Chapter Text
It was an ordinary day, spring caressing the world with beautiful color. The birds chirping, everything looked stunning in the soft coating of spring sunshine.
Curiously, though, today was all but ordinary for Gonta. After entering the classroom once physical education ended, he noticed something unusual. A folded letter on his desk. It seemed to be regular printer paper, folded on itself twice. The writing in it was made with a black gel pen. The contents were vague, and there wasn't an apparition of the writer of it, either. To most other people, it would have been a dead giveaway from the handwriting, but Gonta didn't pick up on that clue. The one behind it assumed this would be the case, using very simple and inexpressive language to get the message on paper, in order to further instigate the mystery. As for the text itself, it asked the reader to meet with the unknown messenger in the park not far from the school they attended, twenty minutes after class ended.
So, once school was finished for the day, he slowly strolled to the park, of course taking the time to chat with some of his friends that he saw on the way, much to the shock of the other people around. It's never not going to get a few weird looks for a high school boy to talk to seemingly himself out loud. The park was glorious, making him feel the heady feeling of freedom that not much could cause. The letter specified that the meeting shall happen underneath the cherry blossom tree, next to the pond located on the east side of the park. He approached the tree, soon realizing the person that invited him hasn't arrived there yet. So, for then, he enjoyed all that the season could give him, standing next to the tree and watching the fish and frogs making circles and seemingly having fun in the pond. But, as he learned the hard way, it isn't acceptable for the people to get into the pond in the middle of the park. He kept waiting, having traversed into an even more gorgeous place in his mind. But he was pulled back into reality by a familiar voice calling out to him.
"Hey Gonta, thanks for coming."
He turned around, pleasantly surprised
"Hello Kokichi! You were who wrote letter?"
The short boy nodded
"Yep, sure did"
"So, what to talk about? Is bad news?"
He looked at the other, worried.
"Kokichi can tell Gonta anything, will listen like gentlemen do!"
He scratched the back of his head nervously, his heartbeat accelerating
"Yeah, about that..."
"Yes?"
He wanted to act like his usual cheery self, but it took a bit more energy than usually
"I mean, isn't it like, really obvious?"
He looked up to meet his classmate's gaze, but all he got was a confused expression
"No, sorry. Very embarrassing surely... Why Gonta not smarter than this?!"
"Hey! No beating yourself up over it"
"Sorry..."
Kokichi shook his head
"That's besides the point, okay? So... People like to confess love under the cherry tree"
"Oh, yes, Gonta recall Kiyo say something about it."
"Okay, so, why do you think we're here?"
"Someone call Kokichi here to confess but Kokichi worried person will want to attack?"
"No! We're here because I wanted to tell you that I like you!"
Gonta's expression turned into genuine surprise, while Kokichi's into plain embarrassment.
"So this means Kokichi think of Gonta as friend?"
"No, not really"
His eyes lit up a bit
"Really good friend?"
"No, it doesn't mean a friend"
"Then? What it means?"
"Liking someone means you want to get into a romance with them, you know. Like in the movies and everything."
"Oh, so like Maki with Kaede, or Kiyo with girl from the other school who come here sometimes to say hi and hug?"
"Yeah, kind of like that."
"Okay, Gonta understand that, but what this have to do with now?"
"That I like you, and I would be happy if we pursued a relationship like that too. "
"Is that lie?"
"No, it's not"
This caused the tall boy to freeze up completely.
"But if you don't want to that's okay too, I understand, but I wanted to tell you"
He stayed in silence for a bit longer
"...hey, Kokichi"
He spoke with a soft voice
"...yes?"
"What it feels like to like someone?"
"...huh?"
"Gonta want to understand it"
Kokichi sighed
"Well, let's see... You want to be with them a lot. But it isn't like wanting to be with your friends. It's more than that. When you're around them, you feel nervous. You want to spend as much time with them as you can, but you feel like there's butterflies in your stomach when they're around. Thinking about them makes you smile, because you like their stupid face so much... You want to get close to them and know all that you can about them. You're interested in who they are and you want to find out more about them. The things about them that others find repulsive you find acceptable, or lovable even. And you want to get into physical contact with them, like hugging or even kissing"
"Wait...so that isn't normal? Gonta thought that how you should feel with all friends but Gonta didn't feel it with others"
"No, if you feel like this, that obviously means you like them"
"Then... "
He tilted his head, smiling
"Gonta like Kokichi too!"
"Wait, really?"
"Yes, really!"
The short boy simply couldn't contain his excitement, hugging his classmate tightly. This shocked him, but he hugged back. After a good 30 seconds, they let go of one another
"So, what does that make us?"
"Well... 'Boyfriend' is right word for this, yes?"
Kokichi smiled even wider than he already was
"Yes, yes it is!"
After this, the new couple spoke for a few more minutes under the cherry tree, and then headed back to school, to return to their respective dorms, walking next to each other and holding hands.