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"Oh my god", Mao had his head in his hands, as if he was going to lose it. "It's a date. Hokuto Hidaka got a date"
Hokuto looked confused. "Is it?" It didn't look any different to any other meetings they went to. Subaru is a close friend after all.
But the serious look on Mao's face, how he placed his hands on Hokuto's shoulders, how they locked eyes; they were all signals that Mao was being serious and this was a worrying matter.
"Hokuto, you are meeting in a popular café for young couples, only you two. It's not related to work or to your club". Mao swallowed, "it even has a couple discount menu."
"We have done this many times before though. I don't understand why you are so troubled, Isara."
Mao's jaw dropped to the floor due to Hokuto's obliviousness and Makoto saw it as an opportunity to intervene, "Hidaka-kun! Didn't your grandmother give you any type of relationship advice?"
Hokuto shook his head, still confused. "I don't need relationship advice, in my grandma's words: I should live true to myself and that's it. So I'm doing that."
"You should ask her! Oh my god, this poor girl you are going out with must think you are toying with her". Mao returned to his initial position of desperation, but now his head lies on the table exhausted.
"Girl? What girl?"
Mao gave up, Makoto adjusts his glasses curiously, encouraging Hokuto to develop his answer.
"I'm just going to the café with Akehoshi."
Mao groaned. "Why am I not surprised? For a moment I thought you were talking about Anzu, but that works too, I guess."
Makoto leaned back in his chair, "Well, if it's Akehoshi-kun it should be fine."
Mao suddenly rose, facing Makoto. "You are right, he's a genius after all! He must master the matters of the heart too, right?"
"Ah yeah! I heard from Nito-senpai that he often flirts with that boy in his unit!"
Mao nodded in agreement. "Yep, he often teases his juniors..."
"Akehoshi does what?" The question got Mao and Makoto silent. When they get too worked up in conversations, they can't help being a little insensitive. Hokuto didn't intend to trouble his friends, he was just confused, he hadn't followed the conversation ever since he started talking to them.
Mao raised his hand behind his head, clearly a move he only did when he is uncomfortable. "Don't worry! We are sure we can leave you to Subaru!"
Hokuto was going to ask more but the door burst open, a sudden light entered the room and within it, Subaru, of course.
"Leaving who to me?"
Nobody answered.
Subaru pouted "Aww c'mon don't ignore me!"
Anzu appeared behind him and crossed her arms, "Don't leave Subaru out guys, what are you planning?"
"Right Anzu! Tell me, tell me, c'mon!"
Silence again.
"We can't start the reunion like this." Anzu started to tap the floor with her shoe. Subaru sensed her stress.
Just as he entered, Subaru moved fast to the table they were chatting on and, quick as light, snatched Makoto's glasses from his face. "Hokke! Time?"
Hokuto looked at his watch "43 seconds. A little later than usual, you took too long in your entrance. Not your best time."
Makoto stammered on his own words and could only let out a tiny and short scream. "Akehoshi-kun!"
"Owww, what a pity! Next time I'll set a record for sure!" Suddenly, uninterested, he returned the glasses to Makoto. Anzu sighed happily against the doorframe. She was still intrigued at what the trio was planning but she was sure they didn't want to share the details. Maybe Subaru knew that and diverted their attention to something else entirely so they could start the reunion at peace now. She laughed a little to herself. What a wonderful group of friends she had.
Four pairs of eyes looked at her expectantly and so the acclaimed reunion began.
---
When the reunion ended, they all went their own different ways. Today was Makoto's turn to escort Anzu home, so Hokuto walked directly to the station to take the train. Waiting for it to arrive, he received a message from Mao.
Isara:
- Dont mess it up tomorrow dude!
- Treat it as a date, you hear me!?
- Wear nice clothes and try to flirt a little!!
Me:
- You mean... Like a prince?
Isara:
- Nononono please dont bring your prince like attitude to this.
Me:
- I'm sure Akehoshi likes my prince-like persona, he says it all the time.
Isara:
- He is laughing at you! Im your voice of reason. Listen to me!
Hokuto shook his head in front of his screen, he knew for a fact that Subaru likes the 'prince Hokke'. Mao was wrong in this, but Hokuto didn't want to start an argument now.
