Work Text:
Kazuichi's heart was pounding as he shakily made his way through the hallway. Over the course of the past few hours, he had come to a realization that was not fun for him in the slightest; such realization being that he was not straight. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Kazuichi Souda was very, very gay, and also in love with his supposed rival.
This wasn't exactly something he had planned on dealing with today, or any day for that matter. It was even more far from expected that Sonia Nevermind of all people was the one to help him come to this shocking and devastating conclusion.
The conversation lasted over the period of several classes, as well as lunch, with the two of them texting from across each room they were in, trying to figure out what on earth was happening with Kazuichi's sexuality.
It had started with Sonia picking up on a bit of a pattern, where Kazuichi would only ever bother her publicly within the presence of her dear friend, Gundham. Then a few additions were noticed; things such as Kazuichi staring at his dearest rival for a few seconds too long, or trying to catch his attention via more interesting means than he would usually go to. Eventually, the unfortunate princess decided that it was time to stop whatever confusion was going on within Kazuichi's mind.
Sadly for Kazuichi, it worked a little too well due to Sonia's excellence when it comes to emotions; now here he was, walking somewhat terrified through the hallways, unable to help but wonder what this was going to mean for his future overall. He didn't want to like men, he was scared that nobody would even accept him for it. With the exception of dear Sonia, he had no confirmation at all that anybody would be fine with him. Sure, all of his classmates seemed to be accepting for the most part– they were an exceptionally eccentric group of people, but the strange fear of even being known in that way was still there.
As he wandered through the hallway, trying not to focus on how the day had been thus far, Kazuichi felt a cold hand placed on his shoulder, followed by a soft and deep voice.
"Excuse me, Wizard of automobiles."
Kazuichi froze up quickly, confused by the strange name, before quickly recognizing the person speaking to him as Gundham.
"Yeah?" He didn't turn around to look at the other, merely stopped in his tracks due to fear of bursting into tears if he had to look another human in the eye. "What do you want?"
"It has come to my attention that you have been acting in an apprehensive manner all day, and as the great dark lord, I believe that I should check on your well-being." The hand shifted slowly off Kazuichi's shoulder, causing the boy to shiver slightly.
"I'm fine, man. Don't worry about it." Kazuichi mumbled with a slight shrug. "I dunno why ya' feel like checkin' on me but there's nothin' wrong."
"Nonsense. Even the queen of the night has shown worry for you, and that is not something I take very lightly." Gundham took a step closer to Kazuichi, and the shorter boy could feel his eyesight burning into the back of his head.
"S-Sonia sent ya' here-?" Kazuichi awkwardly chuckled, his face turning a pale shade of pink due to worry about what she could have said. "W-What did she say..? If ya' don't mind me asking…"
"She mentioned nothing in particular, only your apparent distress." Gundham returned his hand to its former placement on Kazuichi's shoulder, and used it to turn him around so that they were facing each other; "and she did not send me here, but of course her worries are mine as well, so I would like to check on you myself."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever ya' say. I'm fine, just tell her that there's nothin' to worry about with me." Kazuichi pulled Gundham's hand off of his shoulder and crossed his arms, trying his hardest to look away.
"I do not believe people who can be found hyperventilating on the bathroom floor during their free periods to be "fine." Please, Souda, tell me what the issue is so I may help you."
"Y-You saw that?" Kazuichi bit down on his lip and scratched the back of his head, looking up at Gundham. "Well shit, that wasn't meant to happen…" He zoned out while staring at the floor, until his thought party was disrupted by Gundham grabbing his wrist and dragging him along the hallway. "H-Hey man! What gives?"
"You are going to come to my room, and we are going to talk about whatever is agonizing your mind." Gundham had a surprising amount of strength considering how lanky he looked, as well as a very good grip. Eventually Kazuichi gave up on trying to resist and just began walking along with the other, although being quite the deal shorter than Gundham caused him to trip a fair amount.
Eventually they reached Gundham's dorm room, and once they entered Kazuichi immediately found himself being flung onto the bed, with Gundham calmly sitting down next to him.
"I may not be the best with comfort, but I do wish to help. Now tell me, what may be the issue?" Gundham placed a hand on Kazuichi's shoulder once more and looked down at him with an awkward attempt at a smile.
"...You're acting weird, man." Kazuichi raised an eyebrow at Gundham and placed his hand atop the other on his shoulder. "Are you sure there's nothing wrong with you?"
"I am perfectly fine, Kazuichi. Is there something wrong with a dark lord being worried about one of his fellow classmates while they are in dismay?"
"Nah, not at all, I'm just confused by it." Kazuichi flopped back onto the bed, turning away from Gundham. "I thought ya' didn't like me, but now you're actin' all worried about my mental health n' shit."
