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1.
Takashi is, without a doubt, hopelessly smitten for the boy who works at the front desk of Aiko’s boutique, a store that sells the cheapest (and best quality) fabrics in Shibuya.
He’s had crushes before, small ones. The kinds that would linger on his mind for just a few weeks and then disappear into thin air. Takashi figured that this crush would be like any other: small and fleeting.
But, alas, the boy kept popping up in his life looking even more beautiful with each appearance he made.
Takemichi Hanagaki, the boy that haunts his dreams, his thoughts, his heart, is a force to be reckoned with.
His black shaggy hair looks so soft to the touch despite the wild strands poking in all directions. The boy’s blue eyes are so big and blue and pure—an ocean that can sweep anyone under its dangerous waves. And, most importantly, that beautiful, genuine smile of his that never fails to make Takashi’s heart skip a beat.
Then, of course, there’s his bright personality that never fails to put a smile on someone’s face. It’s the first thing Takashi noticed about the boy apart from his overall appearance; he deals with customers and clients with so much positivity and cheerfulness, even to those who don’t deserve it. He treats everyone with the same amount of enthusiasm, smiling and greeting them from the moment they walk in, more than ready to assist in anything.
Takashi can’t get his heart to stop pounding. It keeps beating against his rib cage, begging to be set free, but he keeps it under lock and key. He can’t let these feelings out—at least, not yet.
He has to… y’know… play it cool.
So, like a very cool highschooler, Takashi goes to the fabric store in search of new materials and the boy with bright blue eyes.
He’s greeted almost immediately by the sunshine reincarnated, his smile bright and blinding to anyone who witnesses it. Takashi flashes a smile back, trying to keep his rapidly beating heart at bay.
“Good afternoon, Mitsuya-kun!” Takemichi exclaims, his voice filled with unconstrained joy. His sunny voice—pure and void of evil intent—warms Takashi’s soul in a way he never knew was possible. “How was school?” He asks, never once breaking his routine of greeting the boy with a question.
Takashi strides over to the front desk with his hands in his pockets like all of those cool guys in Chifuyu’s manga books, secretly hoping that he doesn’t look like a complete idiot. “It was pretty good. Our club finished making Alice’s dress for the Alice in Wonderland play,” Takashi says back, his fingers secretly itching inside his pockets.
Takemichi’s face lights up at the information, stars practically sparkling in his sapphire colored eyes. Takashi wishes he could get used to the younger boy’s expressive face but, alas, that doesn’t seem to be happening any time soon if his pounding heart is anything to go by.
“That’s great! I hope our fabrics were able to do the trick!” Takemichi gushes, a light dust of pink coloring his cheeks.
Ah, and there it is—Takashi’s favorite expression…the bashful and shy look.
Ignoring the way his heart flutters at the sight, Takashi pretends to scoff at Takemichi’s words. “Of course they were able to do the trick. You have a good eye when it comes to fabrics.”
“Y-You really think so?” He stutters cutely like an adorable teen and Takashi just wants to hug him and—
Takashi slowly inhales through his nose, pushing his inappropriate thoughts away to the back of his mind. “I do,” Takashi reassures, relishing in the way the blush darkens. Wanting to know how dark his blush can get, he leans against the counter and gets closer to Takemichi—only a breath away from each other. “Thank you for all your help, Hanagaki.”
Takashi watches with bated breath as Takemichi leans back, his face set aflame, and his azure colored eyes wide like saucers.
To the older teens' delight, he begins stuttering incoherent words, his body, mind , and lips malfunctioning, and Takashi takes it all—cherishing this precious moment between them. His fingers twitch in his pockets, begging to reach over the counter to take the boy’s hands in his, heart beating, pounding in his chest to the point where it might burst past his rib cage—
“A-Anyways!!!” Takemichi exclaims a little too loudly to Takashi’s amusement. “Is there anything you need help looking for?” He asks, most likely trying to keep up a professional look for the bystanders that might be watching their little display.
Takashi can’t help but feel disappointed; he had wanted to see more of that flustered expression, but Takemichi does have a job to do. “No—not today,” Takashi explains, his fingers pinching something in his pocket. “But um…I was wondering if you’d like to come to our school play?” He then pulls the Alice in Wonderland tickets out of his pocket, earning a gasp from the boy behind the counter.
His face lights up and it takes everything in Takashi not to reach over and declare his undying love—
“Absolutely!” Takemichi shouts, taking the ticket out of Takashi’s hand, his soft fingers brushing lightly against his palm. Takashi observes the way Takemichi inspects the ticket in between his fingers, a soft smile playing at his lips. “Y’know, I was already planning on buying tickets to the show, but thank you Mitsuya-Kun! This means a lot…”
Takashi’s heart flutters at Takemichi’s words.
“Are—are you gonna be in the play?” Takemichi asks, and—this time—Takashi can’t stop himself from laughing at the teen’s question.
“N-No way!” Takashi exclaims, a big smile stretched across his face. “I’m a terrible actor. Me and my club just help the play by sewing and creating their costumes,” he explains, trying and failing at getting rid of the image of himself in a mad hatter costume out of his head.
