Archive of Our Own ^beta

“…Valt! Valt, wake up, we’ve decided what our class is doing for the cultural fest!”

There’s something sharp nibbling at his ear before Valt’s eyes shoot open, and when he lifts his head to look at his deskmate, the first thing he sees is Keru’s blue paw pointing at the front of the classroom where the blackboard displays the chosen theme.

“A haunted house…?” Valt blinks. Around him, his classmates are either chattering excitedly or groaning in annoyance at how childish it seems.

“What do you think? I hope we get to be one of the monsters,” Besu wonders aloud next to him, and Valt mirrors the smile on Ken’s face as he makes Keru rub his paws together like he’s plotting something.

“I think it sounds fun! I haven’t been to a haunted house in ages. I’d love to try being one of the monsters, too,” he muses before turning to his other side. “What about you, Honcho?” 

Across the aisle, Rantaro looks around blearily as if he’s just woken up himself. It’s kinda cute. From the stack of manga on his desk that he’s been known to use as a pillow, Valt guesses they were on the same page. Figuratively.

“Rise and shine, sleeping beauty! Valt and us are signing up to be monsters. Better make up your mind before you get stuck with the set-up crew,” Keru growls over Valt’s shoulder, and that seems to snap Rantaro to attention as Valt and Ken raise a hand when a class representative at the front of the room prompts them for volunteers.

“Huh? Wait, what’re we doing? Guys!!” Rantaro flounders, looking around in a panic because the rest of the class has just been announced to be part of the set-up crew. 

“Too bad, Honcho. Looks like the early bird gets the worm,” Valt taunts him with a smug grin, Ken giggling next to him.

“Whaddya mean, I saw you fall asleep before I did! Ken probably woke you up, didn’t he?” Rantaro points an accusing finger, but Ken just hides a smirk behind Keru and Besu.

“Yeah, well, you snooze, you lose, unless you’ve got a friend like Ken. Right, buddy?” Valt holds out a fist to Ken, who extends Besu to headbutt him gently.

“Just wait until the guys hear about this,” Keru snickers over Rantaro’s sputtering. It’s fun to see Rantaro all riled up, especially if Valt is part of the riling. Being best friends with Rantaro means that he’s allowed to get away with it, and it’s not Valt’s fault that it’s so fun to see Rantaro getting all flustered. It’s just their way of showing how close they are.

When they show up to practice after school, Rantaro is still less than enthused about his new role that Valt is sure he hasn’t stopped pouting the entire day. He’s had his fun teasing him, but now Valt just wants to cheer him up. A smiling Rantaro is definitely a better one in his opinion.

“Don’t worry, Honcho, we can keep you company while you work. Right, Ken?” Valt pats Rantaro on the back and looks over to where Ken is helping Daigo wheel out a stadium for them to practice on. Valt is kinda glad the younger bey club members usually leave the rooftop to them while the underclassmen take the gymnasium—don’t get him wrong, Valt is incredibly proud of how much the bey club has grown over the years, but it’s also nice to have a place to themselves. The place where it all started. 

“Well, if we gotta,” Keru grumbles and makes a big show of trying to cross his stubby arms, but Ken is smiling kindly at them.

“You’ll be doing a lot of heavy lifting, right? You could treat it as training,” Daigo suggests, always the pragmatic one. Rantaro doesn’t look convinced.

“I mean, sure, but I’ll be the only one doing it,” he grumbles. “Meanwhile you guys get to have all the fun without me.” Valt and Ken exchange sympathetic glances before Wakiya’s smug laughter cuts through the conversation.

“Oh, this is priceless. We’ve all got leading roles while poor little Honcho is stuck behind the scenes. Looks like not all of us were born for the stage,” Wakiya smirks from where he’s lounging on a bench. Rantaro shoots a glare at him, and Valt feels like the only thing keeping him from snapping at Wakiya is the hand Valt has on Rantaro’s arm.

“You guys are doing a play, right? Don’t you have to audition first?” Valt tries to mediate between them.

“Not enough time. We had a vote instead, and the people themselves nominated Shu as the hero while I’ll be playing opposite him as the illustrious king of evil,” Wakiya announces with a flourish and a wink. “And of course, Daigo will be my faithful lackey.”

“What do you mean, ‘of course,’” Daigo mumbles under his breath, and Valt gets the feeling Daigo might’ve been the only one out of all of them who would switch places with Rantaro if he could.

“You guys even had it easier if all you had to do was volunteer. Maybe if you weren’t busy napping in class, you’d have your chance in the spotlight,” shrugging, Wakiya goes back to taunting Rantaro, who immediately tenses up despite Valt’s attempts at soothing him.

“Some of us need our beauty sleep, okay??” he retorts and jabs his fan in Wakiya’s direction. “Now get your ass over here! All you’ve been doing is yapping, it’s time to let our beys do the talking!” Daigo and Ken look a little unimpressed that they aren’t the first up to bat despite being the ones who set up the stadium, but neither of them are willing to interfere when Rantaro is this worked up. Valt lets out an exasperated sigh, knowing there’s nothing more he can do but let them fight it out. While Ken volunteers to be their referee, Valt goes to sit with Daigo on the bench. Shu joins them shortly after, a damp towel draped around his shoulders and a water bottle in hand.

“Did I miss something? What’s got Rantaro mad at Wakiya this time?” he asks, but he doesn’t sound all that interested in an answer.

“Honcho’s just feeling left out since he got stuck with set-up crew for the cultural fest,” Valt explains, his gaze drifting to Rantaro. “I’ll make sure to cheer him up, though. I always know how to get him to smile again.” Shu gives him a funny look, and in his peripheral vision he thinks Daigo is side-eyeing him as well, making him feel self-conscious all of a sudden. “Wh-What is it? Is there something on my face?”

“No, it’s nothing,” Shu takes a sip from his water bottle, but the way he says it isn’t exactly reassuring. “Just take care of him, then.”

“Uh, sure,” Valt replies dumbly. Glancing back at Daigo doesn’t yield any hints either, since his gaze is focused on Rantaro and Wakiya’s battle. Was Valt missing something here?

—

Valt feels kind of bad that Rantaro is put to work right away while he and Ken are still only planning out their costumes—Toko and Nika have told him in the past that he has a good zombie impression, and Ken decided to be a Frankenstein-esque monster. They’re sitting in the school’s spacious art room coming up with a list of things they’ll need to make their costumes while Rantaro and several other students are carrying wooden stands and boxes of supplies for the props back and forth. It’s a bit chaotic with the art students being indecisive about what they want to use, but Valt and Ken are having a good time poking fun at Rantaro’s struggle. Having left his jacket in Valt’s care so it wouldn’t get in the way, Rantaro has his sleeves rolled up and his hair is starting to look ruffled from how much lifting he’s been doing, but somehow Valt thinks he still looks kinda cool like this. That’s not weird, is it?

“Valt? Hey, Valt!” Keru’s sharp teeth pinching at his ear catches Valt off guard, yanking his attention away from Rantaro.

“Yowch!! What was that for?” he whines, rubbing his ear as Ken gives him a flat stare.

“You looked like your brain left your head for a good few minutes,” Keru replies before Besu cuts in, sounding more curious. “What were you busy staring at?”

“Oh, uh…” Valt suddenly feels shy, though he’s sure it’s just from being put on the spot like this. “I was just… thinking how different Honcho looks without his jacket, y’know? I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.” Ken’s expression is skeptical as he shifts his gaze from Valt to Rantaro.

“I guess so,” Besu muses, but then something else catches Ken’s attention and Besu raises a tiny paw. “Though I think you’re not the only one who sees that.” When Valt turns his head to follow Ken’s gaze, he spots a couple of girls looking in Rantaro’s direction and giggling to each other. It doesn’t seem like they’re making fun of him or anything. In fact, it looks like they’re… blushing? For some reason, that sets something off in Valt that makes him want to get up and do something, though he’s not sure what or why.

