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“Emu, be careful…!”
“Relax Nene, I’ll be fine!!”
“So how is it? Am I any taller?? Tell me already!!”
“Jeez, learn how to be patient…”
“Wait, I think I see a change!”
“REALLY?!?”
“Wait, Tsukasa-kun, stand still!!”
Tongue sticking out of her mouth, hands steady, Emu stood tippy-toed on a stool, carefully making a mark against the ruler above Tsukasa’s head. Tsukasa stood as perfectly still as he could, nearly trembling from the effort.
“Done!!” No more than a second after those words escaped Emu’s lips, Tsukasa bounced away, eyes on the wall.
“GASP!!” Tsukasa’s eyes went wide.
“Did you just say gasp…?”
“I got taller!!” the blond shouted excitedly, leaping a yard into the air in excitement.
“Congratulations, I guess…” Nene couldn’t seem to care less. Emu smiled widely, thrilled by Tsukasa’s excitement.
Suddenly Tsukasa seemed to have gotten a revelation.
“Where’s Rui?!” Tsukasa asked rather loudly.
“How should I know? We were all here the whole time,” Nene muttered. “But he’s probably backstage… and he’s gone again.” The blond had already pranced away, practically flying with every skip out of the room.
“Rui!!” Tsukasa made his presence quite known with his loud entry into the room. Rui turned around in his chair, facing the excited star.
“What is it, Tsukasa-kun?” As Rui asked this, he put his things away.
“I have incredible news to share with you, my dear stage director!” Tsukasa walked into the room with his boot heels clacking confidently.
Rui stared up at Tsukasa as he placed his hands on his hips, returning Rui’s gaze with a confident smile.
“Am I supposed to guess what the great news is?” Rui asked, tilting his head slightly.
“Yes!!” Tsukasa waited patiently as Rui thought long and hard about what the great news could possibly be.
“I grew taller!!” Tsukasa exclaimed impatiently, puffing his chest out with pride.
“Oh? How wonderful~” Rui smiled. He couldn’t help but think the boy looked cute like this, proudly showing off his height.
“I’ve grown an entire centimeter!” Tsukasa exclaimed proudly. “I guess I’m a little closer to you now, huh? Ahahaha!”
“Oh…”
“Why aren’t you excited Rui? Isn’t this wonderful news?”
“Well…”
Hesitantly, Rui stood up. As he rose, Tsukasa’s eyes widened, first in shock, then in great disappointment, then a slight anger. Rui stood in front of Tsukasa with a nervous smile on his face.
“YOU GOT TALLER TOO?!?!”
"TOO?!?!"
"TOO?!?!"
"TOO?!?!"
“Jeez…” Nene covered her ears, her eyes squinted in pain. “Doesn’t Tsukasa know that we can all hear him yelling from out here?”
“Teehee! Tsukasa-kun must be really excited!” Emu deduced with a smile.
“I don’t think so…” Nene thought back to the thundering exclamation Tsukasa had just shrieked moments ago.
“I hope they don’t get into any trouble…” Nene murmured to herself as she stared in the direction of the stage.
“...Should I go check on them...?”
“Sorry Tsukasa-kun…”
“Argh!!! This isn’t fair!!”
As Rui stood apologetically, Tsukasa frowned like a child, nearly throwing a tantrum.
“You’ve been so tall all last year!! And you don’t even eat vegetables!! So how is it that you’re growing yet again?!” Tsukasa shouted.
“Ah, I told you vegetables were no good,” Rui chuckled, feeling triumphant, but then dropping the smirk when he saw the still-angered expression on Tsukasa’s face.
“If it makes you feel better, should I make myself shorter?” Rui asked, to which Tsukasa nodded enthusiastically.
“Yes!! Of course it would!!” he exclaimed, but then his expression became puzzled.
“Wait, how are you going to get shorter?” Tsukasa asked. “It’s not like you can just take back your height!”
“Hm… I could bend down whenever I’m with you,” Rui suggested, bending his knees slightly to get face-level with Tsukasa.
“...”
“...”
“Now that just feels insulting.”
“Sorry.”
Rui straightened himself.
“Hm… what if…” Rui seemed to get an idea. “...I do this?”
Tsukasa watched in confusion as Rui bent his knees, grabbing the back of his jacket to keep it from sweeping against the floor. Rui kept bending further until his knee hit the ground, then lowered the other one. He released his jacket.
“Is this better?” Rui asked, tilting his head up to look at the now much taller Tsukasa.
“This is an unrealistic height difference,” Tsukasa muttered.
“I know, I know,” Rui said with a bit of an apologetic tone. “But it was the only thing I could think of.”
As Tsukasa stared at Rui, he seemed to have noticed something. On his knees, he was much shorter than Tsukasa. But due to Rui’s height, he easily surpassed Tsukasa’s legs, his head being face-level with Tsukasa’s stomach.
“Doesn’t your neck hurt from looking up at me?” Tsukasa asked. “You look like you’re straining your neck!”
“I’m fine,” Rui assured with a wave of his hand. “Even if it gets tiring, it’s not like I’m gonna spend all day on my knees like this.”
“Nonsense! You are our stage director! You must protect your neck!” Tsukasa lectured, his arms crossed.
“Well… it’s a bit awkward to keep my head straight, isn’t it?” Rui pointed out. “I’d just be staring at your shirt while we talk.”
“Who cares if it’s awkward? It’s not like there’s anyone around to judge you,” Tsukasa argued. He suddenly reached out, grabbing Rui’s head and straightening it.
“There! Isn’t that much better?” Tsukasa asked, to which Rui couldn’t help but agree. In that moment, Tsukasa paused. He had never actually touched Rui’s hair before. It was surprisingly soft, free of tangles. Rui noticed Tsukasa’s silence. He opened his mouth to say something. But suddenly the door opened.
“Tsukasa, I can hear you all the way from outside.” Nene’s familiar soft voice came. Tsukasa turned around. Nene froze.
The two made eye contact, and Tsukasa could see the visible confusion and shock in Nene’s face as it quickly turned to something like disgust.
Tsukasa was in the middle of wondering what Nene could possibly be disgusted at when she interrupted his thoughts with, “...Ew.”
Not a single word more, and she instantly turned around and slammed the door shut. Tsukasa nearly flinched at the surprisingly loud slam.
“What was that all about?” Tsukasa asked, tilting his head in confusion. He turned back towards Rui, who was still on his knees with Tsukasa’s hand in his hair.
“Tsukasa-kun…”
“Mm?”
“Do you not… see the potentially awkward position that Nene saw?”
“Eh?”
It was only then that Tsukasa took in the details of the scene, analyzing for what Nene could have perceived. Tsukasa himself, standing in front of Rui, his hand in Rui’s hair; Rui, on his knees in front of Tsukasa, head straight forward.
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Wait.
Tsukasa standing in front of Rui, his hand in Rui’s hair; Rui, on his knees in front of Tsukasa, head straight forward. Rui, on his knees in front of Tsukasa, head straight forward. Rui, on his knees in front of Tsukasa.
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“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHH?!?!?!?!?!”