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Everyone had a crush on Kojiro. It didn’t matter if you were interested in men or not, he would be the exception that left you second guessing. He was walking sunshine, for fuck’s sake. Kaoru, of course, was only human and fell victim to Kojiro too.
Except he had it worse, he was sure. He accepted it wasn’t just a crush when they were thirteen, it was so much more than that. Kaoru was in love with his best friend and couldn’t confide in his feelings with the one person he could always turn to- because he was in fucking love with him .
It was exhausting though. Watching their classmates fawn over him and touch his arms, his hair… Watching him return gentle touches and smiles hurt. Kojiro touched him every day. Kaoru touched him every day. But the touches shared with classmates were different. They had a flirtatious air to them. When Kojiro touched Kaoru, it was friendly, and Kaoru was too much of a coward to touch his friend like the girls in class did so casually .
Kojiro had gotten an abundance of treats, hugs, touches, and even cheek kisses that day. He kissed their cheeks too! It wasn’t fair and Kaoru was upset. He knew he was being irrational. Kojiro didn’t like him, didn’t even know Kaoru liked him, they weren’t together. He didn’t have any right to be jealous, but he was and he was going to do something about it.
He was going to ask Kojiro to be his Valentine. And he was going to pretend it didn’t hurt when he rejected him.
When they arrived at Kojiro’s and settled on his bedroom floor, Kaoru took a deep breath. “Koji, there’s something I want to ask you.”
He tilted his head, his green curls bouncing with the movement. “What’s up?”
“Um, basically I was just wondering if maybe you’d wanna maybe go on a date with me tonight and maybe be my Valentine?” He breathed it out as if it were a single word and clenched his eyes shut.
“Ah, I didn’t get that, sorry,” Kojiro chuckled.
Kaoru scrambled to his feet and nearly shouted. “I’m in love with you, idiot!”
Wide honey eyes bore into him. “I- Kaoru?” Kojiro slowly stood. “D’you really mean that?”
“Yeah.”
“How long?”
“Dunno. I’ve liked you since we were like, ten.”
Kojiro stepped forward and tucked a strand of hair behind Kaoru’s ear. “Oh, Ru.”
“Please don’t let this be pity,” he whispered, face flushed.
“It isn’t pity, Kaoru. Can I- can I kiss you?”
“If you don’t kiss me now, I will never let you copy my homework again.”
Kojiro laughed loudly. “So mean!” He pressed his lips to Kaoru’s and they melted against each other. Kojiro’s hands rested on Kaoru’s waist while Kaoru’s wrapped around Kojiro’s shoulders. Kaoru’s slender fingers delicately scratched at Kojiro’s scruffy undercut and pulled at his curls.
When they parted, Kojiro put their foreheads together and smiled. Their eyes remained shut as Kojiro swayed them gently. “So, about that date?”
“So you did hear me, you jerk!” He sighed happily. “Movies. My treat... But you're treating me on White Day." They met each other's eyes and laughed.
"Of course, princess."