“Hey, Ken, check this out,” he says the first thing that comes to mind, and before Ken can reply, Valt starts sneaking over to the girls. He slips behind shelves and easels until he reaches them, and then he gives them a light slap on the back with a loud, “BOO!” They both let out startled yelps, and when they whirl around to see a snickering Valt, they leave him with indignant complaints and light shoves of their own before finding somewhere else to be. When Valt returns, Ken looks mildly surprised.

“What’d you do that for?” Besu asks, sounding genuinely confused.

“What do you mean? That was practice. I startled them pretty good, right?” Valt replies with a satisfied grin.

“I mean, sure. But did you really have to?”

Valt pauses. Maybe he didn’t, but before he can try to explain himself, Rantaro makes his way over to them and all but collapses into a chair.

“Help, I’m dying,” Rantaro groans, wiping his forehead on his sleeve. “You two having fun watching me struggle?”

“Tons.” Snickering, Valt reaches over and ruffles Rantaro’s hair before he can swat back at him. “You should’ve seen how I scared some of our classmates, though!” Rantaro stops fixing his hair momentarily to give Valt a disbelieving look.

“You? Scary? Please, you’re like a cute ‘n’ cuddly teddy bear. I bet they were just playing along,” Rantaro scoffs and Valt starts fumbling for words because he isn’t cute!! But also, did Rantaro just call him cute?

“I’m not a teddy bear! I did scare ‘em, for real! Back me up here, Ken!” Valt sends a pleading stare in Ken’s direction, but all he does is shrug.

“‘Scare’ might be a bit much. ‘Startle’ is more like it,” Keru points out, and now Rantaro is the one snickering while Valt sputters in defense. He’s definitely not cute like Rantaro says. He can be scary, and he’s going to prove it somehow.

“I’m not cute,” Valt mumbles under his breath, imagining that he’s Valtryek slamming into the stadium walls in frustration during club practice. “I’m totally scary.”

“What are you going on about over there?” Wakiya raises an eyebrow from the other side of the stadium as Wyvron waits in the center for Valtryek to make a move.

“Honcho doesn’t think I can be scary and compared me to a teddy bear. Can you believe that? I’m not cute!!” Valt fumes, and he’s too busy watching Valtryek bounce off the walls to notice Wakiya gaping at him.

“He called you cute,” Wakiya states, and it’s a good thing Rantaro was asked to stay behind to help some more, otherwise he and Valt would probably be bickering right now.

“He basically did! But I totally scared those girls before he came over!” Valt protests a little too loudly. 

“You sure you didn’t scare ‘em just ‘cuz they were staring at Honcho?” Keru pipes up to the side of the stadium where Ken and Shu are watching while Daigo acts as referee. That seems to get all eyes on Valt, and he squirms under the attention.

“Of course not! It just seemed like good practice for the cultural fest!” Valt insists, because it’s the truth—at least, that’s what he tells himself. Why would he care about something like that, anyways?

“Oh, you poor, poor thing,” Wakiya sighs and shakes his head. “If that’s how it’s going to be, how about I teach you how to be scarier? As the king of evil, it’s in my job description to know how to scare those beneath me into submission.”

“Really? You’ll help me?” Valt gasps, eyes shining in excitement.

“Wakiya, what are you doing,” Shu cuts in, shooting him a suspicious look through narrowed eyes. “You know this would be much easier if—“

“You shush! A self-righteous hero like you wouldn’t understand the brilliance of my plan,” Wakiya interrupts, waving a hand at Shu in dismissal. “Now don’t you have some training to do somewhere else? After this battle, Valt and I have some scaring to do and I can’t have you distracting him.” Scowling, Shu throws his hands up in defeat and stands up, about to leave before Daigo catches his arm.

“Don’t worry about them. If things get out of hand, I’ll step in,” he promises, and Shu’s expression softens. He nods gratefully to Daigo, then quietly takes his leave. Meanwhile, Valt shifts his focus back to his battle with Wakiya, a newfound determination driving him forward. With Wakiya’s help, he’ll prove Rantaro wrong for sure.

—

The next day, Valt puts Wakiya’s lessons to practice as soon as he can. Determined to scare Rantaro, he even woke up early just to get to school first. He knows what route Rantaro usually takes to get to class, so it’s easy enough for Valt to avoid being seen and sneak up to Rantaro like Wakiya taught him. Staying light on his feet, knowing when to stop and hide when his mark gets suspicious, and taking slow, steady breaths so when he finally gets close enough, he can suck in a deep breath and yell at the top of his lungs—

“Not gonna happen, Valt. I saw you following me two hallways back,” Rantaro says without turning around, and Valt wheezes like he just inhaled a mouthful of secondhand smoke.

“How— How did you catch me??” gasping for his breath back, Valt hurries to catch up to Rantaro when he keeps walking ahead.

“It’s not exactly hard to miss hair like yours. Not that I’d even need it to pick you out from a crowd when you always stand out to me anyways.” Rantaro smirks and ruffles Valt’s hair despite his squirming. “Just give it up, already.” Valt pouts and grumbles under his breath because he did everything Wakiya told him and yet he failed. What was Rantaro trying to say about him, anyways? That Valt would never be able to sneak up on him no matter how hard he tries?

Just you wait, Valt resolves silently. I’ll scare you so bad you’ll be crying like a baby.

“This is so unfair. And even after I followed all of Wakiya’s advice,” Valt whines while Ken takes his measurements. Ken had asked his parents to help with their costumes since all their puppets and props are handmade, so once Ken and Valt can find some old clothes they can use, Ken’s parents can help them make some adjustments. Like last time, they’re off to the side of the art room while the art students order Rantaro and the rest of the set-up crew around, and Valt almost wishes he brought some fake spiders or something to put in Rantaro’s jacket pockets before he returns it to him. Since Ken is busy scribbling down numbers on a notepad with Besu, Keru is the one who speaks up.

“Why is it such a big deal, anyways? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so worked up about something other than blading,” he observes before his mouth is busy holding one end of the measuring tape and then Ken is speaking to him directly. “Arms up, please.”

“Well, I have to prove Honcho wrong!” Valt huffs and raises his arms so Ken can wrap the measuring tape around his torso.

“Is it really that bad if Honcho thinks you’re cute instead of scary?” Ken asks, leveling a stare at Valt when he looks up from his measuring. For some reason, even just the mention of Rantaro thinking he’s cute makes Valt feel defensive, like he just can’t accept it. Why would he want to be called cute by Rantaro in the first place?

“Of course it’s bad, if I wanna do a good job at the festival, I’ve gotta be scary,” he explains as if it’s obvious. Ken looks unimpressed with his answer.

“You know, sometimes I wonder how your mind works.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. You can stop T-posing now.”

Lunchtime finds the bey club members on the rooftop like always. As usual, Valt has a bento box packed with baked goods courtesy of his mom, though it’s hard not to be a bit envious of the homemade pasta Shu brings in his lunch box every day. They’re all starting to go through their routine of trading snacks and side dishes when Rantaro lets out a groan next to Valt.

“Aw, man! I totally forgot to bring my lunch today!” he realizes, scrubbing at his hair in frustration. “I even had it set out next to Ranjiro’s, too. Must’ve forgotten to grab it before I left this morning.” Before he can even start to sulk, Valt looks down at his own lunch and holds it out to Rantaro without hesitation.

“Here, Honcho. You can have some of mine,” he offers. Although Valt practically inhales his lunch in its entirety, he always has enough to share if anyone asks. And besides, he doesn’t want Rantaro to go hungry. Rantaro blinks, looking down at the bento box and then back up at Valt with an expression Valt can’t decipher.

