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“Nene-chan, truth or dare?!”
Tsukasa glanced over at the gray-haired girl who was currently lying on the floor, her gaze completely focused on the game on the console in her hands.
“Dare, I guess.” she muttered, not looking up. Emu, the initial question asker, tilted her head and grinned.
“Okaay!! I dare Nene-chan to take a break from her game for...fifteen minutes!!” Emu exclaimed, giving Nene a little shove. Nene merely sighed and shut it off, fixing Emu with an annoyed glance.
Beside Tsukasa, Rui chuckled. He was sitting cross-legged on Tsukasa’s bed next to him. “Smart move, Emu. Only you’d be able to get her off of that thing.”
Emu’s face beamed, and Nene rolled her eyes, a hint of a pink blush on her cheeks. Then, Emu stuck her fist into the bowl of popcorn next to her and threw a handful at Rui. “Rui-kun!! Truth or dare?!”
The four members of the theatre troupe Wonderlands x Showtime had gathered that night at Tsukasa’s house for an impromptu sleepover (Emu suggested it after rehearsal and as the leader, Tsukasa of course would have to be the one hosting!). They had mentioned perhaps collaborating together on writing a new show, but as the night stretched on, it became clear that there’d be no work going on that night.
Tsukasa found himself enjoying himself heavily. It felt as though recently, his thoughts, day and night, had been consumed by theatre. Brainstorming show ideas, mapping out choreography in his head...it was good to just sit back, relax, and enjoy a good time with some friends.
Beside him, Rui shifted on his bed. “Hm...truth, I suppose.” Rui said, the tone of his voice sounding amused.
“Hey, wait! In truth or dare, the person who was last chosen is the one who has to ask ‘truth or dare’ next round!” Tsukasa remembered, glancing at Emu.
From the floor, Nene looked up and shrugged. “I don’t really care, Tsukasa.”
Rui laughed. “Emu, on with your game.” He reached up and ran a finger through his purple hair. Tsukasa noticed how the ends of it were longer than usual - was he growing it out? Or was he just due for a haircut soon? Either way, Tsukasa thought it looked nice. Well, Rui’s hair always looked nice, it just looked especially nice right now.
“Ooh, I’ve got a good one!! Rui-kun, who’s the prettiest person in this room?! In your opinion, ‘course!!” Emu asked energetically.
For some reason, the question made Tsukasa’s face flush slightly red and turn his head away, because Tsukasa knew the answer. Why, it’s Rui! Emu must be tricking him; since he’s the answer!
Just as Tsukasa was about to call out Emu yet again, Rui smiled and looked over at him. “Mm, oh, that’s an easy one. Tsukasa-kun, of course.”
Tsukasa’s mouth opened, then closed, and he blushed a deep red. Nene sat up, then gave Rui a knowing look.
“Congrats drone boy, you made him stop functioning.” Nene commented, in that dry way of hers. Next to her, Emu giggled.
Tsukasa was about to blurt out that “No, actually, you’re factually incorrect, Rui-kun!” when Rui suddenly stretched and yawned.
“It’s getting late, is it not? We’ve got a long day of rehearsal tomorrow, from what Tsukasa-kun told me - we should get some sleep.”
Nene sighed, but seemed to agree with Rui’s idea, crawling into the sleeping bag that she’d laid out in between Rui’s and Emu’s. Emu pouted, staring into the popcorn bowl.
“Well, now who’s gonna eat this?” Emu said dejectedly, taking a few kernels and popping them into her mouth.
“Emu, you do know the kernels are bad for you, right?” Nene asked quietly, a quizzical look on her face. Emu shrugged and began to chew. “Wait, hold on, Emu-chan I’m not mentally prepared for your death -”
That got Emu to giggle, and she spit the kernels out. Tsukasa groaned.
“Really, Emu-chan?! All over my rug?” he grumbled, getting on his knees to pick up the kernels.
Rui moved closer to him and began assisting him in the cleanup, dropping a few kernels in Tsukasa’s hand. His fingers slightly brushed Tsukasa’s palm, and he could feel his face go red again at Rui’s touch. Ugh, get yourself together, Tsukasa! He’s just a boy who thinks you’re pretty...
Tsukasa stood up. “I’m going to use the restroom,” he said, racing out of the room as quietly as possible (he suspected Nene was already asleep). When he reached the bathroom, he locked the door behind him and sank down to the floor, a million questions swimming in his mind.
Rui thinks I’m...pretty? And not just that, but the prettiest in our troupe?! But that doesn’t make sense! Rui-kun only needs to look into a mirror to see the best-looking person in that room!
Perhaps he was merely being humble, or he thought Emu-chan wasn’t allowing him to include himself. Yes - that must be it!
But, even so, that means that to some degree...Rui thinks I’m pretty. Why does that make me feel all...
Tsukasa shook his head and stared into the bathroom mirror. It seemed like whenever he wasn’t thinking about theatre, his thoughts drifted to Rui-kun. And sometimes when he was thinking about it. And recently, thinking about Rui would sometimes make his face all warm and he’d feel nervous and shy, which was odd because this was Rui, Tsukasa’s best friend!
