand, Haruichi said, “I didn’t want to intrude so I kept quiet while you figured out your feelings, but you seem to be worrying about something else now. Are you afraid that he won’t return your feelings?”
“Nothing like that!” he rushed to say, cheeks flushing at the mere thought of sharing mutual feelings with Miyuki. If he wanted to keep any semblance of friendship they had, he couldn’t have those thoughts. “I just don’t want to feel this way.”
Haruichi frowned. “Why not?”
Resigning to the idea that it was going to be a long night, Kuramochi leaned against the nearby fence. “Well, I‘m not great at making friends. Most people are scared of my face and the few friends I did have...let’s just say it didn’t work out. So this thing with Miyuki, it’s kind of special to me...” he trailed off, suddenly feeling embarrassed. “The problem is my feelings for him are more than just friends. I’m afraid that it’ll ruin what we have. I can handle not having a romantic relationship with him, but I can’t lose him as a friend.”
Kuramochi blew out a breath. “Sorry to dump all this emotional baggage onto you. It’s just stupid.”
“Not at all,” Haruichi said in a quiet voice. “I actually know what you mean. I was the same way with Eijun.”
“Woah woah woah, wait a second. You and Sawamura?”
Haruichi laughed under his breath. “Yeah. It’s still new. We were planning to tell others when everything has settled down. But I thought you would’ve noticed for sure.”
“I had no idea,” Kuramochi muttered. So much for being observant and perceptive, maybe he was actually as dense as Miyuki in the romance department.
“I was in your shoes just a few months ago. I had a crush on my best friend and had no idea what to do about it. I agonized over it, because I didn’t want to lose Eijun. But then one day I realized, if our friendship crumbled so easily then it wasn’t much anyway.” Haruichi grinned. “So I gathered my courage and confessed, and not only did Eijun return my feelings it turned out he was worrying about it as well. In the end, our bond only became stronger.
“Yoh-san, if you keep avoiding him, you’ll only put more distance between you and you’ll both get hurt in the process. You can’t run away from him forever.”
Kuramochi sighed, “I know that.” He remembered Miyuki’s lonely back in the classroom, how his eyes lost its sparkle whenever he lied to him, and how the guilt ate at him. But a small part of him was still scared to be left behind.
“I know the feeling all too well,” Haruichi continued. “But it’s only a matter of asking yourself if he deserves to be treated like this. You’re an open book, Yoh-san, so I’m sure Miyuki-senpai can already feel you’re distancing yourself from him.”
Kuramochi knew Haruichi was right. Miyuki didn’t deserve to be left in the dark because of his selfishness. He didn’t want to add to the pile of bad memories Miyuki had kept bottled up all this time. Not when there was nothing else that mattered more than that carefree smile Kuramochi fell for.
Maybe he’ll always be scared of being left behind again, but there was no sense in giving up without trying to fight for it.
So with a resolute nod, Kuramochi said, “I’ll go to him now.”
“Good luck, Yoh-san.”
Before breaking into a run, Kuramochi smiled. “Thank you. And I wish nothing but happiness for both you and Sawamura.”
Haruichi grinned back. “We’ll make sure of it.”
——
Kuramochi stood in front of their dorm room, determination and dread filling his lungs after he ran all the way there. He raised a hand to the doorknob, part of him still terrified of what might happen on the other side tonight, but he gathered all his remaining courage and pushed the door open.
Miyuki was at his desk, baseball books strewn around him while the person in question was neck-deep in one.
“Hey,” he greeted almost awkwardly.
When Miyuki raised his head, there was the smallest smile on his face. Unlike the ear-to-ear grin he felt privileged to see just a few days ago, this one looked pained and uncertain. Kuramochi’s heart dropped for putting it there in the first place.
“Hey,” Miyuki quipped and his eyes fell to the bat in his hands. “You weren’t here when I returned so I figured you were doing some self-traini—“
“I’m sorry,” Kuramochi blurted out.
Miyuki’s brows shot up, confusion written in his expression. “Uh, well I haven’t swung my bat in a while so it would’ve been great if we had done it together, but it’s not a big deal.”
Kuramochi shook his head and approached Miyuki’s desk. “No. Well there’s that too, but I really meant I’m sorry for being a jackass and avoiding you this whole week.”
“Ah.” There was that small smile again, and Kuramochi wanted nothing more than to kiss it away. “There’s nothing to apologize for. You don’t owe me anything, and it took you nearly three years to get sick of me, so I suppose that‘s an improvement.”
“Don’t say that,” Kuramochi snapped. He recognized the self-effacing tone in Miyuki’s voice; the one he used on the rare occasion his usual mask was off. Usually it was him who’d be by Miyuki’s side to reassure him that everything was alright, but this time he was the reason he’s hurting. Another wave of guilt coursed through him at the thought. “You’re not as bad as you say you are. If anything, I’m the asshole here. And I’d understand if you want nothing to do with me after this.”
Miyuki turned away and picked at the cover of the book nearest him. “So why did you do it?” he asked in a quiet voice.
Heart pounding in his ears, Kuramochi clenched his fists and squeezed his eyes shut. “I was scared. Scared that we’ll lose contact after graduation, scared that you’ll leave me behind when you join the pros. Terrified that you’ll abandon me after you find out exactly how I feel about you. I don’t care much for labels and I’ve had my fair share of disastrous friendships, but despite that I think of you as my closest friend, the only one who truly understands me. I didn’t want to lose what we have.”
He was startled when he felt Miyuki’s hand on his wrist. “I don’t understand. Why would you distance yourself if you don’t want to lose me?”
Holy shit, it’s now or never. Kuramochi took a deep breath and blurted out everything he’d kept inside. “Because I like you. So much that I want to hug you everyday and bury my nose in the crevice of your neck with my arms wrapped around your waist. I want to run my hands through your hair and see if it’s as soft as I imagine it to be. I want to kiss you breathless and feel your breath mingling with mine. And I realize this is definitely not what close friends do, and I didn’t want to trade our friendship for anything else. But now things are ruined because of me.”
Kuramochi couldn’t bring himself to look Miyuki in the eyes, so he stared down at his feet, heart pounding so loud he thought it would burst out of his chest.
“Kuramochi, look at me.”
With a sharp breath, he raised his head and felt his breath hitch. Miyuki was looking at him with the softest smile and his eyes were a warm shade of brown that he could get lost in forever. “You’re an idiot, you know that?”
Kuramochi clicked his tongue and for a short while everything felt normal, like the past week didn’t happen.
“I know,” he croaked out. “I’m not expecting you to return my feelings at all—“
“Let me finish,” Miyuki interjected. “I said you’re an idiot because I was transparent as hell about my feelings for you. You’re not the only one who wants to feel your lips on mine, you know. Corny as that sounds.”
Kuramochi’s heart stopped beating, and there was that shit-eating grin on Miyuki’s face again as he pulled Kuramochi closer and pressed their mouths together. Miyuki’s lips were soft and he found himself leaning in to taste him more. When they pulled back for a breath, the corners of Miyuki’s mouth were curled into a soft smile.
“I like you too, Youichi,” Miyuki murmured against his lips and heat filled Kuramochi’s veins upon hearing his first name.
And in that moment, they were just two best friends who decided to take a chance, and it couldn’t have been more perfect.