“You sure?” Rantaro asks, and then he’s smirking. “You’re gonna need all that if you wanna grow up big and scary for the festival.” That catches Valt by surprise, and he makes a show of snatching back his lunch with an indignant huff.

“Well, fine, if you don’t want any,” he turns away snootily before Rantaro starts to make a fuss.

“W-Wait, I was just joking! Come on, I’m starving over here!” Rantaro laughs nervously, and as if on cue, his stomach lets out a growl. Valt makes the mistake of glancing back over his shoulder because then Rantaro is giving him puppy dog eyes and his resolve comes crumbling down. Maybe it’s because they’ve been best friends for so long, but Valt just can’t seem to say no when it comes to Rantaro. Sure, that must be the reason.

“Just give it to him already, I’m gonna be sick if I have to watch this happen any longer,” Wakiya’s nagging pulls Valt out of his thoughts, and he hurriedly hands Rantaro one part of his multi-tiered bento box.

“Thanks, you’re the best,” Rantaro beams at him, and Valt can’t help but bask in the warmth of his smile. “Oh sweet, mini pork buns? Dude, I love your mom’s baking.” Valt feels his pulse skyrocket before Rantaro finishes his sentence, but he reasons to himself that it’s because he’d given Rantaro part of his bento without checking which one first and it just happens to be the one he’d been looking forward to eating. However, Rantaro looks so excited about it that Valt can’t bring himself to ask for it back. He can just ask his mom to make more, anyways.

“You’re lucky I’m such a nice guy,” Valt keeps trying to keep up the act, though there’s a smile tugging at his lips.

“Yeah, I must be the luckiest guy on the planet!” Rantaro laughs light-heartedly, reaching an arm over Valt’s shoulders to give him a side hug. Valt feels his face get a little warmer all of a sudden, though he doesn’t have the chance to really think about it before the groaning of their friends interrupts them.

“God, can you guys be any more obvious?” Wakiya bemoans as Ken and Shu grumble in agreement.

“They might just be a lost cause,” Daigo shrugs in resignation, quietly busying himself with his own lunch and pretending Valt and Rantaro aren’t there.

“What’re you guys talking about? Obvious about what?” Rantaro frowns, sounding just as confused as Valt feels.

“See? Case in point,” Daigo concludes. He doesn’t budge an inch no matter how much Valt tries to ask him about it afterwards, and the others also clam up even with Rantaro trying to wheedle the answer out of them, too. Valt isn’t sure why they’re being so secretive all of a sudden, but Rantaro doesn’t seem to be too concerned about it, so maybe he shouldn’t be, either. It’s probably nothing too important.

—

Valt doesn’t know when it happened. Maybe he’d been too busy with his own preparations or taking more advice from Wakiya. He likes to think he pays attention to his friends, but it isn’t until today that he notices something seems different about Rantaro. Since Valt and Ken have easier jobs, they often find themselves with extra time for themselves while acting as moral support for Rantaro. During that time, Valt finds himself keeping an eye out for other students who might be ogling his best friend while he works. Not for reasons anyone else might think, but because he doesn’t want anyone distracting Rantaro, of course. And it would make the perfect opportunity for Valt to practice his scaring. So when Valt overhears some other students from the set-up crew talking about Rantaro, it comes as a surprise that Valt hadn’t noticed earlier.

“Kiyama’s really stepped up, hasn’t he? I’m glad somebody did, otherwise the art students would still be aimlessly pushing us around,” Valt hears one of them say.

“Guess he really does live up to his title. That’s pretty cool,” another one comments, and when Valt turns to look, there Rantaro stands, surrounded by other students. He looks like the picture perfect image of a leader, calmly giving directions and discussing objectives with his fellow classmates who give him their undivided attention. Valt supposes he’d been watching the people around him rather than Rantaro himself, but now that he really looks at him, it’s like Valt can’t look away. It’s not like he hasn’t seen Rantaro take the lead before—he helps coach the younger bey club members all the time, though admittedly alongside Valt and the others—but seeing him being the center of attention as he rallies everyone in a spirited cheer before they get to work is something else entirely, and the confidence with which Rantaro carries himself makes Valt’s heart skip a beat.

“You’re staring,” comes Keru’s voice from next to him, causing Valt to rip his gaze away from Rantaro before he can catch him gawking, too. His face feels unnaturally warm.

“I-I was just curious why they were talking about Honcho!!” Valt stammers. He doesn’t like how Ken is giving him that flat stare again.

“He didn’t say anything about Honcho, silly,” Besu points out, and Valt can practically feel his cheeks colour red with embarrassment. 

“I— That’s—“ Valt opens and closes his mouth like a goldfish, unable to think of an explanation for his actions, even to himself. He promptly gives up and aborts the operation. “Wh-Whatever, I should be getting more tips from Wakiya. Come on!”

“Huh? Wait, but what about Honcho?” Besu asks before Valt is grabbing Ken by the wrist and pulling him to his feet.

“I thought we weren’t talking about him!” Valt huffs back, already starting to drag Ken out of the art room. It’s a good thing Rantaro is too busy to notice them, because right now Valt doesn’t think he can be in the same room as him right now, though he doesn’t even know why.

—

Over the following week, Valt finds himself feeling more and more frustrated. Not only does he keep failing to scare Rantaro even after Wakiya’s lessons, but Rantaro has been getting busier with the festival preparations to the point where he hasn’t been able to come to bey club practice as often. Valt keeps forgetting when he goes to look for Rantaro to practice together, or when he tells a banger joke and expects to hear Rantaro’s warm laugh next to him even if no one else finds it funny. He starts to wish he hadn’t left Rantaro to be stuck with the set-up crew because it just feels a little lonely without him around all the time like Valt is used to, and if he’s being honest with himself, Valt doesn’t really like the fact that he can’t always be around to make sure no one is trying to distract Rantaro from working, either.

“Sounds like you just want his attention,” Shu comments after Valt finishes ranting to him about his woes during practice, barely giving Valt time to catch his breath before cutting right to the chase. “Are you sure you don’t just have a crush on him?”

“Wha— Where’d that come from all of a sudden?? What’s that got to do with anything?” Valt gapes at him, flabbergasted. He’s glad Shu isn’t a loud talker, because he’d really rather not have this conversation with the other bey club members right now.

“Valt,” Shu sighs, taking his eyes off the stadium for the first time since Valt started talking, “It’s not a bad thing if you like Rantaro, you know. None of us would judge you for it. We’d support you all the way.” Valt finds himself at a loss for words. Him, having a crush on Rantaro? His best friend?? It sounds so ridiculous hearing it out loud that Valt can’t help but laugh.

“I don’t know where you could’ve gotten that idea, but you’re way off base,” he chuckles, but Shu isn’t smiling. “Wait, are you being serious? Shu, Honcho’s my best friend. That’d be like… like having a crush on you! Or Ken, or Daigo, or even Wakiya!” Shu just raises an eyebrow at him, and Valt doesn’t realize he’s been raising his voice until Wakiya scoffs from behind him where he’s practicing with Daigo on another stadium they brought up from the gym while Ken referees their match.

“It’s no use, Shu. You might as well just let things happen on their own,” Wakiya drawls. 

“You know you’ll have to suffer through it too, Mister Acting Coach,” Shu replies, and Valt doesn’t know what they’re going on about, but he agrees that Shu should just leave the matter alone.

