Chapter Text
"You have a crush on Luca, don't you?"
Shu spat out his drink all over the book he had been reading. He slowly turned around, a bright red blush spreading throughout his face and staining his pale nape. "W-what are you talking about, Lucy!"
Lucy smirked and scooched closer to him on the couch, tapping her well-manicured nails on his chest. "Oh Shu… you wear your heart on your sleeve. The only person who doesn't know about your crush is my stupid brother."
Covering his face, Shu shook his head rapidly, stammering, "No! He's not my type. I like cute girls. I don't like Luca in that way."
"You like cute girls? Then what about me? Am I cute?" Lucy fluttered her long lashes and leaned in. Her light purple eyes showed his reflection, getting clearer as she moved closer. "Am I your type then?"
"No! I mean, yes! I mean, yes and no! You're cute, but not my type!" Shu winced. "Sorry, Lucy. No offense."
Crocodile tears filled Lucy's eyes. "Aww, Shu-kun is so mean. I like you though."
Shu blushed again. "You do?"
Lucy wiped off her tears and giggled. "Of course I do! Your reactions are hilarious hehe. But I'm serious, if you really have a crush on Luca, I'm telling you that you have a good chance! My little bro might not know it right now, but I'm pretty sure he likes you too."
"...Even if I do like him in that way, there's no way he likes me back." Shu looked forlorn, tracing his foot in a pattern on the carpet. "Luca's only interested in girls. And girls really like him. I've already given up."
And there it was; Shu finally admitted his feelings. Lucy rubbed her chin. "Hmm. I don't know about that. Just because he's only been interested in girls before doesn't mean he can't be interested in guys. If you knew the way he looks at you when you're not looking, you'd probably believe me."
The problem was, Shu didn't believe her at all. "Thanks for trying to spare my feelings, but Luca only sees me as a friend. I've come to terms with it."
"Now listen here, Shubert Yamino!" Lucy said sternly. "I won't let you do this to yourself. I promise you'll regret it if you don't even try."
"But my name is just Shu– okay, fine." That was a fight he was bound to lose. "What do you want me to do? Luca doesn't even know when girls are trying to flirt with him! He won't be able to pick up my hints."
Lucy patted his head, "Don't worry. I've already thought of the perfect plan. Instead of chasing after him, you make him chase after you."
Good idea in theory, but Shu doubted that it would ever work out in reality. "How do you plan on that happening anytime soon?"
A wide grin stretched over Lucy's face. "Easy. I'll flirt with you, and you pretend that you're falling in love with me."
Shu blinked. “Sorry, what?”
“Okay, let me put it like this.” Lucy settled her head comfortably on Shu’s shoulder, her arm linked around his. “You see, Luca’s been lucky his entire life. He always gets whatever he wants. So… let’s say that he wants you, but you’re always with him, so he takes you for granted. Then one day, poof! His sister has stolen his beloved Shu away from him! Now he realizes that Shu is actually a lot more important to him than he thought, and voila! He chases after you, and you guys get your happy ending.”
“Well, that sounds wonderful, but I’m not sure how likely that is.”
The couch jostled as Lucy leapt up, a pout on her face. She crossed her arms as she stood in front of Shu. “Come on, Shu! You need to be optimistic! What’s the worst that can happen, huh? If Luca doesn’t want you, I’ll take you!”
Shu averted his gaze. "Hahaha…you like to joke around so much." He closed his eyes, a look of concentration etched on his face. After a minute or two, he slowly opened his eyes and sighed. "Fine. You're right. Luca isn't the type of person who would think too much about this kind of stuff. If it doesn't work then it doesn't work. I'll give it a go."
Lucy beamed. "Attaboy! That's what I like to hear." She leaned in and placed a kiss on his cheek, her bright red lipstick smudged high on his cheekbones. Shu instinctively retreated, eyes wide and hands covering his face, looking like a maiden that had been defiled. Lucy winked and pointed at her lipstick, "C'mon Shu, get with the program! We're starting the plan ASAP."
Was this really the way to go about it though?! Shu didn't let his guard down and side-eyed her. "Lucy! You could've warned me! I wasn't prepared."