What a hilarious image indeed…
Takemichi laughs alongside Takashi, his voice pleasant and cheerful. “I figured as much, but I just had to check!”
Right as Takashi goes to open his mouth to continue their conversation, the bell to the door rings and a customer steps in. And, just like that, their little conversation was over.
Takemichi turns to Takashi, brows knitted together in frustration. “Sorry Mitsuya Kun, but duty calls.”
Takashi keeps his expression even and nonchalant, hoping the disappointment isn’t present on his face, and nods solemnly. “Don’t worry, I understand,” Takashi says before making his way out the door.
As Takashi steps out into the cold weather, his ears begin to ring with musical sounds, some of which are louder than others. He doesn’t know which is louder: the boy’s cheerful greeting to the stranger, or his rapidly beating heart.
2.
Takashi would never admit to this out loud, but he spent a total of two hours getting himself nice and ready for the play.
He made sure to brush his hair back until it looked nice and untangled, the long purple strands falling on his shoulders with grace. A dust of blush is patted on his cheeks to give his face more coloring and a bit of eyeliner is drawn on the corners of his purple eyes. Takashi also paid close attention to what outfit he chose for the special occasion; he needed something flashy but casual— an outfit that would make Takemichi’s eyes linger longer than they normally would.
If he’s being honest, Takashi would’ve never put this much effort in his appearance for any other event his school held. This event is special. This play will be special. Why?
Because Takemichi is gonna be there in the audience, right by his side.
“Oi, Mitsuya!!!” A loud voice calls from the main room outside of Takashi’s. Takashi immediately recognizes it as Draken. “Are you almost ready to go?! I wanna see Pah dressed like a purple furry!”
Grinding his teeth in frustration, Takashi slides the door open, and glares at the people that broke into his apartment. Draken, Mikey, Baji, Kazutora, Chifuyu, and Hakkai are sitting around the kotatsu, all of them dressed and ready to go to the play.
…Unlike Takashi.
“Just give me a few more minutes—“ everyone groans in frustration at Takashi’s words.
“OH MY GOD, JUST HURRY UP MITSUYA!!!” Kazutora shouts, his hands reaching up to pull at his yellow and black strands of hair. Baji follows his lead and does the same thing, going as far as pulling a few long black strands from the scalp of his head like a fucking psycho.
“YEAH!!! WE WANNA WITNESS PAH THE CHESIRE!!!” Baji exclaims loudly, earning a bunch of nods from the group of teens.
“WE WANT TO SEE THE ALL MIGHTY CAT GOD PAH!!!” Chifuyu declares, his hands slamming on top of the kotatsu table.
Takashi immediately slides the door shut the moment they start chanting ‘ cat god Pah’ at the top of their lungs.
…he still has a few more things to do before he’s completely ready to see Takemichi—
A hand comes out of nowhere and grabs Takashi by the back of his shirt, making him shout and squirm around like a fish out of water.
“I got him guys!!! LETS GO, LETS GO, LETS GO!!!” Mikey screams at the top of his lungs as he lifts Takashi over his shoulder, practically humiliating the gang member/seamstress.
“LET ME DOWN, MIKEY!!!” Mitsuya shouts, his arms and legs kicking widely while the group of teens make their way out the door and into the cold winter weather. To Takashi’s utter delight, The group of teens ignore him.
“I'M SERIOUS MIKEY!!! I SWEAR TO GOD, I'LL TEAR UP YOUR UNIFORM AND MAKE YOU WEAR A RAG TO EVERY TOMAN MEETING WE HAVE—“ Mitsuya is interrupted by the laughter of his terrible, cruel friends.
“Stop worrying so much about your appearance, Taka-Chan!” Hakkai says from beside Mikey, his eyes leering down at Takashi’s slumped over form. “You look great, and I’m sure Takemichi will think the same thing, so just relax, ok?”
Takashi heaves out a sigh, all the muscles in his body loosening up as the nervous air escapes his lungs.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right, Hakkai…”
“… Who’s Takemitchy?” Mikey asks, a teasing lilt in his voice, causing Takashi to groan in frustration.
Just like that, everyone begins asking questions about the mystery boy with an annoyed Takashi hanging over Mikey’s shoulder like a used towel.
-
“Mitsuya-kun! I finally found you!” Takemichi exclaims loudly from among the crowd of students and parents who were there to watch a low budget Alice in Wonderland play.
Takashi smiles brightly at the well-dressed boy as he weaves his way through the crowd of people, his group of friends long forgotten as he gets lost in the boy’s big azure eyes.
“Sorry what took me so long—“ Takashi cuts himself off the moment Takemichi fully comes into view. Takemichi’s hair is the same as it usually is—wild but fluffy—however, this time it’s decorated with cute hair clips. His eyelids are decorated in a light shade of blue eye shadow, small bits of eyeliner coating the corners of his doe-eyes, a light blush decorating his cheekbones and nose, and plump lips covered in a shiny lip gloss.
But, what has Takashi squirming around like a child In a candy shop, is the beautiful dress the teenager is wearing.