Isara:
- Honestly itss terrifying that you dont feel nervous at all
Nervous? Hokuto? Why? As he said earlier, he has gone out with Subaru on other multiple occasions. That boy craves attention as if it's his everyday meal. Hokuto is just used to it already, they have spent lots of time together. On the contrary, he should be happy he can spend time with Subaru like this. It's a natural talent for Subaru to light up a dim room and turn sadness into happiness. He's an idol after all.
Hokuto sent his final message.
Me:
- Isara, there's nothing to worry about. Maybe we should invite you to our next meeting, or date, if you want to call it that way.
Isara:
- please dont!!!
The train arrived and Hokuto hopped in. He didn't understand why Mao was so fixated on his relationship with Subaru. Maybe it's because he read one of those popular romance manga? Hokuto laughed a little to himself. Mao was easily influenced but he never chooses the wrong thing. Should he pursue this 'romance thing' Mao implies with Subaru? There's no doubt he loves him, even when he's insufferable, annoying and a pain, he still admires him at the end of the day. He shines more than the most beautiful star and nobody can help but to be drawn to his friendly nature. When they first met, Subaru shook Hokuto's heart to its very core. If loving was to be changed, Hokuto loved him.
But Subaru is such a troublemaker! Confused and lost, Hokuto decided to come up with what points an ideal partner should have. Subaru certainly couldn't fit in them.
1) Have what he lacks
Subaru is the antithesis of Hokuto. As much as it annoys him, Hokuto has to work hard for everything he wants, while Subaru has a natural talent for being good at whatever he fancies.
2) Feel like the sun
He can't be sure if Subaru is attracted to him, but Hokuto sure is. He loves to run his fingers through his hair when they are alone in the classroom and Hokuto is finishing his crossword of the day. When Subaru pleids and pouts, in the same cute way Tori would, for one of his konpeito and then whines when Hokke turns him down. Everytime Hokuto feels stressed or tired, a talk with Subaru helps him regain his sense of self. Hokuto is upright and proper, Subaru is annoying and childish, but has a childlike kind of joy, such as when he laughs after he splashes Hokuto while he drinks from the playground's fontain. For those reasons, he feels like the sun.
3) A beautiful smile
Hokuto loves Subaru's smile. How could he not? For a boy who has suffered so much, being able to smile should be a blessing from God himself. Hokuto doesn't believe in any god, but if God made Subaru able to smile, then he would pray every night. As long as Subaru is able to smile, then it's fine. That's what he used to think. He thought that during Venus Cup, it was his reason to return to Trickstar during DDD and it was his reason to wake up from shock and confront Eden in SS. He wanted to see Subaru's smile because he loves his smile.
Hokuto returned home with a tingling feeling in his stomach, cursing about not being able to consult his grandmother for tips to help him tomorrow. Maybe he was nervous after all.
---
He wasn't going to ask Mao or Makoto for help now. He should be able to make this date right, he is perfectly capable of it. Probably.
Hokuto entered the café, confident as one might be. As Mao pointed out yesterday, there seem to be lots of couples enjoying their dates here. A nice waitress came by and asked him for his reservation and he was led to his table.
Subaru was already there and he was making little origami stars out of paper napkins. His head perked up as Hokuto got closer and he could almost see a tail wagging behind Subaru just as his face lit up.
"Hokke~! You are right on time!" Hokuto did a little bow to the waitress to send her off and sat down in front of Subaru. "You are fairly early yourself, Akehoshi."
"Well I'm an early riser and I didn't plan anything else to do this morning apart from walking Daikichi so.... Oh!!! But I made these!" Subaru picked one of the little stars and pushed it until it reached Hokuto's side of the table, "that one is for you! Since you also have a star as a name, I think it's appropriate!" Subaru smiled. He thought his act of kindness would be rewarded, but he only got a frown from Hokuto.
"What about the rest? You only give me one? There must be 20 stars there, you sure are a pretentious guy!" He meant every word. Hokuto nodded to himself, that's right! This wasn't love. He respected Subaru as an idol but not as a person!
Subaru pouted "Oww meanie! I gave it to you out of utter kindness!" He puffs out his cheeks.
Oh... Cute.
Hokuto nodded to himself once again, maybe he could try out this date thing, just in case, of course. He didn't catch any feelings yet.
