Work Text:
Sano blearily blinked and looked down to see Mame curled up on his chest.
"Mornin' Mame..."
"Hey, Sano-kun..."
Sano softly smiled at him and patted Mame's head. They got up and began getting dressed. As usual, his mind began drifting off to various different things. However, unlike thinking about Hijita breastfeeding or Haruaki with a flower for his ahoge, he thought of Mame. Mame is tiny, Mame is cute, Mame is talkative... Mame is amazing... he likes Mame. He likes Mame a lot.
"Let's go, Sano-kun!"
Mame began to walk out of the dorm, but Sano grabbed his arm and spun him around.
"Hey..."
"Hey, Sano-kun..."
Sano looked him up and down before pulling him into his chest. He wrapped his arms around Mame and held him close.
"Unf-!" Mame blinked before hugging Sano. "Your hugs are nice, Sano-kun! You're always the best when it comes to this!"
"Thanks..." Sano looked down. "He's so small..."
Well, he was always small... this isn't new.
"But he's really small... cute..."
All animals are cute.
"But his human form is... cuter than his tanuki form..."
Well, yeah. Of course he's cute. He's Mame and Mame is a cutie pie. He knows he is.
"But, I want to... want to..."
"Sano-kun?"
Sano snapped back to reality and looked back down at his best friend.
Best friend.
Mame was his best friend.
"Yeah, let's go."
Mame cocked his head. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Sano looked away before Mame grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. "Huh?"
"Wanna... wanna stay in for the day?"
"You're suggesting we stay in and skip class? Seimei will be disappointed and Hatanaka will be pissed at the both of us."
"You seem distracted, and I don't think kicking Seimei-kun will fix it."
"He always knows... and he cares about me..." Sano smiled softly. "Yeah, you're right."
Mame sat on their bed. "What has you distracted?"
Sano sat next to him and scratched the back of his neck. How to broach the subject... hell, Sano didn't even know his feelings fully. How would he even begin to explain it to Mame.
"Mame... have you ever been in love? Or thought a certain feeling was love? Like... at all? Anything close to that..." Sano lost his words. "Strange feeling..."
Mame cocked his head. "Well... up until recently, no."
"'Recently'?"
"I think, after spending a lot of time with someone, that... I like him a lot. Like, a lot, a lot." Mame blushed softly. "I never felt anything like that."
Sano watched him, a million thoughts running through his mind. He and Mame hang out around each other all the time. They were best friends, and even though Mame wants 100 billion friends, he would always make time for Sano. Hell, he decided to skip class for him!"
"So, what's going on with you?"
"I... I think I like someone... and, it's a guy- but he's also my friend- and- and I just-... I don't know what to feel or- or how to tell him or anything- and I've been getting more nervous- and I think about him all- just all the time! And- and-"
"Sano-kun."
"...Yeah?"
"Is it me?"
"And if it is?"
"Then can I say something?"
"If it's a rejection, kick me out. If it's you accepting it, then hold my hand." Sano squeezed his eyes shut not being able to look Mame in the eyes. Then, he felt his friend's tiny hand pry his open and gently hold it. He opened his eyes and looked down, seeing one hand still clenched while the other one was clasped in Mame's smaller hand.
"I like you too. You were the one I got closer with. You couldn't tell?"
"I thought so, but... but you have a ton of friends, so... so I wasn't 100%-... wow, You- we- we like each other."
"We do."
"So... what does this mean?"
"Do you want to date me, Sano-kun?"
Sano thought about what he asked and hummed.
"I think... that's nice."
"Then we'll go out this weekend!"
Sano smiled as Mame began planning out their first date, standing with his feet on either side of his thighs.
"Mame."
"Yeah?"
"I really like you."
Mame smiled and pressed his forehead against Sano's. "I really like you too, Sano."
"Those two are so dead."
"Come now, Izuna, they're kids. And don't act like you never skipped."
Haruaki turned to his friends. "I knew hew as a delinquent, but he really skipped class before?"
Miki sighed. "Ohh god, he dragged me to skip class many times."
"Oh... yeah, let's let Sano and Mame skip out, Izuna-kun!"
"You're just saying that because Sano is your favorite!"
"I- I don't play favorites!"
"It is obvious. Haruaki..."
"Waahh! So mean!"