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A relationship is built on trust. If you allow someone to give themselves to you, it's only right that you give yourself to them in turn. It can't really be called love otherwise. That was what Tsukasa believed, anyway.
Now that he was in a relationship with Rui, Tsukasa felt there should be no secrets between them. Even if there were some things he would rather conceal, it wouldn't be fair if he remained closed off. He truly loved Rui, and he deserved to know every in and out of Tsukasa'a existence.
Which is what would lead him to this -- Coming out as trans to Rui. Tsukasa was a trans man, and he'd never really told anyone before. Of course, Saki, Toya and his parents inevitably knew, but anybody who had met him after his transition was completely oblivious to that fact. He usually preferred to let that fact remain as such.
It wouldn't be fair to Rui if he didn't say anything, though. And so he was now faced with the predicament of when and how to tell him. But considering his ironic inexperience, it was a bit difficult to discern the best solution.
When it came to Saki, they were still too young to even understand what the word meant. One day "big sister" became "big brother" and that was that. As for Toya... To put it plainly, they were in an identical boat, so there was no need for any sort of coming out ritual. Everyone else who he presently considered close had only gotten to know him after his shockingly seamless social transition, so he had no true examples to draw from.
"I suppose it's better to just be straightforward." Tsukasa thought to himself. Now all he needed was a believable excuse that would result in the two of them being alone so he could get the words out. Thankfully, that bar had been significantly lowered ever since they started dating.
As such, he steeled himself the moment he made this decision. Their latest rehearsal had just wrapped up and Emu had already dragged Nene out of earshot, although that assistance was unintentional on her part, so Tsukasa had a perfect window to ask Rui what he intended. He marched up to the taller boy, planting a firm hand on his shoulder before he could escape the vicinity of the Wonder Stage.
"Ah? What is it, Tsukasa-kun?" asked Rui, though he seemed surprised by Tsukasa's silent approach at first. Typically, if Tsukasa needed something from Rui, he would call out his name at a volume which put megaphones to shame. Could he have done something wrong...?
"Rui! There's something I need to talk to you about regarding the show!" Tsukasa said with determination. That was but a white lie, of course. It was a little ironic that he would tell it considering why he wanted to get Rui alone in the first place, but he couldn't stop to think about his accidental hypocrisy now that he'd already come out with it.
"I see..." Rui sighed with relief, his brief worry of having upset his boyfriend dissipating alongside his breath. "In that case, I am all ears, my star. Do you have any issues with the show?"
Crap. Tsukasa hadn't thought this far ahead. Well, to say he thought even this initial step through would be a complete lie, actually. He was completely playing it by ear. Luckily, Tsukasa prided himself on his improv skills.
"Hm, it's a bit complicated and may take a while to work out..." Tsukasa pretended to muse as he spoke, bringing a not-so-thoughtful fist to his chin. "Why don't I come over to your house and we can talk about it there, hm?"
Rui froze up as his eyes widened, and Tsukasa could almost see the tsunami-like wave that was the prospect of Tsukasa wanting to come to his house crashing over him. From even a glance, it was clear this was something he'd been dreaming about. Tsukasa just hoped it wouldn't be the last time he would have it...
Realizing he'd forgotten to respond, Rui quickly cleared his throat in a weak attempt to regain his composure. "Ahem! Yes, of course! That... that sounds lovely, yes. My, erm... my parents will be home late tonight, so we'll have no-one to disturb us. I-I should hope, anyway..."
Tsukasa let out a fond chuckle as he watched Rui stammer. Rui typically held a flawless silver tongue, so Tsukasa found it adorable that it could be snatched by a cat's firm grip the moment it had something to do with his boyfriend. That was something to focus on later, though.
"Excellent!" Tsukasa boomed, saving Rui from his self-made embarrassment in the works. "Shall we get going, then? I'd like for us to be alone as soon as possible."
Rui's face filled with a bright shade of red, a million different scenarios running through his head. Was Tsukasa even aware of the effect he had on Rui or did all these embarrassing things just come naturally to him?