"Oh right! I already asked for a dessert! I heard it's special for today and it's meant to be shared with another person. One of the words in the description was sparkly, so I couldn't help myself! Hope you dont mind Hokke~ hehe..."
Hokuto shrugged, "you would have done whatever you wanted even if I didn't want you to."
Subaru chimed "and even if you didn't want me to, you would have let me do it!"
"Hmph." It's scary that Subaru knows him that well, geniuses have it so easy. While to Hokuto, Subaru is a mysterious puzzle where he has to connect the pieces, but he can't find any pieces that fit each other. Hokuto must be as clear as the night sky to Subaru. He was at a disadvantage, but he had accepted the challenge.
However, right at that moment, the gigantic vanilla ice cream full of strawberry syrup, little jelly stars and cream on top arrived, and Hokuto remembered. Right. He planned to make this a proper date. At this point, nothing special had happened, only their usual banter. If he couldn't beat Subaru in a casual manner, maybe he should beat Subaru in a romantic manner. He is the Prince, after all. But that's a secret. Hokuto will never accept his prince role out loud.
Hokuto scanned his surroundings. Maybe he should do like other couples and surprise Subaru. Yeah, that's right, that's the goal, surprising the unpredictable guy. Nothing more.
He came across a familiar face some tables away, Hinata Aoi. He seemed to be on a date with that guy from Ryuseitai, Kuro's apprentice. Hinata was Hokuto's teacher once, so he might be able to help him again. Feelings were his forte after all.
But the scene he saw was somewhat...
"C'mon c'mon Tetsu! Stop being shy!! I'm waiting for you!" Hinata and Tetora were enjoying the same dessert as them.
"You are so embarrassing at times, y'know?" Tetora was clearly suffering, with a spoon in his hand, he was sweating buckets. Clearly uncomfortable, he was slouching over, looking at the table while Hinata had his face between his hands waiting to be spoonfed.
Hinata has always been two steps ahead of Hokuto. How bold! Not at all prince-like... Hokuto could never do anything like that, spoonfeeding or being spoonfed. He shook his head, he always had some basic decency. His grandmother had always valued table etiquette.
But as he returned to his main dish, an unsual scene appeared before him.
Subaru, just as Hinata was a moment ago, had his head resting on his hands, eyes closed, mouth open.
Did he pretend to be spoonfed?
He just denied doing this, but when it comes to Subaru... Who is he to turn him down?
Hokuto looked at their dessert, already melting but untouched. He grabbed one of the spoons and took some of it.
But then he laid his eyes on Subaru again. He could appreciate his long eyelashes now that his eyes were closed. His fluffy hair brushing his skin, pink lips humming a soft "aah" waiting for hi.......s spoon. Right the spoon. Uh. The spoon. Well. Maybe it's too embarrassing, maybe he can't do it after all. Maybe he's starting to sweat just like Tetora a moment ago.
But then Subaru burst out laughing, bright and clear, "I'm just messing with you, Hokke!" And annoying.
He straightened his back, smiling just like someone had told a nice joke and everyone laughed, but Hokuto wasn't laughing.
Subaru ignored his emotionally constipated partner and kept swinging side to side on his seat. "I knew you couldn't do it!"
Hokuto frowned.
What does he mean "he couldn't do it"? His voice kept ringing inside his head. I knew you couldn't do it! Did he think less of him? Right, everything is so easy for a genius like Subaru. But Hokuto has always been able to keep up with him, even if he's just a normal human and Subaru is a monster, Hokuto will always chase after him.
A burning feeling kept growing inside of him.
Hokuto held the spoon firmly, he grabbed Subaru's collar to pull him back into his previous position. Subaru yelpped back in surprise and a spoon was shoved in his mouth. Subaru was shocked. He looked at Hokuto's face. What he saw was a triumphant smile.
"See?" Said Hokuto, "I could do it, idiot."
Subaru gulped the ice cream down his throat, Hokuto, tasting his win, sat back and Subaru took the chance to fix his collar. Hokuto can be a little wild sometimes.
Subaru smiled.
"Mao was right!"
The frown returned to Hokuto's face.
"Isara?"
"Mao said that you can't resist a challenge! Especially if it's me!" Subaru rested his arms on the table again, playing with his little stars.