"Okay, okay! Sorry about that, but I had to act quick. Luca's almost home. He texted me."
Luca was in the school's basketball team and would get home around the same time as the other two after practice since they also had clubs to attend. It just so happened that he had an away game today, so Shu was waiting at his house for him to arrive. Usually when this happened, he would play video games with Lucy, read books, or do his homework. However, today, Shu and Lucy came up with a devious plan. Well, it was mostly Lucy.
Shu checked his phone as well. A screen full of texts greeted him.
4:30PM
luca eyy🤠: SHU WE WON THE GAME YAY :D
luca eyy🤠: POG POG POG POG
4:50PM
luca eyy🤠: wait why did lucy send me this?
attachment.jpg:
Sis: I have Shu hostage 😏😏
Sis: Come quick or it'll be too late
4:53PM
luca eyy🤠: DONT HAVE TOO MUCH FUN WITHOUT ME >:[
luca eyy🤠: SHUUUUUU PROMISE ME
5:01PM
luca eyy🤠: IM RUNNINH AS FASTR AS ICAN
Just as Shu finished reading the last message, there was a series of loud knocks on the door. Lucy skipped to the door, twirling a few times before opening the door. It seemed like she was very happy about that plan of hers.
"Hey Luca~ dear brother of mine," Lucy said in a sickly sweet voice, "Looks like you came too late to protect Shu, he's in my clutches now."
Luca nudged her aside and came running in, dropping his backpack in the hallway. As Shu heard the footsteps getting louder, he suddenly had an urge to hide. "Shu! What did Lucy do to you, huh?"
Shu glanced at the stained book he left on the coffee table and lunged towards it. He quickly opened it and stuffed his face inside, pretending to be immersed in the book. Thank goodness he had only been drinking water, otherwise it would've been far more unbearable than just damp paper on his face.
As Luca neared him, coming from behind the couch, Shu spoke. "Luca, I don't know what you're talking about. I've just been here reading my book."
"Can you really read with the book so close to your face?" Luca tilted his head. "Your forehead is touching the book."
Oh frick. Shu stuttered, "It's uh… it's a secret reading technique. Super fast word absorbency method. Only for the pros."
"Pog! But c'mon Shu, can't you stop reading for a second? I just got home! I wanna play with you." Shu felt a pair of large, warm hands on both sides of his face, tilting his head upwards.
It was inevitable for Luca to see his face like this, Shu realized. Luca was incredibly stubborn when he wanted to be. He set the book aside and let the hands guide his gaze upwards.
When Shu's face was fully revealed, kiss mark and all, Luca's smile stiffened. A glint of something strange appeared in his eyes, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come.
"You guys played around with Lucy's makeup? It looks realistic." Luca stared at the edges of the lipstick stain, focusing on the smudged part that nearly reached Shu's lower lashes. His fingers brushed them, causing Shu to close his eyes at the ticklish gesture. "Really realistic."
"Unfortunately I don't have that kind of art skill where I can make my drawings look realistic." Lucy's sorrowful tone coated her words. "That's the real deal, little bro."
Suddenly, Shu felt Luca's wandering fingers rub against his cheekbones, wiping away the bright red pigment. It was gentle, yet forceful at the same time. Shu grabbed Luca's hands. "Hey, Luca. I can just wash it off myself. You're just gonna make the smudging worse."
Luca was silent as he let go of Shu's head. He watched Shu walk to the kitchen sink to scrub at his face, then his gaze moved to Lucy, who was staring at Shu with a mischievous smile. Seeing her self-satisfied look directed at Shu… he didn't like it. Not one bit.
The red on the pads of Luca's fingers caught his attention as he looked down. He frowned, wiping his hands with a towel on the table. "I'm gonna take a nap since that game tired me out," Luca announced. "Shu, sorry that you waited for me all this time, but I think we're gonna have to hang out tomorrow."
Shu nodded. "Okay." The moment that Luca left, he and Lucy shared a look.
"You saw that, right? It wasn't just me?" Lucy ran over to Shu, her eyes sparkling.
"Wow… yeah. I did." Shu was conflicted. A stinging guilt was left on his conscience, but the giddiness in his heart overpowered it. "Maybe you're right. Maybe he does actually like me."