"Y-yes..." Rui tried to speak calmly, though he felt like punching himself in the face when his voice started to quiver. "Let's go. I've been meaning to show you around my house without the risk of intrusion."
...Come to think of it, why did Tsukasa even suggest they go to Rui's place? They were already alone as it was, and it wasn't like Emu and Nene would come running back at an inopportune moment so long as they were preoccupied with each other. So why on earth did he say that...?
As if all the time had gone by in a flash, Rui was already turning the knob to the front door of his house, and the realization suddenly hit Tsukasa. If the worst case scenario were to come to pass, this would be his one and only chance to ever see Rui's house.
"I'll admit my experience in hosting guests is less than existent..." Rui began, stepping aside and making a gesture which Tsukasa took as a prompt to head inside first. "Please, I encourage you to make yourself at home."
Tsukasa took a deep breath, taking the plunge with a heavy step into the Kamishiro household. He was past the point of no return. He would be okay, though, right? He hoped he would, at least...
Rui stepped in after Tsukasa, closing the door behind them. Tsukasa took his opportunity to skim his eyes across Rui's home from the entryway, pleasantly surprised to find that he lived in a relatively normal house and not a secret medieval torture dungeon with a circus in the backyard.
Tsukasa exhaled, thinking to himself that there was no point in beating around the bush. The metaphorical stage had been set, so all that was left to do was to begin the show. "Rui, I... I must confess, I didn't ask to come over because of anything regarding the show."
"Oh, I'm already quite aware of that, dear Tsukasa-kun." Rui hummed, his lips furling into a sly grin that the Cheshire Cat would jealously covet.
Tsukasa's eyes blew wide with shock as Rui approached. Before he could manage to get even a single word out, the director's comparatively lanky arms were being wrapped around Tsukasa's neck as he brought their faces inches apart. "I didn't know you were such a shameless flirt, though~"
"Wh- I was NOT flirting!" Tsukasa squeaked out defensively, his face flaring up with heat. He slapped his hand over Rui's mouth in an attempt to make him back off, causing the taller to break away with a small laugh.
"Aw..." Rui pouted, brushing a stray lock of hair away from his face as he put on his best Tsukasa-enticing look. "Can I still have a kiss, please?"
Tsukasa rolled his eyes at the false performance, but ended up caving anyway. He yanked Rui into a kiss, squeezing his eyes shut as they connected. Rui chuckled against Tsukasa's lips before kissing back, one slender finger coming up to twirl its way through blonde hair as they took a moment to soak in each other.
Tsukasa was the first to pull away, immediately pulling the pettiest pout he could muster. "There. Are you happy now, you big baby?"
Rui gasped dramatically at these words, clutching his chest as though his very heart had been wounded through them. "My, Tsukasa-kun! I'm shocked you would say such a horrible thing to me! Do you truly dislike kissing me that much?"
Tsukasa furrowed his brows, face lighting up to the shade of the tomato once again. To be perfectly honest, kissing Rui was one of his favorite things to do, but he couldn't tell him that. He'd lose the argument otherwise. And so he simply pulled Rui into a second kiss, shutting him up in an instant.
"...Rui. Please. We need to talk." Tsukasa murmured against Rui's lips. Rui seemed to hesitate pulling away for a moment, loath to imagine what could possibly have made Tsukasa take on such a serious tone.
But, then again... if Rui truly loved Tsukasa, then he wouldn't run away. Even if the potential for his words turning out to be the ones he wanted to hear the least was there, he would listen to them. "...Alright, Tsukasa-kun. I'm listening."
Tsukasa took his turn to hesitate this time. He was admittedly terrible at expressing and recognizing his own emotions while off the stage, so even if he knew what he wanted to say... it was difficult for him to fathom how when he mentally weighed the potential consequences against each other. Still, he had no choice but to come out and say it.
"Rui... I am transgender!"
Rui blinked a few times, like a curious cat witnessing an unexpected sight. That was most definitely not what he was expecting to hear. It felt like he had braced himself for a hurricane only to be met with a tiny gust of wind.
"Ah, I... see. Do you... do you want to try on some dresses? I've got-"
"Wha- No! Trans man! I'm a trans man, Rui."
