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Aqua found himself hanging around with Melt a lot these days, of all people.
Not that he minded though, there were definitely worse people to spend his time with.
After 15 Years of Lies, Aqua took up an interest in learning more about Melt as a person, but if he were being honest, that interest had sparked all the way back to when he first acted in Sweet Today, and only continued to grow as the two of them interacted throughout Tokyo Blade’s production, despite the lack of shared scenes they had.
That interest led to the development of a friendship, despite Aqua gaining nothing from the relationship aside from someone to talk to. But maybe that wasn’t so bad, he was still in the process of unlearning his old habits, including viewing certain things in light of how they benefited him in terms of revenge.
Ever since the completion of Aqua’s revenge plan, he felt like he could potentially take a moment to just breathe, allowing himself to live just a little. Of course grief still loomed behind him at all times, guilt manifesting within himself any time he felt a bit of happiness, but it was going to be a long journey ahead on the road of recovery for Aqua, he knew that, and his loved ones knew too.
So, really, having a few close relationships benefited Aqua in the long run. At least, that’s what his therapist told him, even if he knew it himself all too well.
Aqua spoke to Melt, started to understand him as a person, offering him the little support he could provide, and in return Melt offered himself in whole to Aqua, pretty much wearing his heart on his sleeve around Aqua alone.
Honestly, that was the kind of thing that he’d admired about Melt.
Their recent friendship led to them hanging out more and more, giving Aqua a reason to leave the house outside of work-related reasons. His therapist also told him he needed to live a little, which, yeah, that wasn’t wrong.
The pair aimed to get together at least once per week to hang out as scheduled, since both Melt and Aqua had hectic, unpredictable schedules at times.
More often than not though, the pair would meet up sporadically, opting to go on walks together, usually on days where one or the other were having a particularly difficult day. And, more often than not, they always walked during the evening, mostly under the premise of the ‘pure coincidence’ of Melt claiming he liked watching the sunset; and besides, Aqua had no reason to complain or object to that, although he knew it wasn’t a coincidence.
After all, evenings were nice, usually calm, and almost always just getting to the perfect temperature.
However, Aqua found himself a little surprised to be in the current situation.
Melt had texted him asking if they could meet up, and Aqua half expected Melt to add on and say later that day, and maybe he’d also hoped that Melt would follow up, because if he didn’t, that would imply something was wrong, but of course, no such follow up came.
And now, Aqua had to deal with the uncomfortable feeling that was starting to form in his stomach, but he ignored it as best he could. After all, there was no point in fussing over something that hadn’t even been confirmed yet, he knew that.
Aqua found himself caring a lot about Melt and his wellbeing since they’d become closer friends, and that urge to care could be traced back to even the first time they’d met on Sweet Today’s set, but Aqua would never admit to that.
Rather, he opted to show that he cared through his actions over words, through ways of simple texts sent throughout the day reminding Melt of his schedule, in which he definitely didn’t forget, or through Aqua showing up unexpectedly to Melt’s household during his off hours, armed with enough groceries to meal prep for the whole week, and despite Melt’s protesting every time, he’d be let in, after all, Aqua knew Melt didn’t have a lot of people looking out for him.
It’d always been like that for Aqua, voicing his care for his loved ones through silent actions, and this situation was no different, he figured.
Sometimes Aqua wondered if their relationship was one normal friends had. His relationships with Kana and Akane were definitely far from normal, so he really had nothing to compare his relationship with Melt to. Perhaps that suited Aqua though, considering the type of person he was; he’d always been surrounded by perplexing individuals, after all.
But really, he still pondered about his feelings. Did friends interact in the ways they did? Was it normal that Aqua found himself yearning to see Melt time and time again? Why did he feel so infatuated by Melt’s presence, uncomparable to any other feeling he’d ever felt?
Perhaps he was okay with their closeness; cherishing their intimate moments while still remaining as just friends.
No, the word ‘friend’ didn’t fit right either, didn’t complete the missing piece of the puzzle known as his feelings for Narushima Melt; it didn’t sit right with him at all, but then that would imply..
There was no way Hoshino Aqua was falling in love with Narushima Melt, absolutely not.
Aqua pushed his thoughts aside with an annoyed sigh, he would be dealing with them later of course, and took a quick glance at the temperature outside, it wasn’t an extreme temperature by any means, but spending an extended amount of time outside would surely leave both of them miserable since it was the late afternoon. But, who was Aqua to object to Melt’s request?