"Not once have I ever claimed to dislike you, my dearest constructor of gadgets." Gundham slid further back onto the bed to comply with Kazuichi's movements. "The only reason I keep up with this so-called rivalry of ours is out of respect for Sonia; I do not actually hold any contempt in your direction other than the ways you act towards her."
"Ya' don't? I mean I guess it was just all in my head from the start now that I think about it…" Kazuichi was somewhat shocked by the other man's statement, but he didn't have the energy to act shocked about it, or even think about it all too much.
"Correct, I do not actually dislike you. However, that is not what we are here to discuss." He moved over closer to Kazuichi without touching him and leaned his body against the wall behind him. "Something has been upsetting you, and I'd like to know what it is."
"Alright, alright. I just kinda figured something out about myself and I can't say I'm thrilled about it."
"What is this thing that you've discovered?"
"Ah, nothing much, no need to worry about it, dude. I appreciate that ya' wanna help but I promise it's really not that important."
"Anything upsetting you is important to me, Kazuichi." Gundham almost put his hand back on the shoulder where it seemed to be residing so much recently, but held himself back out of fear of discomforting the other. "I promise I shan't tell a soul if that's what you desire, but I only want to help you."
Kazuichi paused and looked over at Gundham in confusion. Did Gundham really care about him like that? He was charmed, sure, but a part of that scared him due to the fear that it would only deepen his feelings for the man.
"Really…?" Kazuichi mumbled, a soft blush spreading across his face. "I mean, thanks… I just don't really understand why." He turned around and looked up at Gundham with tears eyes. "I'm just a dumbass mechanic, I'm not even nice to ya'."
"Of course I care for you. I know the exterior I use isn't exactly the sweetest, but it does not mean that my devotion to those around me isn't genuine." Gundham placed a hand on Kazuichi's face for a brief second to wipe away a tear before it could fall causing Kazuichi to blush.
"Gundham… I… I don't know what to say…" Kazuichi wiped away another tear as his breathing grew more harsh, trying not to start full-on sobbing in front of Gundham. "I just… I dunno… I'm not sure if I should tell ya, at least not all of it."
"Kazu, it will be alright. You may share as much or as little as you please. I am here to be whatever you require of me." Gundham pulled Kazuichi up from his former position and wrapped his arms around him, "and if you do not wish to share, I will be here as a shoulder to cry on."
Kazuichi blushed even more with every little thing Gundham did from the nickname to the hug. Unable to hold it back anymore he allowed himself to start gently crying onto the shoulder his head was resting on. Gundham began to run his fingers through Kazuichi's hair, giving soft comfort the best he could.
"I just… I think I might like guys, and I don't- I don't really know how to process it yet." Kazuichi dug his fingers into Gundham's back, balling up the fabric of his shirt. "Please don't judge, I know it might be weird but I-"
"You like males?" Gundham cut Kazuichi off and pulled back slightly to look at him.
"W-Well I mean- yes, but please don't judge-"
"No, no, of course not, I would never judge you for that. Not in a million years." Gundham pulled Kazuichi into an even tighter hug than before, slightly digging his face into the other's hair with a light chuckle.
"Wh-What?" Kazuichi gasped as he was pulled back towards Gundham's chest, unable to help giving an awkward laugh to go around with the small chuckle given by the other. "You good, man?"
"Ah, yes I am. My apologies for the quick reaction. I tend to become excited when discovering people like-minded to myself. If you need to talk it through I will gladly assist."
"Ya' mean… you're gay?" Kazuichi pressed on Gundham's chest to pull back from the tight hug he was in.
"I am, correct. Although I was not expecting one such as yourself who seems to be so infatuated with Sonia to be at all interested in the male gender." Gundham grabbed onto Kazuichi's waist and pulled him in again out of excitement, making the other boy blush. Kazuichi didn't reciprocate much, but he allowed himself to be pulled in closer by Gundham.
"Well thank fuckin' God. Talkin' to a straight person about this would probably make it worse no matter what they say, ya' know?" Kazuichi leaned back onto Gundham's shoulder with a slight sigh of relief.
"I completely understand, when I was figuring myself out it did help quite a bit to talk with those in the community."
Kazuichi sighed and began to cling onto the man in front of him. He was still quite teary-eyed from the emotional buildup of the day, but it did help to know that Gundham wouldn't judge him for his realization.
"Now, if you do not mind me asking, what about this situation is troubling you?" Gundham placed a hand on Kazuichi's head and gently massaged it, returning to his more sympathetic side. "I promise that I am here to help you through it."
Kazuichi was slightly off put by the quick change of tone, but adjusted rather fast because it had been awhile since anyone held him so closely or tried to comfort him. He rested his face in the crook of Gundham's neck and let himself be vulnerable for just a little while.
"I dunno… it's just not what I had planned out for myself. I'd always imagined myself gettin' married and havin' a life with some pretty girl, and I've always tried to like girls or thought I did, but I can't even tell anymore…" Kazuichi let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes. "You've seen how I was around Sonia, but I don't think I even liked her in the first place. I just wanted to."