“Please, do you think I don’t know that? At least my way gets some free entertainment out of it,” Wakiya scoffs again, flipping his bangs just to annoy Shu. Worried that they might start fighting, Valt looks over to Ken and Daigo, but he notices they’ve been whispering to each other and glancing in Valt’s direction. Their eyes meet, and when Ken and Daigo exchange a look of understanding, Valt feels an unknown emotion tugging at his chest. It’s no secret that Ken and Daigo are the closest with each other, but Valt has never felt this way seeing them being able to communicate without needing words. Why does he feel like this, and why only now? Valt wishes he had the answers.

“Valt, eyes front,” Shu scolds him, jolting Valt from his thoughts. That’s right, there’s no time to worry about any of that stuff when he should be focusing on the battle in front of him. Whatever it is, his friends are probably just blowing things out of proportion.

—

With the other bey club members busy with their own preparations, Valt decides to have lunch with Aiger today. Though he isn’t part of the Beigoma bey club or even Ranjiro’s bey gang, Aiger has proved himself a blader worthy of respect. It’s all thanks to Valt getting him into blading in the first place, so they’ve become quite close friends over the years that they’ve known each other. Like always, Aiger is having lunch at the school’s animal pen so he can feed the livestock at the same time. Valt had already gotten started on his own lunch by the time Aiger flops down next to him on the grass, and of course the topic of the cultural festival is bound to come up.

“You guys are lucky, I’d much rather do a haunted house than a dumb fancy cafe. I don’t even know if I can memorize the whole menu or carry a buncha shit on a tray without spilling anything!” Aiger laments, and for someone as impatient and outdoorsy as Aiger, Valt understands why he wouldn’t like running around taking orders in a stuffy uniform.

“Well, you said Cap’n’s also gonna be a waiter with you, right?” Valt asks, noticing how Aiger suddenly tenses up. “Why don’t you guys just practice together or something? I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

“No way. Nuh-uh,” Aiger resolutely shakes his head. “Cap’n’s the one who said I’m probably gonna break all the cups within the first twenty minutes, so I’ve gotta do this on my own and prove him wrong! I’m gonna show him I can be an even better waiter than him!” Valt lets out an amused laugh at their similar situations.

“That sounds just like me and Honcho. He thinks I’m not scary enough to be a monster.”

“Huh? That’s crazy, you have a great zombie impression! Seriously, what’s the Kiyamas’ problem?”

“I know, right? They could at least try to have some faith in us.”

Valt likes hanging out with Aiger. Though he may be hot-headed at times, it’s easy to talk to him about anything—even things Valt feels like his other friends might not understand, like how it’s actually a big deal that he needs to show Rantaro just how scary he can be. The rest of their lunch period carries on like that; the two of them commiserating over their frustrations and finding comfort in petting the sheep and rabbits that come their way. When it’s time for them to get back to their classes, they wish each other luck and promise to get closer to their own goals the next time they hang out. Valt really hopes Aiger will be able to impress Ranjiro. After all, it’s pretty obvious how Aiger has a huge crush on the younger Kiyama.

—

Valt had been feeling much more energized since his lunch with Aiger, focusing all of his efforts into his lessons with Wakiya and making adjustments to his costume with Ken once they’d secured some old clothes they could use. Despite the frustration of being deprived of Rantaro’s presence, Valt feels like he’s starting to make some good progress. That is, until one day while they’re working and Valt had been too busy with Ken that he forgot he was also supposed to be guarding Rantaro from any distractions.

Valt had been trying to rip the sleeve of his costume with his hands for a more rugged look, even considering using his teeth when he hears giggling, and then the sound of Rantaro’s voice. Whipping his head around, he catches the group of girls from before standing around Rantaro. From what Valt can hear, they seem to be asking Rantaro to carry some things for them. It wouldn’t bother him so much if it weren’t for the fact that it looks like they sought out Rantaro specifically, or that Rantaro is starting to look flustered from all the attention. Valt doesn’t understand why, but more than feeling annoyed at himself that he let other people get in the way of Rantaro’s work or that only Rantaro is being asked to help, he feels his chest squeeze painfully, preventing him from going over there and scaring the girls away again. If Valt has to leave Rantaro alone so he won’t distract him, why should these people be allowed to? Why does it feel like Rantaro is so far away even if they’re only a few meters apart?

“Um, Valt?” Realizing he’s been staring again, Valt whips his head over at the sound of Besu’s hesitant voice.

“Y-Yeah?” he replies, trying to sound casual even though his emotions are a mess right now. 

“Are you okay?” Ken is speaking now, brow furrowed in concern for his friend. “You look… upset.” Upset? Is that what he’s feeling? But even though Valt can fix the problem by just walking over to Rantaro, he feels… unreachable. What if Rantaro just gets mad at him for trying to scare their classmates? 

Why does Valt even care so much?

“It’s nothing, I’m fine,” he says finally, forcing a smile so he won’t worry Ken, but he still looks hesitant.

“Are you sure?” Ken asks, but Valt just smiles harder.

“Yeah, just got distracted. We should get back to work,” he deflects, leaving no room for further discussion as he starts talking about his lunch with Aiger instead. Ken seems reluctant, but he goes along with it anyways, to Valt’s relief. He just wants to think about something else right now instead of the twisting, sinking feeling in his stomach.

—

Valt doesn’t want to think about it. He tries not to think about it. It shouldn’t be this hard, especially with how easily thoughts pass through his head, like yesterday’s math lesson or Shu talking about the specs of the new bicycle he’s saving up for. But the image of Rantaro surrounded by girls showering him in attention keeps popping up in Valt’s head, causing his focus to wander and his mood to fluctuate from annoyance to confusion to loneliness. He wants to stop feeling like this. He wants his best friend back.

By the next day during club practice, Valt is still feeling listless, and it’s obvious in the way his battles are less than enthusiastic. It’s not hard to miss to the other bey club members, and after giving each other knowing looks, Ken and Daigo pull Valt off to the side while Shu and Wakiya continue practicing together.

“Valt, is something the matter?” Besu opens the conversation gently, but Valt doesn’t like the feeling of being coddled.

“What do you mean? Everything’s fine,” he says, a little more serious than he intended.

“Come on, it’s obvious there’s something bothering you,” Daigo chimes in. “You can talk to us about it. We’re your friends, we’ll help you out with whatever it is.”

“Is it about Honcho?” Besu tries to coax out the answer, like he already knows. “If it is, we can—“

“Why do you assume it’s about him? He’s not all I think about, you know!” Valt snaps without really meaning to, because they don’t understand how he feels. How could they, when Valt doesn’t even understand it himself? But it’s too late to take it back when he sees the shocked expressions on his friends’ faces. In fact, seeing Ken and Daigo exchange another look that seems to convey their thoughts to each other just makes Valt feel more annoyed.

“So yesterday didn’t bother you at all, then?” Keru presses, refusing to just let the subject drop. “You were fine with those girls flirting with Honcho?” That strikes a chord in Valt, causing him to pause. Hearing it being put into words like that makes it that much harder to process, but Daigo doesn’t give him a chance to think about it.

“Would you be okay with it if Honcho got asked out? Be honest,” he goes in for the kill, and Valt goes completely still. Then he clenches his fists in anger.

“Why is that any of my business? I couldn’t care less about who he dates!” he nearly growls, doubling down on his stance if it means they’ll leave him alone. Daigo crosses his arms, clearly not intending to back down.

“It’s a little bit of your business, since you’re his best friend,” is Daigo’s counter, his tone as sharp as Doomscizor’s Double Strike. Feeling backed into a corner, Valt channels his inner Valtryek and digs into the ground for the extra speed boost he needs to leave this conversation as quickly as possible.

“Whatever! Honcho can do what he wants, I’m not his mom,” he scoffs and starts to turn away. He needs to get out of here. “I’m done talking about this. See ya later.” Shouldering past them, Valt leaves Ken and Daigo staring after him. He pays no mind to their concerned gazes on his back as he heads for the stairs, determined not to show just how bothered he really is about the whole thing. What exactly were they trying to say about him, anyways? Rantaro is his best friend, but that doesn’t mean Valt is obsessed with him. They’re friends, and that’s all. 