"Oh." said a dumbfounded Rui, before an airy chuckle bubbled up from his throat. "My apologies. I misunderstood."
Tsukasa averted his eyes, unsure what to make of Rui's reaction. "I, um... I understand if this weirds you out or anything... And I apologize for not saying anything sooner, so-"
"Tsukasa-kun." Rui interrupted. When Tsukasa looked up to meet the director's gaze, he had that stern look on his face. The one that was typically reserved for when Tsukasa was beating himself up over a slip-up during rehearsal. Tsukasa usually didn't like that look.
This time, however, he didn't have time to wallow. Rui had taken Tsukasa's hand in his own, guiding it up the underside of his shirt without any explanation. Tsukasa quickly turned scarlet, though his body seemed to lag far enough behind his brain in that moment that he didn't pull away.
"R-Rui?! What the h-" Tsukasa began to yell, but he stopped himself as he felt a fabric against Rui's chest. One that Tsukasa had grown all too used to feeling himself ever since his chest started to develop back in middle school.
"Rui?!" Tsukasa quickly shouted, his other hand flying to Rui's shirt with just as little explanation as the taller. In a flash, he hiked up Rui's shirt all the way to his neck, exposing his lean torso. But more importantly, exposing the binder he was using to restrict his chest.
"YOU'RE ALSO TRANSGENDER?!"
Rui couldn't keep himself from laughing, the surprising boisterous sound of his amusement causing Tsukasa to back away. "Yes, Tsukasa-kun. I am trans, just as you are. And even if I weren't, I would never find you weird nor would you have to apologize for being who you are. On the contrary, I'm flattered you decided to tell me."
Tsukasa groaned with embarrassment as Rui's shirt fell down, instantly taking the opportunity to plant his face against his boyfriend's bound chest. "I feel like such an idiot..."
"You aren't an idiot, darling." Rui assured, beginning to pet Tsukasa's hair. "If it helps, I'd been stressing myself out over the prospect of revealing my own secret to you."
Tsukasa chuckled, tilting his chin up in order to pry himself toward an angle that would allow him to make eye contact with Rui. "I guess we're both idiots then, huh? I love you, Rui. And... thank you for trusting me enough to tell me as well."
Rui smiled softly, both his hands coming down to squish Tsukasa's cheeks together. Tsukasa let out a whine of fake protest as Rui leaned forward to press his lips upon the forcible pucker he'd made out of Tsukasa's, giggling as he re-emerged. "Fufu. I love you too, my star. All of you."
Tsukasa let out a sigh, letting himself rest against Rui's chest for a moment. He could felt strangely weightless in this moment, like he'd untied an invisible shackle and began to float. He supposed the nerves that came with hiding himself from Rui were a heavier burden than he'd ever notice.
Similarly, he could physically feel Rui's relief as their arms slowly moved to wrap around each other. Rui always had a bad habit of needlessly worrying about every little thing when he was thrust into something new, and it seemed this was no exception. How ironic that they were holding the same fears over an identical secret all this time...
None of that mattered now, though. Now all that existed was the comfort they could take in being able to understand each other on the most sensitive of levels. There was a certain bliss that came alongside that. Maybe it was because neither of them had ever truly known someone who could give them adoration so unconditionally.
Once again, Rui initiated a kiss, this time without the assistance of Tsukasa's malleable cheeks. It was slow and intimate, drowning out every sound other than the soft breaths each of them took in between the quiet collision of their lips. Rui's hand found its way to Tsukasa's hair yet again, entangling in it as if making a silent plea for Tsukasa to never pull away.
"Rui..." Tsukasa mumbled against his boyfriend's lips, an impatient hand balled into the front of Rui's shirt.
"Yes, my star?" Rui whispered back, his own hands lowering to find purchase on Tsukasa's slim waist.
"...I forgot." Tsukasa confessed after a moment of silence, too love-drunk to even care about his blunder. Rui let out a tiny snicker in response, pecking Tsukasa's lips once more.
"I'm very glad we shared our secrets, my love."