It’s a light blue sweater dress that reaches to the boy’s mid thighs. The sweater dropped off of one shoulder, exposing his collarbones and shoulder. The sleeves fell down past his fingers, adding onto the cuteness factor of the beautiful boy before him. White tights keep the younger boy’s legs shielded from the cold weather, his black platform boots giving him a few extra inches, making him about the same height as Takashi.
And Takashi wants nothing more than to fall on his knees and propose on the spot.
Takemichi flashes him a smile, oblivious to the turmoil going on inside Takashi’s head.
“You didn’t take long at all! I probably would’ve been late if my dad didn’t kick me out of the house since I was taking so long getting ready,” Takemichi confesses with an embarrassed flush that has Takashi feeling warm and fuzzy under its presence. Without a moment's waste, Takashi hooks his arm with Takemichi and walks into the auditorium, ignoring the cat calls from his obnoxiously loud friends.
Takemichi follows him step by step, striding right beside him with a smile on his face as he rambles on about the new crocheting project he’s working on. Takashi listens and guides them, not once forgetting a single word that slips past Takemichi’s lips.
“Y’know, I’m surprised you didn’t get lost trying to get here,” Takashi says offhandedly as they take their assigned seats.
“Oh—I had someone show me the way!”
“Huh, well aren’t you lucky,” Takashi mumbles under his breath, watching out of the corner of his eyes at the blush that appears on the boy’s cheeks. He pretends not to notice anything and just tightens his hold on Takemichi’s arm.
“Yeah, but it was kinda strange? Like, they already knew my name.”
A very very bad feeling rises up within Takashi’s gut.
“What did they look like?”
“Um… a purple cat? ”
The second those words left Takemichi’s lips, the lights dimmed and the play began.
Takashi was unable to pay attention to his designs or the play itself, his thoughts constantly on the boy beside him and the so-called purple cat that pranced around on stage.
Takashi’s friends have been pestering him about Takemichi ever since the Alice in Wonderland play.
They won’t stop asking questions about the beautiful boy no matter how many times Takashi shoots them down. They’re all a bunch of stubborn assholes who are gonna ruin Takashi’s chances of being with Takemichi (he loves them, truly, but you didn’t hear that from him).
At first, the questions were innocent—
“Who’s Takemichi?”
“What’s he like?”
“Where did you guys meet?”
Then they slowly but surely started to escalate into something more absurd—
“Does he like boys?”
“Why does he Crossdress?”
“Is he into older guys?”
“Think I got a chance with him?”
“What’s his thoughts on Polymory?”
“Is he a model? Does he send you nudes? Oooo~ Mitsuya, have you been hiding something from us—“
Takashi can only handle so much.
It’s already bad enough that they got a small piece of Takemichi, but now they can’t stop asking about him. Mikey, in particular, won’t stop nabbing him with questions that not even Takashi knows the answer to. They always leave Takashi flustered and frustrated, his ears red and flaming, but he doesn’t dare raise a fist to Mikey, his childhood friend, his commander. Thankfully, Draken is always there to defuse the situation and distract the blonde teenager away from Takashi’s crush.
But still—the fact that Mikey is even a little bit interested in Takemichi leaves a bad taste in Takashi’s mouth.
An ugly feeling rises up inside Takashi’s chest—a feeling he’s not quite familiar with. It’s uncomfortable and swirls deep inside his gut, making him irritated and twitchy. The urge to go up to Takemichi and declare the boy as his own, just to get everyone to back off, grows and grows until he’s in front Takemichi’s house, a bouquet of flowers in one hand, and a bag of chocolate in the other.
Takashi doesn’t know what possessed him to confess that night, only that he did it rather poorly considering how much Takemichi himself deserved.
He should’ve invited the boy to dinner and confessed then, or maybe in a beautiful park around a batch of Takashi’s home made goods, but—instead—he does it under the moon in front of Takemichi’s house.
It only took one knock for Takemichi to answer the door. When the door is opened, Takashi is greeted with the beautiful sight of a tired Takemichi in oversized pajamas.
“M-Mitsuya-kun?” Takemichi mumbles, his eyes droopy and half lidded and he tries to wake himself up. Takashi’s hands itch to reach out for the boy, but he settles with tightening his grip on the flowers and chocolates. Takashi doesn’t say anything at first and lets Takemichi sober up enough for him to notice the things in his hands.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Takemichi’s eyes widened as he took in the Chocolates and flowers. A dark blush blossoms across his cheeks.
“Huh?! Mitsuya-kun, what’s going on?!” He asks, nearly shouting, and Takashi tries not to chuckle at his tone of voice.
“These are for you, Hanagaki,” Takashi explains as he hands the goods over to the younger teen. Takemichi takes them into his arms, his eyes wide and confused as he stares and stares and it takes everything in Takashi not to cup the boy’s cheeks and plant a soft kiss to his lips.
“B-But why? I mean, these flowers are beautiful, y’know? They’ll look great in the shop—and I have been craving chocolate as of lately, so thank you, but I just—“
“I like you, Hanagaki.”
Silence fills the air.