Just friends.

—

Before Valt really knows what he’s doing, he finds himself on the first-years’ floor during lunch. Maybe he just needs to prove to himself that he really doesn’t care if Rantaro was asked out, so he’s looking for the first person who would know if Rantaro’s relationship status had changed. Luckily, it isn’t hard to spot the tall, blond hair through the classroom windows, and when Valt pokes his head through the door, Ranjiro immediately looks up from his conversation with a couple members of the Wild Bey Gang to meet his gaze.

“Valt? What’re you doing here?” Ranjiro asks, hopping off the desk he’s sitting on to meet Valt at the door. He glances over Valt’s shoulder, as if expecting someone else to be there, too. “Hmm. Have you seen Aiger? I haven’t been able to find him anywhere.”

“Oh, no, I haven’t seen him today,” Valt replies, and he can’t help but put his own question aside to give Ranjiro a smirk. “Why, are you worried about him?” 

“Huh? Wh-Whaddya mean, he needs his measurements taken for the uniform he’s gonna use for the cultural festival!” Ranjiro says hurriedly, like he knows what Valt is thinking. “If he keeps avoiding it, it won’t be my fault he won’t have a uniform that fits.” Crossing his arms, Ranjiro looks away from Valt’s probing stare before remembering his initial question. “So what’re you here for, anyways?”

Valt hesitates, suddenly feeling nervous. There’s an obvious change in atmosphere as Ranjiro glances back at him when he doesn’t answer right away, and Valt is relieved when Ranjiro nudges him into the hallway so he can shut the classroom door behind him. There are a couple other students around, but none that Valt is worried about eavesdropping on their conversation. Ranjiro is looking at him more seriously now, his brow furrowed in concern.

“So? Spill it, you’re worrying me here,” he urges, gnawing on his lollipop stick. His mannerisms are so much like Rantaro’s, down to the way he immediately recognizes when something’s bothering his friends. It just makes Valt’s chest tighten even more when he thinks about Rantaro and how he might not be ready to know if he got asked out after all, but Valt has already come all this way to ask. He can’t back out now.

“Well, I was wondering if you knew… if Honcho’s dating anyone,” Valt mumbles, the words feeling like cotton in his mouth. He’s almost ashamed at how difficult it was for him to ask because he’s not supposed to care this much, but then Ranjiro is making some sort of confused noise.

“That’s what you came here to ask me? Man, you almost had me there!” he lets out a sigh of relief, and it’s followed by a laugh. “Do you really think Rantaro has the ability to commit to something other than blading? That’s a good one, Valt!” And it shouldn’t feel like such a huge weight has been lifted from Valt’s shoulders. He shouldn’t feel this relieved—this happy —that Rantaro would’ve had to turn someone down if he was asked out. Valt doesn’t know what it all means, and he doesn’t know if he wants to find out. 

It feels like his body is on autopilot when he laughs along with Ranjiro before a lull in their conversation provides him with an exit point, and after thanking Ranjiro for his time, Valt makes his way back to class feeling just as listless as before. Except this time, he’s starting to feel scared and confused because this isn’t how friends normally think about each other. He shouldn’t have felt so… so jealous about other people getting to hog all of Rantaro’s attention if they’re just supposed to be friends.

Right. Just friends.

Why does that thought make Valt feel so empty? What else could he possibly want?

Shaking the thoughts from his head, Valt decides to stop thinking about it. In fact, he should be thinking about going to see Wakiya for more tips instead. The day of the cultural festival is starting to loom over the horizon, and Valt should be focusing on what he set out to do in the first place.

—

He’s going to try again. With another lesson from Wakiya under his belt, Valt is going to try scaring Rantaro once more in hope that it’ll clear up his mind of all the tangled mess of thoughts that’s been plaguing him. Maybe he needs to remind himself what this is all for in the first place. Maybe he just needs to be around Rantaro to feel normal again.

Valt finds Rantaro in a scarcely-populated hallway putting up posters advertising their class’ attraction for the cultural festival. With Rantaro facing the wall, Valt has the chance to tiptoe up to him and just as Rantaro turns, Valt slams his hands on either side of Rantaro’s head, caging him against the wall.

“Oh, hey Valt,” Rantaro greets him, completely unphased. “Your sneaking’s getting better, at least.” Valt doesn’t reply and just continues staring intensely at Rantaro, who’s starting to look confused.

Intimidation is the key to instilling fear, Wakiya had told him. Imagine you’re a hunter that’s cornered its prey. You might be smaller, but even just a stare can paralyze your target when they see how dead-set you are on finishing the job.

He’s not planning on eating him, Wakiya, Daigo had cut in, but it turns out that he had some advice for Valt, too. Honcho will probably be expecting you to shout or something, so maybe don’t say anything at all. That might get him on edge.

With that in mind, Valt keeps his mouth shut and puts all his efforts into staring Rantaro down. When he thinks about what would fire the intensity of his glare, the first thing to pop into Valt’s head is the memory of Rantaro being surrounded by girls trying to monopolize his attention. It certainly grinds on his nerves, but the more he thinks about it, the less he thinks about what’s happening in front of him.

“Uh, Valt? You… You doing okay there?” Rantaro’s voice manages to cut through his thoughts, and to Valt’s credit, Rantaro is starting to look a little nervous. However, it does nothing to change how frustrated Valt feels, both at how hung up he still is about that day and how it feels like it matters more than scaring Rantaro. In fact, what’s actually scary is how Valt is slowly realizing he’s starting to feel different about his best friend. And how those feelings might mean something that Valt isn’t ready to face.

Taking a step back, Valt searches Rantaro’s face as if he holds all the answers to his problems. What do I do now? he wants to ask, but his throat feels clogged up. Rantaro must have noticed the change of circumstances, his expression morphing into one of concern. But just as he takes a step forward, Valt flinches back as if he’s scared of Rantaro’s touch. Without thinking, Valt takes off, leaving Rantaro shouting after him in confusion as he shoves past other students in his way. This isn’t what was supposed to happen.

This isn’t how he’s supposed to feel.

—

With the festival date approaching, Valt starts avoiding Rantaro. Whenever they have class together, Valt makes sure to arrive just as it starts and leave as soon as it ends, not giving Rantaro a chance to corner him about what happened. He feels bad using Ken as a buffer between them since he doesn’t know what happened, but with how stressed Valt seemed lately, Ken took pity on him and agreed to help give Valt some space from Rantaro. Space that Valt needs to sort out these feelings that are threatening to burst out of his chest and swallow him whole if he doesn’t do anything about them.

However, that doesn’t stop Valt from watching over Rantaro like a hawk while he works. With his and Ken’s costumes practically finished, leaving just their makeup to figure out, Valt finds his gaze continuously returning to Rantaro, glaring at anyone who tries to approach him and isn’t part of the set-up crew. At the very least, it’s a relief to know he can scare off other people with just a look. But with Rantaro… Maybe Valt just wants to make him proud. Maybe he wants to impress Rantaro. Like how Aiger wants to impress Ranjiro.

Wait. That would mean…

Valt shakes his head. Rantaro is his best friend, and he’s happy with that. I’m happy the way things are now, he thinks, despite feeling like he’s trying to convince himself of the fact.

Just how long can he keep this up?

—

“Guys, I think we have a problem,” Besu says quietly as Ken watches Daigo and Shu practice with each other from the bench. “It’s about Valt.”

“You mean how he hasn’t shown up for practice yet? Obviously there’s something wrong,” Wakiya points out next to him, but underneath his snide is a hint of genuine concern. Daigo and Shu glance up from their battle, too.