After all, considering the time of day, they’d probably end up watching the sunset together like always, depending on the amount of time they spent together. Aqua figured Melt had a lot on his mind, considering his request to unexpectedly meet up earlier than they usually did.
Meeting up during the day wasn’t uncommon for the pair, but that only happened on days where they actually planned to meet up, usually on each other’s days off. Aqua was slightly puzzled that Melt didn’t have any shoots to attend to, he could’ve sworn Melt mentioned being occupied for the whole day the last time they hung out.
Regardless, Aqua left the house donning light, casual clothes in hopes of preventing himself from overheating.
Just as he suspected, the heat wasn’t unbearable, but it was noticeable, enough to make Aqua uncomfortable, tugging at the sleeves of his hoodie which he stupidly decided to wear at the last minute despite it being the middle of summer. His logic was that if it got too hot, he could always tie the article of clothing around his waist or throw it over his shoulder, or perhaps pass it onto Melt, who he knew would gladly accept the article of clothing for whatever reason, it wouldn’t be the first time in which Aqua loaned Melt his clothing.
Aqua approached Melt’s household, not even hesitating to knock on the door. Nothing was heard from the other side, which left Aqua about to knock a second time, until he heard movement and the door swung open, suddenly being met with a flock of purple hair, the owner of said hair having a perplexed look on his face as he took in Aqua’s appearance, focusing too long on that damn hoodie.
“You’re wearing a hoodie? In the middle of July?” Melt continued to stare at Aqua, as if he was trying to understand whatever logic was behind dressing like that, ultimately being unable to come to any conclusion that satisfied him. “Aren’t you gonna get too hot?”
“Well, I didn’t expect you to hit me up in the middle of the afternoon,” Aqua shrugged, shoving his hands into the pocket of the hoodie, staring at Melt expectantly, like he expected the other to completely spill his heart out in that moment. Well, not really, Aqua would prefer if he waited to do that in a cooler environment, the heat was definitely starting to become more of an annoyance, but Aqua wouldn’t admit that out loud.
Melt stepped outside, closing the door behind him, still staring at Aqua like he had two heads or he’d just said the strangest thing ever, which really, he did look stupid wearing a hoodie in the middle of July. “What if you overheat? I don’t know the first thing about that kind of thing. I think you’d be screwed if I had to take care of you.”
“Easy,” Aqua started, like he was about to list out a bunch of facts to Melt, which he was, waving his hand like it was no big deal. “If heat exhaustion occurs, you’d just move the affected person to a cooler environment and monitor their vitals in case something was off. It’s pretty manageable until it’s not, you know.”
“You say that as if I do know,” Melt scoffed. “Even then, I’m not a doctor, so I’m pretty sure you’d still be screwed in that situation. Just saying.”
“My hypothetical episode of heat exhaustion in which you establish the role of my caretaker isn’t important here,” Aqua stated in a matter-of-fact way as he turned away to start walking, hoping that Melt would follow, which he did. “What did you need me for?”
Melt furrowed his brow in thought for a moment as he picked up his pace to walk alongside Aqua, and then shrugged, laughing nervously. “Am I not allowed to just invite a friend out whenever I want?”
Aqua stared at Melt with an unreadable expression, but Melt knew that Aqua wasn’t buying his lie at all. After all, the circumstances in which they’d met up under were different than normal, and Melt knew that was bound to raise some suspicions in Aqua, but maybe a part of him was glad to see Aqua show a little bit of concern towards their sudden meet up.
Melt sighed softly and rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact completely now as the two of them walked, feeling just a bit of heat rising to his cheeks, in which he would blame the heat for if it got pointed out. “Am I that easy to read?”
There was no reply given from Aqua, but his silence and the expression worn on his face combined to give off the impression of his thoughts being ‘you are in fact that easy to read’, but Aqua figured he didn’t need to voice that opinion out loud, Melt got the point after all as apparent from the sour expression on his face.
Melt scowled, and quickly thought of an excuse to cover up the real reason for their meetup, just trying to buy himself some time before actually getting to the point. Melt figured he could just talk bullshit about his day for a bit, after all there were some things he needed to get off his chest, so it ended up being a win-win situation, after all, Melt knew Aqua would listen to anything he had to say. “So you know how I was supposed to have that shoot today? Well, there’s this guy..”
And that was that.
The pair walked together while Melt rambled on and on about his day, about how he was pissed off about his coworkers and that he didn’t know if it was him or them having an off day, to which Aqua offered the suggestion that perhaps it was both, but that was apparently the reason why he took off early.