Takemichi stands rigid and frozen, eyes wide and bright as Takashi watches the words sink in. He continues on, not wanting the oblivious boy to misinterpret his words in any way.
“I like you a lot, Hanagaki, and I would love it if you would accept me as your boyfriend.”
Takashi waits in anticipation, his now empty hands twitching and begging to hold onto something, preferably Takemichi’s hand, and his throat feels unbelievably parched. Standing in front of Takemichi with nothing but his Toman uniform, Takashi remains in front of the boy’s household.
He confessed.
He did it.
But now what?
What will Takemichi say?
What’s Takemichi’s true feeling towards him?
After what feels like an eternity, Takemichi closes his eyes and—
And tears begin to pour.
Takashi tries very hard not to freak out upon seeing his crush break out in tears. He desperately wants to reach out and wipe his tears away and fret over the boy as he brings him into his arms, but he needs to be smart about this! If Takashi somehow made him upset, then he shouldn’t get into his personal space, right?
“What’s wrong, Hanagaki? Was it something I said?” He asks, his mouth sour and itchy at the very notion of being the reason behind Takemichi’s tears. Takashi will never be able to forgive himself if that’s the case—
“N-No, Mitsuya-kun, you didn’t do anything wrong,” Takemichi stutters out despite still having tears trailing down his rosy cheeks. “I’m—I’m just…”
“Just what?”
“Just… really happy.”
Takashi stares in astonishment at the boy’s answer as he continues to cry happy tears. Unable to help himself, Takashi takes a step forward and wraps his arms around Takemichi’s trembling form. The older boy relishes in the way Takemichi melts in his arms, the flowers and chocolates tossed to who knows where as they envelop each other in a loving embrace.
With his head placed carefully on top of Takemichi’s head, cherishing the black curls that brush against his nose and cheeks, Takashi smiles—his heart going a million miles a second. He hopes, to whatever gods are up in the heavens above, that Takemichi can’t feel his heart beating out of his chest.
He probably can with the way their bodies are pressed tightly against each other, but a guy can still hope, right?
“So…does this mean you like me back?”
Takashi surprises a watery laugh from the boy in his arms.
“Of course, Mitsuya-kun. Why wouldn’t I like you back when you’re the coolest person in the world?”
Oh Michi, Takashi thinks tiredly, a sigh escaping his trembling lips.
If only he knew how lame Takashi truly is…
4.
The days following Takashi’s shitty confession were full of nothing but Takemichi, Takemichi, and—you guessed it— Takemichi.
They slowly but surely mingle into eachothers lives, taking note of each other's schedules and inserting themselves as if they’ve always been there. Takemichi had already taken up most of Takashi’s mind, but now he’s everywhere—waiting for him outside of his school, walking him to his job, helping Takashi around his apartment when his little sisters get too rowdy, and Takashi has never been happier.
Takemichi is a pleasant breath of fresh air from his normally rowdy friends; just being around him makes Takashi’s limbs loosen up, no longer tense and alert for any attackers that might try to fight him for being Toman’s 2nd division captain. Takemichi, somehow being able to sense his tenseness, always finds a way to get him to relax; whether it be talking about his new projects, or asking about the things Toman is involved him, he gets Takashi talking, slowly drawing his mind away from the imaginary dangers that swim around inside his head.
It’s small little details like that that make Takashi fall deeper in love with his boyfriend.
With each of them both becoming a solid partner in each other’s lives, Takashi begins to notice and discover things about his boyfriend that he hadn’t known before.
The first thing being the younger boy’s popularity at school.
All the times Takashi beats Takemichi to walk him to his job, the boy is always found being flanked by students of all cliques, laughing and smiling and generally having a great time. They follow the curly haired boy around like a bunch of lost puppies, wanting and yearning for the boy’s attention. While this does bother Takashi, he can’t say he really blames them for craving his boyfriend’s attention. Takemichi just has a way of making people feel important, listening and remembering small insignificant details that not a lot of people would remember.
Secondly, he’s friends with a lot of dangerous people. Dangerous in a “enemy of Toman” kind of way.
Takemichi seems to be very cozy with the Black Dragons and Tenjiku, something Takashi failed to notice before they first started dating.
On their third date, they accidentally bumped into the guard dogs of the Black Dragons, Kokonoi and Inui. Takashi had been ready to push the boy behind him, shielding him away from the potential threat those two individuals might pose upon them, but Takemichi had brushed past him and greeted the two with a sunny smile on his face like they were old friends. Takashi had been stunned to watch the three interact so casually without the threat of a fight hanging over them. He admits, it was civil and sweet if he ignored the way Inui gave Takemichi lovey dovey eyes the entire time they talked.
(“I think Inui has a crush on you, Michi,” Takashi had commented when the two older boys walked away, leaving just Takemichi and Takashi.
Takemichi just laughed it off. “You shouldn’t joke around like that, Mitsuya kun! Inui and Koko are dating!”
“…right…”)
Then there was the interaction they had with Tenjiku, which was ten times more nerve racking than running into Inui and Koko.