“Honcho hasn’t been looking too great lately, either,” Daigo points out. “He’s already bummed about missing practice a lot, but I think something else happened between him and Valt.” Shu narrows his eyes as Spryzen lands a hit on Doomscizor, sending it skidding back before it rights itself again.

“So, Mister Acting Coach,” Shu starts, casting a pointed glance at Wakiya, “Do you still think things will just work out on their own?” Wakiya sputters on a reply, but seems to think better of it and sinks back against the bench.

“What should we do? Valt’s been really gloomy about it, and if this keeps going on, he and Honcho might…” Besu trails off, unable to finish the thought.

“I’ll talk to Valt,” Shu sighs, running a hand through his hair. “It’s what I should’ve done from the start.” He flinches at the sound of Doomscizor clashing with Spryzen at the center of the stadium, and when he looks up, Daigo nods at him.

“Then we’ll talk to Honcho. He might feel better if he’s got all of us to listen to his side,” he suggests, and when he looks over to Ken, it seems they’re already on the same wavelength. 

“It’s not like I meant for this to happen,” Wakiya grumbles under his breath, and Shu’s expression softens.

“It’s not your fault, Wakiya. They were already like this from the start,” he offers a small smile and Wakiya looks away, flustered. “All we can do now is help them patch things up before it gets worse. Okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, love and friendship and all that sappy stuff,” Wakiya huffs, crossing his arms. “They’d better be dating when this is all over or I’m filing a lawsuit.”

—

A few days later, Valt sits by the animal coop picking at his lunch, breaking off small pieces of his bey bread to give to the chickens that are gathered around him while Aiger feeds the rest of the animals. Things don’t seem to be going well for either of them, but at least they can take comfort in knowing they aren’t the only ones.

“It’s hopeless. I can barely remember what I did in class yesterday, much less remember someone’s order,” Aiger bemoans, letting one of the sheep eat the grains out of his hand. “And even with Naru’s help, I only managed to break four mugs and nearly set the dorm’s kitchen on fire. I’m never gonna prove myself to Ranjiro like this.” Valt gives him a sympathetic smile. He’s sure Aiger doesn’t need to do anything extra special to impress Ranjiro, but it doesn't hurt to encourage him. He’s already trying so hard, and Valt wants to see him succeed.

“Why not treat it like blading?” he suggests. “You can remember the names of different beys as well as their types and abilities no problem, so why not think of customers’ orders the same way? And for balancing dishes, think of it as balance and strength training!” Aiger is quiet for a moment, and Valt watches as he turns over the idea in his head before nodding to himself.

“Yeah… I think I can do that! Thanks, Valt!” Aiger flashes a grin, and Valt smiles back. He’s glad he could cheer Aiger up again, though it feels like there’s something else he should be telling him. Valt can’t recall what it is right now, though, so it must not be that important. And when Aiger plops down next to him with his own lunch, the thought has already left Valt’s head. “So what about you? Have you managed to scare Honcho yet?”

Valt’s hand stops, holding a piece of bread midair and causing an eager chicken to look up at him, confused. His smile becomes strained as he lowers his hand, letting the chicken pluck it from his fingers instead. His chest feels tight again.

“Nah… I don’t think it really matters anymore,” Valt admits, shoulders sagging. Aiger looks up at that, brow furrowed.

“What makes you say that? You were pretty set on it before,” he remarks with a frown.

“It just seems silly now. Honcho probably thinks it’s dumb and childish,” Valt tries to huff out a chuckle, but it comes out hollow. Aiger is looking concerned now, but Valt doubts that he could understand the mess of feelings inside him more than Valt himself. Fortunately, before Aiger can push the topic, Valt spots a familiar face approaching them from the animal pen’s gate.

“There you are, Valt,” Shu says in lieu of a greeting before turning to Aiger. “Do you mind if I take him? There’s something we need to talk about.” His tone is light, though Valt doesn’t like the direction this is going. He’s not sure whether he’d prefer to go with Shu or stay with Aiger, but then Aiger is looking at him and shrugs.

“Sure, I don’t mind. Cheer up though, okay Valt?” Aiger reaches over and gives Valt’s arm a gentle squeeze. Valt returns a small nod, appreciative of the gesture, but he can’t ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach as he follows Shu to a shaded spot outside the gymnasium. Although Rantaro is Valt’s best friend, Shu has still known him the longest, making him an expert at reading Valt’s emotions. That also means Shu knows exactly how to hit straight at the heart of most issues Valt has encountered, oftentimes in a way that forces Valt to face the problem head on, whether he’s ready for it or not. Which is why, as Shu finally turns to face him, Valt preemptively braces himself for what he’s about to say.

“You know what I’m going to say, don’t you,” Shu says, and it’s not phrased as a question. That doesn’t stop Valt from feigning ignorance, though.

“What if I don’t?” he mumbles, staring at his shoes. It’s half-true, since Valt can’t even make heads or tails of his own feelings, much less explain them to someone else.

“Valt,” Shu sighs, “You’re not being yourself. It’s unfair to Rantaro.” Valt bristles at that because what does Shu know? Is he an expert on Rantaro now, too?

“I don’t know what you mean,” he grits out, trying to avoid the point as long as possible so he won’t get pricked. Shu isn’t having any of it, though. Crossing his arms like Valt’s mom does when she’s disappointed in him, Shu fixes him with a stare sharp enough to cut through glass.

“Quit the act. The guys talked to Rantaro, and he thinks you hate him because of what he said,” he clicks his tongue in impatience. That gets Valt’s attention as his gaze snaps up to meet Shu’s.

“I— I don’t hate him!” he nearly yells. “I could never…!” Shu’s eyes turn gentle almost immediately, and as Valt’s voice falters, so does his facade.

“Then how do you really feel about him?” Shu asks, and it’s like something inside of Valt finally breaks.

“I…” Valt’s voice catches, but then he takes another breath, and it all comes tumbling out. “I like him. I like Honcho. I like him so much, he’s all I think about, but I don’t know what to do because he’s my best friend and that’s what we’ve always been, what if I ruin that? What if he doesn’t even feel the same? Shu, what do I do?” Valt notices Shu giving him a sympathetic look, and it isn’t until Shu walks up to him and brushes a thumb across his cheek that he realizes—

He’s crying.

“Shu,” Valt wibbles, and Shu wordlessly brings him in for a hug. He lets Valt cling to him, running a soothing hand up and down his back as Valt sniffles into his shirt. “Shu, I’m scared. I don’t know what to do.”

“It’s okay. I’ve got your back, remember?” Shu smiles softly. “I really think you should tell Rantaro how you feel so he doesn’t get the wrong message. Otherwise you might lose him either way.” Deep down, Valt feels like he’s known that all along, but it doesn’t make it any easier to hear put into words. 

“What do I even say?” he sniffs. Valt is no wordsmith, there’s just so many ways this could go wrong, and the thought of pushing Rantaro away for good makes him all the more afraid to face him again.

“Well, for starters, you could apologize for avoiding him,” Shu suggests, once again hitting Valt where it hurts. “Just tell Rantaro that you like him more than a friend. You have to be straightforward if you don’t want him getting the wrong idea again.”

“Easier said than done,” Valt mumbles miserably. “But what do I do if… if he doesn’t feel the same way?”

“Then he’s a bigger idiot than I give him credit for and he doesn’t deserve you.”

That gets a small laugh out of Valt. He pulls away to look Shu in the eye and finds him smiling softly at him.

“Thanks, Shu.”