"Ah, I understand." Gundham allowed his head to rest on top of Kazuichi's, and shifted their position so that they were leaning against the wall behind them. "It seems that the universe has hit you with a metaphorical curveball, yes?
"Yewh, it definitely has." Kazuichi felt surprisingly comfortable in this situation. Considering he was practically cuddling with his crush while talking through his new-found homosexuality, he was relatively at ease. Maybe it was how Gundham's presence was calming or how he was just so tired of trying to make it through the day, but it was nice. "I don't want to be like this… I know that just sounds plain bad, but I was always taught that it's not right, and even though I never really cared half'a my family does. They're gonna fuckin' hate me if they ever find out." Tears began to leak from his eyes onto Gundham's shoulder as he made quiet sobbing noises.
"Shh, it's all going to be just fine, Kazu. Let it out, I am right here for you." Gundham reached over to grab a blanket and cover Kazuichi with it; if he was going to be sad he at least deserved to be sad in comfort. "I know how you feel, it is never easy to know that your mere existence goes against the beliefs of your loved ones." He trailed one of his fingers along Kazuichi's spine in a soothing motion in order to keep him as calm as possible. "What has made you come to this realization in the first place? Perhaps confronting that in a way could help you to settle into the reality of it."
Kazuichi's face flushed a deep shade of red; he didn't exactly want to enter the territory of telling Gundham about his crush that just so happened to be on Gundham. He shuffled around and signed a bit, trying to figure out how to handle the situation.
"Well there's this guy… I think I kinda like him." Kazuichi was hoping not to go into details about who this mystery man was, but had to try and prepare himself for anything Gundham could say in response. "It was pretty random to figure out, but the pieces just sorta clicked in my head, ya' know?"
"I understand that feeling very well. Coming to the realization of feelings for someone, especially when those feelings come seemingly out of the blue, can be an extremely difficult thing to deal with." Gundham ruffled Kazuichi's hair a bit with a soft chuckle to keep things less tense between the two of them. "If you'd like my advice, I believe it would be in your best interest to tell him– so long as it would not put you in harm's way, of course."
"T-Tell him?" Kazuichi shrieked with pure shock in his voice. "What good would that do?"
"It could help you settle into your feelings a bit more, you do not need to expect a relationship from it, but it could certainly help to bring you to a more level place about your sexuality." Gundham moved his hands a bit as he spoke, although not as wildly as he usually would so as not to disturb Kazuichi too much. "An addition being that if these feelings are truly bothering you, if the reaction is negative they could possibly start to fade, and if the reaction is positive you could possibly gain a partner."
"I mean, I guess that's true, but I am still gettin' used to it n' all. That'd be hella hard and I dunno if I'm ready for something like that."
"Of course, it was merely a suggestion, and I would not want you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable." Gundham pulled Kazuichi's face away from his shoulder and looked at him with a smile. "I care for you, so… please do come to me for any assistance you may need."
Something about Gundham's tone made Kazuichi just internally melt. He was being so sweet and genuine, a side to him that Kazuichi had never seen before. The small smile that occupied his face was so incredibly charming, and everything accompanied by the fact that he was currently sitting on his lap made him feel so warm inside. Unable to help it, he glanced down at the lips of the man in front of him, his face flushed a deep shade of red. They looked so sweet and soft, like they were calling out to him. There was a brief pause between the two of them before Gundham spoke up.
"Kazu, are you alright?" He placed a hand beneath Kazuichi's chin and tilted his head upwards to look into his eyes. "You've been staring in the same direction for quite some time now."
"Y-Yeah, I'm all good…" Kazuichi blushed even more as his attention once again drifted down to Gundham's lips, still so wonderfully sweet looking. "Just… thinking…"
Gundham began to blush as well, noticing where Kazuichi was looking. Although he didn't intend on saying it, he wanted to steal a kiss just as badly as Kazuichi did. His own eyes drifted down and down to Kazuichi's own lips, wanting more than anything in that moment to kiss him.
"Kazu- Kazuichi… may I perhaps gain your permission to… try something?" He spoke quietly, hardly above a whisper.
"Yeah… you can."
Gundham leaned in gently and slowly, giving Kazuichi the time to back out if he wanted to; but Kazuichi didn't, and in fact pulled Gundham in even closer. Their lips met, and the two of them were immediately filled with complete and utter bliss. Gundham's hands traveled up to Kazuichi's face, gently caressing his cheek; and Kazuichi's arms wrapping around Gundham's torso as tightly as he could manage. Once they pulled apart, the both of them were in some kind of awe at what had just happened between them. Neither said anything, but they only sat there tangled up in each other's arms.
"So… uhm…" Kazuichi awkwardly chuckled with a smile. "Do ya' maybe wanna go out sometime…?"
"Of course."