The two boys had just been having the night of their lives at a festival being held in Yokohama when they ran straight into Izana and his lackeys, the main bitches of Tenjiku. Takashi had taken one look at the group, observed the weapons that hung lazily on their belts, the motor bikes that glistened under the festival lights, and took Takemichi’s hand and did a 180, heading in the opposite direction.
It’s not that Takashi’s afraid to fight them. He’s fought those bastards before and he’ll gladly do it again, but he couldn’t guarantee Takemichi’s safety if he did end up scuffling with them—after all, it would’ve been 6 against 1, and Takashi knows when to pick his battles. The last thing Takashi wants is to see the boy get hurt on his behalf because he failed to protect him. Takemichi already gets beaten up enough as it is; he doesn’t need more dark bruises painting his beautiful skin.
But, like their interaction with the black dragons, Takemichi took off towards Izana and his group without a second thought, calling out their names with so much familiarity, bystanders would’ve thought he was greeting his family. And, in some ways, they wouldn’t have been wrong.
Takashi watched from a distance as Izana and his group greeted Takemichi with head ruffles and pats on the back, all of them wearing big smiles on their faces as the boy went on a whole tangent about the festival and, what had Takashi’s heart racing—Takashi . Takashi eventually made his way over to the group and greeted them. He didn’t earn a very heartfelt welcome like Takemichi, but they acknowledged his existence with the nod of their heads which was better than nothing.
And, lastly, Takemichi is a stubborn little shit.
Takashi will never say it to the boy’s face, but he resents and admires Takemichi’s stubborn nature. It’s both a blessing and a curse—something that can both help others but leave him utterly damaged. Takashi probably should’ve seen this coming; when he first started visiting Takemichi at his little boutique shop, the boy was very insistent on helping Takashi even when he brushed the boy off. He doesn’t take no for an answer and breaches past any type of boundaries that might’ve been there in the first place, tearing down any wall that stands in his way of helping someone or completing a certain goal.
It’s beautiful and terrifying, and Takashi doesn’t know how to feel about it. One minute he’ll watch Takemichi help an old lady grab their cat from a tree after many failed attempts and the next he’s being beaten up by gang members because they were picking on someone. Takashi has lost count of all the times he had to carry his boyfriend home because he was too injured to walk on his own.
The first time it happened was a week or so after they first started dating. Takashi had been out running errands when he passed by the boutique, ready to say hi to his boyfriend, only to find him missing.
And where was he, you might ask?
He was in the alleyway next to the boutique sporting a broken nose and a busted lip.
It took many years off of Takashi’s life not to swaddle and coddle the boy, asking him every question in the book, and act like a worried mother. Instead, he crouched down in front of Takemichi and flicked his forehead, scolding him for his reckless behavior. Takemichi had laughed at Takashi’s words without a single care in the world and allowed himself to be carried away on the older boy’s back, mumbling incoherent thank you’s that had Takashi’s heart singing with joy.
Takashi just wants his boyfriend to be safe and away from danger, but that’s practically impossible when he’s a magnet for trouble.
He’s succeeded in not freaking out everytime he catches a dark bruise blossom across Takemichi’s fair skin, but he’s not sure how long he can keep this calm facade up before it crumbles away, exposing Takashi for who he truly is:
A love sick teenager who wants nothing more than to cherish and protect the boy who has become a vital part of his life.
5.
“I want to join Toman.”
It’s amazing how much a simple sentence can make Takashi almost lose his mind.
The two boys were just eating outside of Takemichi’s school, Takashi’s hand made bentos placed nicely in their laps, and the older boy was content with listening to his boyfriend ramble on about his day.
And then those controversial words left Takemichi’s perfect lips.
Takashi struggles to swallow his food, more tha shocked by the change in subject. Takemichi had just been talking about how Izana keeps pestering Takemichi to join his gang and he needed a really good reason to reject the older boy so—
Ah.
So that’s why he wants to join Toman.
Guess it isn’t completely random, right?
Keeping his expression nonchalant, Takashi turns to properly face Takemichi who’s sweating bullets under Takashi’s stare. Takashi sets his chop sticks down (which he sorely regrets cause now he needs to grab onto something to keep him steady and calm) and gives Takemichi a serious deadpanned look.
“You want to join Toman to get Izana off your back? That’s not like you, Hanagaki-kun…” Takashi mumbles, cherishing the way Takemichi's body sits up straight as if pulled by an invisible string, displaying the boy’s nerves for everyone to see.
“I just—I don’t know what else to do, Mitsuya-kun!” Takemichi exclaims, his hands flying in the air in exasperation. “He’s been sending Tenjiku members to my house for ‘ protection’,” he says with air quotes. “—Kaku-Chan keeps sending me letters trying to guilt trip me into going to one of their meetings,” this time, Takemichi slams a hand on top of his forehead. “And Izana won’t…stop… threatening me to join!!!”
That finally got Takashi’s attention.
“He’s been threatening you? How?” Takashi asks, attempting to keep his voice level and normal to hide the panic and rage brewing within his gut.
“…He keeps threatening to stop sending me puzzle boxes if I don’t join…”
…oh.
Takashi lets himself relax, more than relieved that Izana isn’t actually threatening Takemichi’s life.