“Don’t mention it. Just go get your man before we all go insane.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

—

The day of the cultural festival finally arrives, though Valt feels anything but excited. He had hoped the festive spirit would catch up to him once he was in costume, but with the thought of seeing Rantaro again weighing on his shoulders, Valt feels his doubts returning. Why did his feelings have to go and ruin everything in the first place when things were already fine the way they were? Except if Valt is being honest with himself, maybe he’s always felt this way about Rantaro, and the idea of losing him to someone else is what made him aware of those feelings. That would explain why making Rantaro happy has always been one of his top priorities next to blading, or why he feels the happiest whenever he’s the center of Rantaro’s attention. Or why he’s always paid a bit more attention to how Rantaro looks, like when he’s in the midst of battle or nodding off in class, or when he’s passionately explaining the plot of one of his mangas or laughing so hard there’s tears in his eyes, or when he’s giving directions to a group of people with the confidence of a leader or carrying heavy equipment with ease, or—

Okay, so Valt might be head over heels for him. But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s terrified of telling Rantaro how he feels to the point where Valt tries to put off seeing him as long as possible by hiding in the animal coop. It’s a bit crowded with all the livestock inside for the evening, but Valt is glad for their company. He understands why Aiger loves these animals so much because it really seems like they can pick up on Valt’s unease, gathering around him as he sits down as if to comfort him. A sheep lays down behind him while a few chickens huddle at his sides, and a rabbit even crawls onto his lap despite his costume. With all the hustle and bustle going on inside the school, Valt is sure he’ll have a little more time before someone notices he’s been missing, but the sound of the coop’s door opening catches him by surprise. He supposes it’s wishful thinking to hope it isn’t who he thinks it is, but even when he braces himself, Valt still feels his heart skip a beat when he sees Rantaro standing there looking ruffled and slightly out of breath.

“Found ya! What’re you doing here, man? Ken said you went to the bathroom, but you were gone for a while and I got worried,” he says like nothing’s changed between them, but Valt still notices the distance Rantaro keeps from him. He hates how far apart they’ve gotten, and how it’s partially his fault, if not mostly.

“S-Sorry. Got a little stagefright, I guess,” Valt mumbles, his nerves muddling his words and keeping his eyes low. He hears Rantaro take a cautious step towards him.

“Hey, you alright?” Rantaro’s voice is gentle as the chickens make way for him to kneel in front of Valt.

“I’m…” Valt feels like his heart is in his throat, but then the rabbit in his lap is looking up at him, prompting a response. “I’m… sorry, Honcho.”

“It’s fine, dude. You’ve always been a bit awkward in the spotlight, after all,” Rantaro chuckles, and that finally gets Valt to look up.

“No, I mean… I’m sorry for being a jerk. I haven’t been a good friend lately, and it wasn’t fair to you when you haven’t done anything wrong.” As much as Valt wants to go back to hiding away, he forces himself to keep eye contact with Rantaro so he knows Valt is being honest, and he watches with bated breath as Rantaro’s expression goes from concerned to relieved. 

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you don’t hate me for saying you weren’t cut out for this whole scaring thing,” Rantaro smiles sheepishly, then scoots over to sit a bit closer to Valt. “For the record, I think you’ll do a great job.” Valt is glad he’s wearing makeup right now because his face is feeling a lot warmer with Rantaro being so close and reassuring and giving him that grin he’s missed seeing so much. He never wants to make Rantaro feel bad because of him ever again.

“Actually, that’s not the reason why I was avoiding you,” using the momentum he’s gained, Valt pushes himself to continue even if he’s too embarrassed to keep looking Rantaro in the eye.

“It’s not?”

This is it. This is the moment Valt had stayed up late preparing for, practicing what to say and making a backup plan in case things don’t go the way he hoped. Shu had made it sound so easy, and maybe it is. Either way, Valt will never know until he tries.

“I actually… I was just confused because I…” Valt’s voice falters again and again, but then he shuts his eyes, takes a deep breath, and dives in. “I think I’m in love with you, dude.”

There’s a long silence. Valt had kinda been expecting one, and he keeps his eyes shut because he doesn’t trust himself not to tear up in anticipation of being rejected. But then he feels a gentle hand on top of his own, and when he opens his eyes again, Rantaro is smiling shyly at him, his face tinged red and his gaze so, so soft.

“You’ve no idea how glad I am to hear you say that,” he says finally, “Because I’ve been in love with you for the longest time.” Valt feels like his heart has stopped, or maybe he forgot to breathe because his head feels light. Is this real?

“You… really?” he nearly wheezes before remembering to take a breath.

“Yeah, really. You think I’d call just any guy cute?” Rantaro chuckles and slips his fingers in between Valt’s. “You’re the cutest guy I’ve ever met. Not to mention talented, hard-working, and stubborn in the most endearing way. I guess I’m just that into you that it’s hard to imagine you being scary to me.” Now Valt really does feel like he’s going to cry, but this time out of happiness. He gives Rantaro’s hand an experimental squeeze because he’s still not sure if this is actually happening, only to have Rantaro squeeze back. This is real.

“Honcho…”

“Hm? Ah, h-hey, don’t cry!” With a panicked expression, Rantaro’s free hand flits around Valt’s face, hesitant to touch his makeup. “Sorry, was that too much?” Valt sniffles, also in a panic to stop himself from tearing up even more.

“N-No, it’s not! I’m just… I didn’t think you’d…” he keeps latching onto different trains of thought in an attempt to explain himself before settling on, “I-I’m really happy right now.”

“Oh.” The tension seeps out of Rantaro’s shoulders before he’s smiling again. “Geez, you’re so cute. Can I kiss you?” Rantaro’s eyes are lingering on Valt’s lips, making him blush to the tips of his ears and maybe even past his neck, but he’s never been so sure of something before as he nods eagerly. He hears Rantaro swallow audibly before popping the lollipop out of his mouth, and it’s comforting knowing he’s probably just as nervous as Valt is when he starts to lean in. Letting his eyes fall shut, Valt tightens his hold on Rantaro’s hand just as their lips meet, and it feels like an explosion of butterflies is filling up his entire body. It’s as if the only things keeping Valt from floating away are their interconnected hands and Rantaro’s lips on his.

The kiss only lasts a few moments, and to Valt it’s a few moments too short. When Rantaro pulls away it looks like he’s about to say something, but Valt is much too impatient and grabs him by the front of his shirt to tug him in for another kiss, eliciting a surprised noise from Rantaro that’s muffled by Valt’s lips. Valt has never kissed anyone like this before—he’s never kissed anyone in general, really—and the way his lips press against Rantaro’s is probably clumsy and unsure, but it feels right and Rantaro isn’t pulling away. In fact, Valt feels Rantaro slide a hand into his hair, holding Valt gently like he’s made of glass while they kiss. When they eventually separate, both of them are slightly out of breath, and underneath his makeup, Valt is sure his face is just as red as Rantaro’s. The embarrassment of what just happened catches up to Valt quickly, and as a result he can’t help but break eye contact.

“I, um—“

“Go out with me.”

Blinking in shock, Valt’s gaze is drawn back to Rantaro’s like a magnet, and the look on his face is just as intense as when he’s in a bey battle.

“Go out with me, Valt,” Rantaro repeats, squeezing Valt’s hand again. “Let’s make it official, okay? Please be my boyfriend.” Despite how determined he sounds, Valt sees just a hint of uncertainty in Rantaro’s eyes. Desperately wanting to chase that feeling away, Valt nods his head, and then nods again.

“Yeah. Yeah, of course, Rantaro!” he beams, and he feels a little burst of pride at the way Rantaro suddenly looks flustered.

“Y-You said my name,” Rantaro says rather unintelligently, and this time it’s his turn to look away as Valt suppresses a laugh.

“I did,” Valt hums with a smile that’s just a bit smug. “Should I call you that more often?”