"You set me a trap..." Hokuto's frown ended in somehow a pout, if his expressionless face allowed him to pout. He thought he had accomplished something, that he could outsmart Subaru.
"But you surprised me though!" Subaru giggled while stuffing more of the ice cream in his mouth.
"Hmph. Did I? When did you learn to be surprised?" Hokuto also accompanied Subaru, eating the ice cream himself.
"Eeeh... you only say mean things to me." Subaru started drawing circles on the strawberry syrup. He puffed his cheeks in a pout, the same way he does when he asks for things, "you shouldn't pay others attention when I'm your date for the day Hokke! It feels lonely! I should be your number one priority!"
Ah. A date.
"Y-you are so full of yourself, jerk." Hokuto was suddenly self-conscious. Why? Didn't he want this to be a date anyway?
"Hokke, you are red as a tomato", Subaru was inspecting him with his big blue eyes, as if he could see Hokuto's soul. In a way, it was intimidating, but rather cute too.
Hokuto put his hands on his face, he needed space, a wall between them, he didn't stand being in front of Subaru anymore.
"Hokke???" He couldn't see Subaru's expression but he had a feeling he had a confused puppy face. Ugh! Cute bastard!
Hokuto peeked through his fingers and his theory was correct. So, so unfair.
"Is this really a date?"
"Is it not?"
"We act as always... I thought it should be different but you make it so hard." Hokuto didn't move. "I mean, it's not a secret that I love you but-"
Subaru dropped his spoon, flustered "You love me!?!?"
Hokuto hesitated "I. Ah. Y-Yes? I never told you?"
Subaru suddenly got up and rushed outside. Hokuto didn't have time to react.
"Ake- The bill!?!?"
"I already paid!!!" Subaru ran out of the door.
Getting confused looks from the rest of the clients in the café, he got up too, looked at the little stars on the table and only grabbed his. He saw Hinata on his table giving him a thumbs up, while Tetora looked confused. Hokuto bowed a little in Hinata's direction out of respect, and ran in Subaru's direction.
---
He followed Subaru for like 5 minutes until Subaru just gave up and stopped. Hokuto was now sweating for real. They are now in the middle of a local park. Subaru ran like he knew the way, so maybe he had brought Daikichi around here some day. Right now it was quiet and only cicadas could be heard.
Hokuto got closer, panting. "You know I'm the least athletic of us five, please I-" breath in, breath out "have a bit of consideration for me."
Subaru turned around as angry as a cute puppy can be. "You are always like this Hokke!" He put his hands on Hokuto's shoulders."You always say these things so easily and you say them like you mean every word!" His hands now moved to Hokuto's face, moving it so they faced each other. "It drives me crazy."
"I really don't know what you are talking about. It's the normal me."
"You are also so silly." Subaru finally chuckled.
Hokuto smiled.
"You are sillier."
"Well, I do foolish things intentionally but you do foolish things without meaning to, so you should be the silly winner!" Hokuto's smile apparently was contagious because Subaru started smiling too.
Hokuto then extended his arm and put something in Subaru's hand, "You left this in the café after you ran out. I bet everyone thought I was a heartbreaker."
Subaru looked down, the very star he gifted Hokuto, but he complained about it in his hand.
"I was feeling a little overwhelmed. I'm a bit bad at strong feelings." He saved his little star in his pocket. He kept smiling. Hokuto has always been like this. Cold but affectionate.
"I love your smile."
"Noooo... Stop that!" Subaru whined, still shy.
Hokuto leaned in. Locked his arms around Subaru's waist. He gave him a little peck on the cheek.
"Even if you keep running away, I will chase after you" Hokuto said.
"Quit the talking, Prince." This time, Subaru pushed Hokuto to him, kissing him properly. Hokuto's hand went up, stroking Subaru's hair. He could still savour the ice cream from Subaru's mouth. Sweet and nice. He could even feel Subaru's smile on his own lips.
They break apart after a while to catch air.
"Don't call me prince. I told you a million times; I'm an idol, just like you."
They held hands. Looking at each other. Best friends, rivals and now, something more.
"So will you keep chasing after me?" Subaru asked, playful as ever.
Hokuto nodded "Don't leave me behind."