“You have enough puzzle boxes, Hanagaki…”
“That’s bullshit!” Takemichi exclaims. “I’ve already finished the puzzle boxes from last week, and I need more to finish—but that’s not the point!” Takemichi says suddenly, his face flushing red in embarrassment. “I’ve actually wanted to ask you about joking Toman for awhile now, but I never had the courage to ask.”
Takashi takes a deep breath, and very calmly exhales through his mouth.
He doesn’t like the idea of Takemichi being in Toman. Sure, the boy has incredible endurance, but he can’t throw a punch to save his life. Takashi’s not sure he can handle seeing more bruises on his fair skin; it’s already hard enough having to act like they don’t exist, but the image of seeing Takemichi being ruthlessly pounded by some random shitty gang member has his blood boiling. Takashi knows he can protect Takemichi if he was in his division—he’d be able to order hakkai to keep a close eye on him—but would Mikey even be gracious enough to put him under him? Or would Mikey put him in another division where he’d be left to fend for himself?
But, then again, it doesn’t really matter what Takashi thinks because at the end of the day, Takemichi will still find his way into Toman. It’s practically inevitable at this point; everyone is interested in getting to know the blue eyed boy despite Takashi’s protests. And, with Takemichi’s well known stubborn, he’ll just go against whatever Takashi has to say and join.
And what’s the real reason behind Takemichi’s interest in Toman? Is it because Takashi is a 2nd division captain in the gang? Is he interested in one of the members? Or is it something else?
“Why do you want to join? Aside from getting Izana to leave you alone?” Takashi asks, letting his curiosity get the best of him.
Takashi fights very hard to hide his surprise when Takemichi already has an answer prepared for him—delivering it with his award winning smile.
“Because it’s important to you, Mitsuya kun. And…I know this is selfish…but I want to become an important aspect in your life too. I want to be a permanent figure in your life and—if that means joining a gang—then I’ll gladly do it.”
Takashi’s not sure what hurts more; his head or his rapidly beating heart.
Oh Michi…he truly has no idea how permanent he is in Takashi’s life…
With a deep sigh, Takashi smiles down at his boyfriend.
“…I’ll talk to Mikey.”
+1
Takashi looks among the crowd of cheering Toman members with a pleased smile sitting on his lips. Hakkai, who’s swaying tiredly at his side, swings a long arm over Takashi’s shoulders with a silly grin.
“Look at how giddy your boyfriend is, Taka-Chan! It’s adorable,” he exclaims, bringing Takashi’s attention to his curly haired boyfriend.
Sure enough, Takemichi is celebrating Toman’s victory with Chifuyu, his smile bright and hypnotizing, drawing more Toman members to the young highschooler. Chifuyu ends up picking the boy up and puts him on his shoulders, giving Takemichi an advantage to the other members of Toman. He throws his hands up in the air and hoots and hollers, making the members of Toman mimic him.
The moonlight shines so beautifully in his boyfriend’s messy black strands of hair, highlighting his features in a heavenly glow. His bruised face almost appears unmarked under the moon’s magical spell. His bright eyes, the most rare shade of blue, seem to swirl and dance in more colors that weren’t there before—full of emotions and excitement that Takashi can feel them as if he were a part of Takemichi.
Takashi doesn’t shy away from sighing dreamily, watching his boyfriend with adoration dripping from his bruised face. “I know…can’t blame him though—I still remember how excited I was when we experienced our first victory as a gang…” Takashi reminisces, thinking back to the time where he was scrawny and new to the world of delinquents, following Mikey like a loyal servant.
Takashi can feel Hakkai’s eyes boring into his skull, but he ignores it, instead focusing on the view ahead of him.
And, if he tries hard enough, he can distract himself from the pain that blooms in his side just below his ribs.
The injury will be easy to patch up, no doubt about it, but he’ll have to do it discreetly without everyone around. He likes to tend to his injuries in silence; it’s calming, and—the thought of appearing vulnerable in front of his division—leaves a sour taste in his mouth. Besides, he doesn’t want to be a bother to anyone.
Takashi places both his hands on his hips, discreetly applying pressure to his wound, and turns to give Hakkai a smile that he hopes doesn’t look strained.
“Why don’t you go celebrate with them Hakkai? I know you want to,” Takashi says teasingly, watching a blush creeping onto Hakkai’s cheeks with satisfaction.
“…but what about you? Why don’t you join us?” Hakkai asks, his indigo eyes narrowing ever so slightly.
Takashi closes his eyes, ignoring the stabbing sensation in his side, and wills himself to slowly breathe in and out of his nose.
He needs to get this wound taken care of before it gets worse…
“I’d love to join you guys, but someone’s gotta take care of Luna and Mana, right?”
“Ah— right. Luna and mana…” Hakkai says as if testing the words out for himself, suspicion heavily laced in each syllable that leaves his lips.
Takashi tries not to let it bother him as he escapes the cheering crowd of Toman, weaving his way around excited members till he is left alone in the dimly lit streets of Japan, clutching onto his side with a face full of agony.