But a part of Tsukasa wondered if Rui ever felt like that when thinking about him...
He sighed and opened the door, slipping back into his bedroom and preparing to crawl into bed. However, he was met with a curious sight.
Rui Kamishiro, standing out on his balcony, looking up at the sky.
Tsukasa stepped out to be next to Rui, looking around curiously. “Ah - Rui-kun! What are you doing out here? I thought you were tired?”
Rui looked up and smiled at Tsukasa. “Oh, Tsukasa-kun! Yes, I am...but I like to look up at the night sky before I go to sleep sometimes. It’s just so soothing and beautiful, and when I saw your balcony, I couldn’t stop myself from coming out here. I sincerely hope that was okay.”
“Y-yeah, no, that’s fine, Rui-kun…” Tsukasa trailed off, then he shook his head. “Uh, if you don’t mind, I have a question to ask you.”
Rui raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
Tsukasa crossed his arms, a blush spreading across his face. “Um...why did you call me the prettiest one in the room, when we were playing truth or dare? Y’know, since that title belongs to you…”
Rui froze. “Tsukasa...what did you say?”
Tsukasa blinked. “That…that you’re pretty?”
Beside him, Tsukasa is taken aback by how red Rui’s face becomes. It’s completely covered by a deep red flush, and he ducks his head shyly.
Tsukasa feels his heart flicker in his chest, and he’s sure his own face mirrors Rui’s. “I-I thought you were aware of this, Rui-kun!”
Rui chuckled to himself, still red. “Uh, well, it wasn’t really something that ever occurred to me…definitely not as much as I thought about you, Tsukasa-kun.”
Tsukasa isn’t sure how to react to Rui’s words, other than turning away and internally panicking about the situation. “You…you said you think about me.” Tsukasa paused. “What…what exactly do you think about?”
Rui glanced at Tsukasa, his eyes brimming with curiosity and something else. “Your smile,” he murmured. “And the look on your face when you get all fired up about a new project. It’s admirable of you.” He folded his hands, and Tsukasa realized his hands were slightly shaking.
“Do you ever think about me, Tsukasa-kun?”
Tsukasa blushed, flicking a strand of hair back and shifting on his feet because oh god has he thought about Rui. Thinking about Rui had almost become a small part of himself.
Yes, Tsukasa had been extremely focused on theatre lately. But when he had a spare moment to relax and let his mind wander…it usually found its way back to Rui.
“I, ah…” Tsukasa trailed off. “Y-you could say that.”
Rui’s gaze brightened. “Really?” Excitement shone brightly on his face, and Tsukasa couldn’t help but think it was very cute.
But then, the glimmer disappeared from Rui’s eyes, and he cleared his throat, obviously embarrassed. “Well, um,
I guess that was an enlightening discussion, but you were right about us having to get to bed, so -“
“Wait!” Tsukasa grabbed Rui’s wrist. “Rui-kun…do you…”
“Hm?”
“Do you have feelings for me?”
Rui’s eyes widened, and Tsukasa ducked his head, embarrassed. “S-sorry, I -“
“N-no, Tsukasa, it’s okay.” Rui chuckled quietly to himself. “Your…your suspicious were correct, hehe…”
While Rui looked away, fireworks began to explode in Tsukasa’s mind. Rui-kun…has feelings for me? He had been half expecting for Rui to laugh at his words, saying that Tsukasa was funny.
But… Rui Kamishiro had feelings for Tsukasa Tenma .
“Based on your expression, I already concluded that this was a one-sided situation.” Rui murmured. Tsukasa’s head shot up, and he shook it wildly.
“What?! Rui-kun, don’t just assume things until I say them.”
Rui blinked. “Oh.” His eyes widened yet again. “So then…”
Tsukasa’s face flushed again, and he looked down at his hands, interlocking his fingers. “I-I think I like you, Rui.”
Rui blinked. “Oh? Well…that’s…” His face reddened. “That’s not what I was expecting.”
Tsukasa rolled his eyes, the blush not disappearing from his face. “Well, idiot, it’s what you got.”
Rui’s eyes narrowed jokingly. “Hm, well then, Tsukasa-kun, does that mean I get to do this?”
He slipped his hand into Tsukasa’s, who attempted to choke out an answer. “Uh - um…y-yeah, that’s totally fine with me…”
A surge of confidence rushed through Tsukasa, and he leaned forward, shutting his eyes, and pressed his lips to Rui’s. Rui initially reacted in surprise, but then reached forward to deepen their kiss and grip the back of Tsukasa’s hair softly.
After a few moments, they broke apart, Tsukasa blushing furiously and Rui wearing a small smile on his face.
“Y’know, it’s times like these when I’m aggravated by how tall you are.” Tsukasa said, trying to break the silence.
Rui’s tinkling laugh filled the hair. “Hehe, oh Tsukasa-kun, only you would say something like that after having their first kiss.”
“W-well…”
But Rui reached for Tsukasa again, and soon they were entwined once more. After a few breathless kisses, they entered Tsukasa’s room once again, Rui going to his sleeping bag and Tsukasa to his bed.
“Goodnight, Rui-kun.”
“Goodnight, Tsukasa-kun.”