No other reason, none at all, is what Melt said, but Aqua didn’t buy it at all.
No, Aqua wanted to pry a bit more and understand what was going through Melt’s mind because it certainly wasn’t just about some guy he had a sour experience with during a one-off photoshoot. That in itself was apparent from the way Melt acted, he seemed a lot more awkward around Aqua this time around, a lot more fidgety and avoiding eye contact, and Aqua wanted to understand why. Clearly, he was the cause of Melt’s behavior change and whatever internal conflict the other was dealing with.
The sun continued to shine, and Aqua was definitely regretting his choice of wearing out a hoodie. He rolled up his sleeves and sighed, sneaking a glance over at Melt, noticing that he was muttering under his breath about how it was too hot, which Aqua agreed with internally. The heat wasn’t enough to start making Aqua sweat, but he knew it would probably get to that point soon, and he silently prayed for them to head somewhere cooler.
Melt continued to ramble, with Aqua occasionally offering his input on the situation while still having his mind occupied with the thought of knowing that Melt had other things on his mind. He wanted to bring it up, but he refrained, waiting to see if Melt would mention anything himself, but Aqua had low expectations for that happening.
Aqua was struggling to focus on Melt’s rambling, zoning out just a bit, until Melt pointed out into the distance, and Aqua’s gaze followed his hand, eyes locating what the other was pointing at, finally looking like he’d get some relief from the heat.
“Oh, look! There’s a bench here, and it’s in the shade. Let’s stop here for a bit.” Melt pointed out the aforementioned bench, nestled away under the shade of a few trees and adjacent to a vending machine. Perhaps it wasn’t ideal, but at least the pair would be out of the sweltering heat for just a moment.
Aqua agreed silently and sat down on the bench, waiting for Melt to do the same, which he did, taking his place beside Aqua and leaning back, sighing softly. Aqua snuck another glance at Melt’s appearance before breaking the silence between the two of them. “I know you were bullshitting me on the walk here. What did you really want to talk about?”
Melt froze, like he’d been hiding something and finally was caught, he’d already exhausted all of his options to avoid the situation at hand, and he was sure some part of Aqua would’ve been annoyed with being dragged out in the heat just to listen to Melt bullshit about things that weren’t relevant.
“Well, okay, you’ve got me. But I need to know you’re not gonna judge me for what I’m about to say.” Melt sighed softly as he looked at Aqua with a nervous expression on his face, hoping that Aqua would urge him to continue or do something to provide him with some comfort or acknowledgement that it was okay to talk about his feelings.
Aqua just stared at Melt, of course, like he was almost confused in a way. Why is he so nervous?, Aqua thought, before deciding to actually voice his opinion out loud. “There’s nothing you could tell me that would change my opinion on you—”
“Listen, I— I like you, okay?!” Melt shouted out suddenly, closing his eyes in embarrassment, but having a part of him finally, finally relieved to get that off of his chest.
Aqua simply raised his eyebrow in response as he spoke, clearly misunderstanding a bit of what Melt actually implied with the statement, like he was already aware of his feelings, assuming Melt just meant ‘like’ in the friends kind of way. “Melt, I know you like—”
“Not in the friends way!” Melt cut off Aqua suddenly as he blushed profusely, before he continued without allowing Aqua the chance to respond just yet, ensuring that he wouldn’t misunderstand his point this time. “In the.. In the way where I’d like to.. I think it would be nice to.. Hold you, or maybe even kiss you..” His voice suddenly went quiet as he fidgeted nervously with his hands, did he really just admit all of that out loud?
Apparently he did, according to the reaction Aqua gave him.
Aqua’s eyes widened, he was simply at a loss for words, not expecting to ever find himself in this situation, much less with Melt of all people. No, he never thought Melt would admit to developing those feelings, Aqua expected to just bury his romantic attraction towards Melt deep within himself in order to get over it, letting go of a chance that was supposed to never be.
But yet, here was Melt, offering Aqua the opportunity to be honest about his feelings.
Melt started to ramble more and more about his confession and his feelings towards Aqua, but Aqua found himself tuning him out, not on purpose, but because he was just so captivated by Melt's appearance in that moment, almost as if he was drawn into it, or perhaps the fact that his body was still overheating— even more so now contributing to his zoning out. This was definitely not the first time Aqua had stopped to admire Melt’s appearance, as much as he’d never admit that out loud, but it was the first time he felt physically unable to look away.