And, it’s because of this small moment of vulnerability that Takashi fails to notice the pair of blue eyes that follow him from afar.
-
Takashi barely makes it through his front door without tripping over himself.
His breath is uneven, his blood is leaking into his Toman jacket, and he feels lightheaded as hell .
The teenager stumbles through the quiet apartment, making sure to keep his footsteps as silent as possible so Luna and Mana don’t wake up and freak out over Takashi’s state. He’d rather not be the reason behind his little sisters nightmares if he can help it.
With one hand on his injury, Takashi quickly finds the first aid kit in his small bathroom. He makes quick work of his Toman jacket and shirt, not giving a flying shit as he throws the bundle of clothes on the bathroom floor. Takashi winces the moment cold air hits his injury—a bunch of tiny needles piercing into his skin and laughing at his agony.
He’s about to wash the excess blood away with the sink water when he’s interrupted by the sound of someone knocking noisily on the door.
An annoyed groan slips past Takashi’s lips at the noise, wanting nothing more than to shout a bunch of profanities at whoever is outside his apartment. Takashi tries to ignore it at first, hoping whoever’s behind the door will give up and leave him the fuck alone, but the knocking continues, growing louder in volume.
At this rate, the mysterious stranger will wake up Luna and Mana and Takashi isn’t mentally prepared to deal with that .
He curses under his breath, more annoyed than anything, and grumpily makes his way out of the bathroom and to the main room where the knocking gets louder and louder. Takashi swings the door open, and quietly scowls out an angry, “ what?!”
Takashi freezes the moment the words leave his lips as he takes in the appearance of the person behind the door.
It’s Takemichi—sweet, kind, gentle Takemichi—and he scowled at him!
Guilt consumes his being to the point he no longer feels the injury in his side.
“S-Sorry to bother you, Mitsuya-kun…I just wanted to check in on you—“
Takashi quickly cuts him off the moment he hears the word sorry leave Takemichi’s lips. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Hanagaki! I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that, I was just—“
A loud gasp stops Takashi from explaining himself.
“ What the hell happened, Mitsuya?!” Takemichi screams, pointing at the—oh, right, Takashi’s injury.
In the midst of his anger, he hadn’t bothered to put on a shirt to hide the wound, but now he’s desperately regretting that decision the longer Takemichi’s wide eyes linger on his side. Before Takashi can open his mouth to reassure his boyfriend that he’s fine ( which is kinda a lie, but whatever, right?), Takemichi is pushing him back into his own apartment, his gaze steady and nervous as he guides Takashi by his shoulders. The older boy catches the familiar glint of stubbornness cross his boyfriend’s face, making him fidget and twitchy.
“Hanagaki? What are you—“
“Please stop talking, Mitsuya-kun.”
“H-huh?”
Something about the way he orders Takashi makes him flush uncomfortably.
Takemichi pushes Takashi into his bathroom and starts running the water in the sink, his hands already reaching for a clean rag hanging up on the wall. “Just let me take care of you, ok?”
Takashi’s fingers twitch to yank the rag out of Takemichi’s hands and reject the boy’s kind offer, but he doesn’t move an inch. His mind is too busy throwing insults at himself, scolding him for letting Takemichi see him so— so weak.
He’s supposed to be cool, calm and collected, The badass boyfriend in shoujo mangas, but he fucked it up. He fucked everything up.
Takashi lets himself fade away. He doesn’t remember when Takemichi started wiping the blood away from his wound, or when he wrapped his stomach with the white bandages, mumbling words that Takashi was too tired to catch.
It isn’t until he’s forced to lay down on his small bed that he finally comes back to earth, being greeted by worried blue discs that are filled with so much worry and it’s because of Takashi.
Takemichi frowns down at him and the sadness it evokes from Takashi is more painful than any wound or injury he’s ever gotten.
“Rest, Mitsuya-kun, please,” he whispers, truly emphasizing the last words with the clench of his hand that’s wrapped around Takashi’s. The feeling of Takemichi’s warm fingers around his palm makes him shiver in pleasure. It’s always nice to have Takemichi around him, near him, beside him, touching him.
His boyfriend is always so warm—both physically and mentally. He’s like a heater for Takashi and—on the other hand—he’s the reincarnated version of the sun that hangs ever so nicely over Japan, lighting up every surface it touches.
Takashi squeezes his hand back, no longer caring about how desperate he might appear.
“Sleep with me, Hanagaki.”
Takashi takes immense joy in watching the boy splutter and blush at his blunt words. It’s always been so easy to rile his boyfriend up; all it takes is the slightest amount of teasing and he lights up like a stop light, bright red and steaming from the ears. For a split second, Takemichi tries taking his hand away from Takashi’s, but he tightens his finger around Takemichi’s, stopping him from running away.
“You—you don’t know what you’re saying, Mitsuya-kun. Just rest, ok?”
Takashi frowns at Takemichi’s words. He knows what he wants: Takemichi in his arms, smothered in his embrace. Takashi might’ve lost more than his fair amount of blood from the injury, but he’s not delusional by any means. He’s a hundred percent sober and a hundred percent serious about having Takemichi under his covers.