“Um, I mean. Y-You can call me whatever you want,” Rantaro stammers, and he looks so cute that Valt wants to kiss him again.

“Then I’ll call you Rantaro. My boyfriend. Mine,” he teases, and the laugh he’s been holding slips out as Rantaro lets go of his hand to grab him into a hug instead, hiding his reddened face in Valt’s hair. Though he’s not sure when, he’s glad the rabbit that was in his lap had hopped away, otherwise it might’ve been squished between them. “Honcho! You’re gonna ruin my makeup!”

“It’s your fault for being so cute,” he hears Rantaro huff, “So take responsibility, yeah?” Valt giggles, his heart feeling so, so full. He wriggles out of Rantaro’s grip just enough to look him in the eye again with a sly look.

“How about another kiss, then?” he suggests, and Rantaro sighs in fond exasperation.

“As much as I’d love to make out with you in a shed full of animals, we need to be heading back. I’m sure the festival’s already started, and we might get in trouble if we’re not back soon,” he says regretfully, and the sheep Valt had been leaning against bleats at them as if on cue.

“Fine,” Valt reluctantly agrees, but he can’t keep the smile off his face because of the fact that he can make out with Rantaro now that they’re dating, along with all the other romantic things couples can do. “But we’re definitely making out sometime soon.”

“Mm-hmm, I’ll be looking forward to it.”

—

When they get back to their classroom, which has been transformed into a haunted house along with the adjacent classroom and a bit of the conjoining hallway, Ken immediately assaults Valt with a stitched-up version of Keru, demanding what took him so long while chewing on Valt’s ear. However, it doesn’t escape Valt’s attention how relieved Ken looked seeing him and Rantaro return hand in hand. He suddenly remembers one of the last things Shu said to him, and it dawns on him that the rest of his friends were probably aware of his and Rantaro’s feelings for each other the whole time. There’s no doubt they won’t let him or Rantaro hear the end of it after this, but Valt knows it’s also thanks to them that he finally got together with Rantaro. He’ll have to ask his mom to help him make extra special bey bread to thank them later.

But for now, Valt has to focus on doing his job. And thanks to Wakiya, he feels much more confident he’ll get some screams out of people despite his small size. Before he goes to join Ken at their assigned spots, Valt looks back at Rantaro, who steps closer and takes hold of both his hands.

“Have fun, okay? You’re gonna be great,” Rantaro murmurs in encouragement, leaning in close so that they’re noses touch.

“Mmh. I’ll make you proud,” Valt promises, then presses one last kiss to Rantaro’s cheek before pulling away, turning on his heel and taking his leave before Rantaro can fully react. 

Valt may have been happy with their relationship before, but right now he thinks he’s never been happier.

During their break, Valt and Rantaro decide to visit Aiger and Ranjiro’s class while Ken goes to watch Shu, Daigo, and Wakiya’s play. It turns out Aiger never ended up getting his measurements taken for his uniform, and as a result he had to borrow one of the maid uniforms since there weren’t any others that fit him. The look on Aiger’s face is corrupted resonance-levels of murderous as Valt watches him serve customers, and he’s sure the only thing keeping Aiger remotely civil is his wish to impress Ranjiro. 

“This is humiliating, Valt,” Aiger immediately complains when he comes to his and Rantaro’s table to take their order. “And after all that practice, now I’m just one big joke. Do you know how many guys tried to hit on me?” From how grumpy Aiger looks, Valt guesses none of those guys were Ranjiro, though he doesn’t mention it out loud. 

“Well, the school isn’t on fire, so I think you’re at least doing a good job,” he tries. “And I guess that just means you look good in a dress if you’re getting that much attention!” He doesn’t want to say too much with Rantaro there, but when Valt glances over, he has a look of subdued amusement which makes Valt wonder if he knows something.

“Sure, but… I was hoping to impress Cap’n, y’know? It’s not fair he gets to look good in a suit while I’m stuck with this,” Aiger grumbles, fidgeting with the edge of his dress.

“I wouldn’t worry about that,” Rantaro pipes up to both Aiger and Valt’s surprise. “I’ve been watching Ranjiro, and he hasn’t been able to stop staring at you, if that means anything.” Rantaro is looking past Aiger, and when he and Valt turn to follow his gaze, there stands Ranjiro by the makeshift kitchen staring in their direction. When they make eye contact, Ranjiro tenses up and tries to look busy, but it’s hard to miss the way the tips of his ears turn red.

“Looks like Cap’n’s had his eye on you the whole time, Aiger. Good for you!” Valt grins, and it’s cute how Aiger’s face scrunches up in embarrassment, his cheeks turning rosy.

“Y-Yeah, whatever. That doesn’t mean he’ll ask me out or anything,” he mumbles under his breath.

“If he doesn’t by the end of today, I’m gonna tease him for being a scaredy-cat,” Rantaro sneers. Aiger immediately bristles at that.

“He’s not a scaredy-cat, you take that back!!” he snaps, but Rantaro just smirks at him. “Valt, tell your boyfriend to be nice to Cap’n!” Aiger turns his murder-stare over to Valt, who raises his hands in defense.

Maybe it wasn’t such a great idea to bring Rantaro with him.

—

While the festival begins to wind down, the bey club members gather on the roof still in costume, lit mostly by their phone screens. They chat idly about their evenings, though neither Valt nor Rantaro mention what happened in the animal coop—at least not yet. With the sun gone and instead replaced by occasional specks of stars dotting the sky, the autumn chill is setting in and Valt finds himself huddling closer to Rantaro for warmth. Rantaro casually throws an arm over his shoulder to bring him closer, but then Valt immediately feels Wakiya’s eyes zooming in on the two of them.

“Ah, I see you two have finally gotten your shit together,” he says pointedly, causing Valt and Rantaro to tense up.

“Is it that obvious?” Rantaro smiles sheepishly as Valt feels more comfortable leaning against him.

“Painfully,” Daigo sighs.

“But we’re glad you two sorted things out! You both seem much happier now,” Besu adds, and Valt wants to point out how Ken’s head is very much nestled on Daigo’s shoulder like it’s an everyday occurrence, but considering how much he’s been troubling them with his problems, he thinks better of it.

“Thanks for putting up with me with this whole thing, you guys,” he says shyly. “Especially you, Shu. I don’t think I would’ve had the courage to confess without you.” From where he’s leaning against the shed where they keep the bey stadium, Shu gives him a small smile.

“By the way, why’re you all the way over there, Wakiya? You don’t wanna share some warmth with Shu or any of us?” Rantaro points out, and Wakiya suddenly looks like a deer caught in headlights.

“I-I’m fine over here, thank you very much!” he huffs a little ways off from the rest of the group, wrapping the cape of his costume a little tighter around himself. It looks like he and Shu have about the same amount of layers, but Shu doesn’t seem to be phased at all, as usual.

“Right, king of evil, I get it. I forgot that means you’re allergic to friendship,” Rantaro snorts, snuggling closer to Valt just to get on Wakiya’s nerves.

“He’s just shy because he accidentally fell from his tower during one of the showings and Shu had to catch him like a damsel in distress,” Daigo smirks, eliciting an affronted noise from Wakiya.

“I saw it! The audience even cheered for them and Wakiya’s face got all red!” Besu says with a giggle.

“It did not!!” Wakiya fumes. “And Daigo, I thought I said not to bring that up! Some loyal servant you are, hmph!”

“I’m off the clock now, ‘boss,’” Daigo shoots back, and as Valt watches them begin to bicker with each other, he lets out a sigh of content.

“Tired?” he hears Rantaro ask, and Valt looks up to meet his gaze. Soft, always so soft. Valt shakes his head.

“Nah. Just glad we’re all here like this. I’m happy,” he says, and he means it this time.

He’s happy like this.