As well as being unable to ignore the warmth Aqua felt in his chest, which usually presented itself as something bothersome, but in this situation the sensation was rather pleasant.
Aqua was captivated by the smaller details of Melt’s appearance, such as the way the sun hit his hair in just the right way to accentuate his hair color, which, Aqua quickly learned that purple was starting to become one of his favorite colors— or perhaps the way in which Melt’s cheeks flushed with a pretty pink as he purposely avoided Aqua’s gaze during his rambling, as much as Aqua wanted to admire Melt’s eyes.
At this point, what more did he have to lose?
Or rather, Aqua felt capable of being able to protect Melt. Now that the revenge plan was done and over with, knowing with full certainty that Melt wouldn’t have to get involved with that sort of thing brought him some form of peace of mind.
Aqua decided to hell with it, he'd finally allow himself a little bit of happiness.
Aqua started to lean in closer to Melt without even realizing it, leaving the other flabbergasted and muttering, "W-wait, Aqua what are you—"
And then their lips met.
Their first kiss was awkward, despite the experience both of them had.
Melt didn’t see it coming at all, the physical contact happening so suddenly he felt unable to respond for a moment or even reciprocate the kiss at all, leaving Melt an embarrassed, sputtering mess.
Aqua didn’t seem to mind too much, rather, he saw it as an opportunity to lean in again.
Their second kiss felt more guided, more in sync with each other; hints of awkwardness still lingering as the pair figured out how to work with each other, Melt’s clammy hands clumsily reaching for Aqua’s, seeking stabilization to prove that this was really happening.
By their third kiss, Aqua found himself cupping Melt’s cheek with his hand, guiding the two of them together, Melt found himself reaching up to thread his fingers through Aqua’s hair, soft, blonde locks gently nestled between his fingertips, as if they’d finally figured out how to work with each other.
After the two of them finally broke apart, Aqua went back to admiring Melt’s appearance, this time with him fully aware of it. Aqua picked up on the details, such as how his cheeks were dusted with a pretty pink, or how his lips were still slightly parted despite the two of them separating, or how his hair was just a tad bit messier than compared to the moments prior.
Aqua thought Melt was pretty cute.
Just as suddenly as Aqua kissed Melt, he stood up from the bench without warning, leaving Melt almost, almost starting to question where he was trying to run off to, before Aqua stood in front of the vending machine adjacent to where they’d been sitting, admiring the options. He turned slightly to glance back at Melt, who’s cheeks were still burning, because of course they were. “What do you want to drink?”
Melt furrowed his brow before responding, trying so, so desperately to ignore the burning felt in both his chest and on his cheeks, knowing his embarrassment was the most obvious thing in the world at that moment. “And why are you the one who’s buying me a drink? Let me at least—”
Before Melt could finish his sentence, leading somewhere to saying Aqua should let Melt do nice things for him for once, the purple-haired boy was suddenly tossed a bottle of green tea, fumbling the bottle and almost dropping it with a confused expression on his face, as if begging the question of ‘why?’.
Aqua turned back and shrugged, tossing his own bottle of green tea between his hands, as if he were playing dumb. “You’re looking pretty warm over there, that’s all.”
Yeah, Aqua was definitely playing dumb, and the look on his face, the smile present clearly explained that. Melt was just about to come up with a witty reply until Aqua looked up at the sky, essentially distracting Melt from whatever thought he was about to have.
“Look, the sun’s gonna set soon,” Aqua pointed out, glancing back at Melt. “Don’t you want to watch the sunset?”
Melt felt his cheeks burning even more so at the mention of the time of day, now that the activity had romantic connotations, he couldn’t help but sputter out a weak reply of yeah.
Aqua moved in front of Melt and suddenly pulled him to his feet off of the bench, causing both of them to stumble a bit as Melt regained his balance, before he was being led down the street, no longer either of them having any thoughts about the heat, the temperature was starting to cool down after all.
Neither of them realized just how much time had passed, but it always seemed to be like that whenever they hung out.
Pinks and purples and blues meddled together in the sky as the sun finally made it descent, the twilight glow finally showing itself, a soft breeze blowing between the two of them. Melt leaned a bit closer to Aqua, his head just barely resting against Aqua’s, enjoying the view and his presence in silence, and as he felt Aqua lean his head back too, Melt smiled softly.
Maybe, things would be okay for the both of them if they had each other.