“I want you beside me,” Takashi says with furrowed brows, his grip around Takemichi’s hand loosening ever so slightly to get rid of any discomfort. “I want to wake up with you next to me…just for tonight, at least. I won’t make you do this ever again if it makes you uncomfortable, I just—“ Takashi stops himself mid ramble. He can feel a heated flush run up his neck, reaching his cheeks and ears, and he hopes that Takemichi won’t comment on it—
“Eh?! Takashi, are you blushing?!”
…Damnit…
He tries to suppress the blush, make it disappear or keep it under lock and key, but it just doesn’t want to cooperate. Takashi can feel his cheeks getting warmer the longer Takemichi stares down at him in shock, his lips slightly left agape as he takes in Takashi’s expression.
“S-Sorry! I don’t—this wasn’t—you see—“ Takashi keeps stumbling over his words, his face heating up more and more with each syllable he messes up.
“A-Are… are you embarrassed, Mitsuya?” Takemichi asks, his voice no longer filled with surprise but… amusement.
God, now he wishes his injury was more fatal enough to kill him…
Takashi groans and throws an arm over his face, only covering the upper part of his face, but At Least he won’t be distracted by his boyfriend’s silly expressions.
“…please stop asking questions and just get in bed with me…”
Takashi’s order earns him a light giggle from the boy holding his hand. “Sorry Mitsuya, I’ve just—I’ve never seen you lose your cool before.”
“…I try not to lose my cool around you…” Takashi admits quietly with his face flushed and overheated, desperately wishing that someone would stab him in the heart with a knife.
Takemichi becomes strangely quiet after hearing Takashi’s words. His hand tightens around Takashi’s hand making the injured boy more than a little curious as to what expression Takemichi is making.
What greets him is a silly smile and softened eyes—illectiting a fuzzy sensation in his stomach.
Well, since the cat’s out of the bag, Takashi might as well act like his old pathetic self, right?
“…Can I tell you something really embarrassing?” Takashi asks quietly, his eyes averting from Takemichi’s blue hues, suddenly feeling very self conscious. Takemichi leans in close, getting in his personal face, all while wearing his signature silly grin that makes butterflies erupt inside his stomach.
“Of course.”
Takashi takes a deep breath, willing his breathing to calm the fuck down, and confesses in a meek voice, “…after I met you, I started reading Shoujo mangas so I could try and imitate the cool, mysterious characters to impress you…”
The room is silent following his embarrassing confession. Then, without any type of warning, Takemichi leans his face on top of Takashi’s chest and cackles like a maniac, trying and failing to muffle his childish laughter.
“N-No way! That’s—thats—“
“Embarrassing…?”
“ Adorable!!!” Takemichi corrects, causing steam to practically pour out of Takashi’s ears.
“Adorable?” Takashi repeats, more than a little perplexed by his boyfriend’s choice of words. Surely he meant to say something else, right? Takashi is a lot of things, but he isn’t adorable.
“Yeah—sorry, you’re just the cutest boyfriend ever!”
Ok, never mind, Takemichi definitely knows what he’s saying.
While Takashi is short circuiting at the words ‘ adorable’ and ‘ cute’ , Takemichi lifts his head from Takashi’s stomach and continues to ramble—a beautiful blush adorning his soft cheeks.
“If it makes you feel any better, I started working at Aiko’s boutique so I could officially meet you!”
…huh?
Takashi raises a brow, astonished by the new information being presented out in front of him. Just what the hell does he mean by that?
“…wait what? What do you mean?”
Takemichi heaves out a sheepish laugh at Takashi’s question.
“I—I went to your school’s fashion show last year,” Takemichi confesses with his eyes averting away from Takashi’s watchful gaze. “Seeing you up on stage, proudly displaying your work with that beautiful glint in your eyes, I—“ Takemichi cuts himself off to clear his throat, face red and steaming from embarrassment.
Takashi can’t help but let his curiosity take control of him. Rubbing his thumb over the back of Takemichi’s hand, he gets his boyfriend to finally look back at him, enjoying the way he bites his bottom lip out of nervousness.
How did Takashi get so lucky?
“You what?” Takashi whispers, urging for the teenager to finish his story.
“…I fell hard. For you , I mean…”
Oh.
Before Takashi can stop himself, he’s reaching up to caress the boy’s face with both his hands, rubbing circles into the skin below his beautiful blue eyes. Takemichi flushes and leans into his touch, causing a spark to ignite within the delinquent. Takashi sits up and moves his face close to Takemichi’s, their lips centimeters apart from one another. The older boy can feel Takemichi’s breath on his face, ragid and uneven as the blush darkens into a ripe cherry.
“Guess we’re just a couple of embarrassing teenagers, huh?” Takashi whispers, nearly brushing his lips against Takemichi’s.
Takemichi smiles, soft and gentle, and nods his head.
“Guess so…”
Takashi leans in and captures Takemichi’s lips with his own, relishing in the softness they provide.
Perhaps it’s ok to lose his cool in front of Takemichi every once in a while. After all, he’s still the cool boyfriend everyone sees him as, right?