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It was Pocky Day.
Gaku Yaotome never saw the point in celebrating. It seemed… trivial to him. Why make a special day to eat pocky with your friends and family when you could do that any day? That’s what he had thought, up until Ryunosuke had subtly given him an idea.
Apparently, there was a game you could play with pocky. One you play with your crush, or someone you like. One person gets one end of the pocky stick, and the person you like gets the other. You both eat the pocky, and the first one to pull away loses. If you don’t pull away… it ends in a kiss.
For the record, Gaku had no idea such a game existed before Ryunosuke started explaining the types of games and fun people had on Pocky Day. Of course, you could play the pocky game any other day. But today just gave him the excuse to play it with Tsumugi, since she likely wouldn’t question his intentions behind it.
Gaku held a box of pocky Ryunosuke had handed out earlier as he walked down the empty hallway. IDOLiSH7 should be done filming right about now… and right on cue, Tsumugi rounded the corner. She didn’t seem like she was in a rush. And lucky him - she initiated the conversation first.
“Ah, Gaku-san! Happy Pocky Day!” She greeted him with a smile. It seemed she also treated today as if it was a holiday. Her eyes soon darted to the box of pocky Gaku had been holding. “You’re celebrating? With who?”
Gaku returned the smile he gave her. “Not really, no. Ryuu had handed Tenn and I boxes of pocky earlier. I wasn’t really sure what to do with it.”
Tsumugi nodded, letting out a quiet and focused hum. How cute , Gaku thought.
“What if you and I celebrate?” Tsumugi suddenly asked. He wasn’t expecting her to be the one to suggest celebrating together. “B-but only if you aren’t busy, Gaku-san..!”
Gaku let out a suppressed chuckle. She was so cute .
“I’m not busy for the rest of the day, Tsumugi. So sure, let’s celebrate together,” he said with a warm smile. “How about… my place at 7 tonight?”
“E-eh..?? Y-your place?” Tsumugi asked, clearly flustered at his offer. It seemed it was the last thing she’d expect him to suggest.
And he took note of that - he wondered if he had made her uncomfortable by offering to go to his place. “Tenn and Ryuu will be out tonight. Let's invite IDOLiSH7 if you’d rather not be alone..” He managed to hide his disappointment at that idea. But the last thing he’d want is for Tsumugi to be uncomfortable.
“N-no..! I mean.. I’m okay with it just being us. I was surprised, that’s all. In fact… I think I’d rather prefer it if it was just us.” Tsumugi seemed to regain her composure when Gaku nearly lost his. He quickly turned his head and covered his mouth with the palm of his hand. He coughed a little to hide his creeping blush. She just said that she’d prefer it if it were just them .
“Oh..? Great. I look forward to seeing you tonight, Tsumugi.” He said with a warm smile once he regained his composure, and gently waved before walking away.
The moment he rounded the corner of the hallway and was out of Tsumugi’s sight, his face immediately turned a deep shade of red. He covered his face with his hands as a way to suppress his blush.
“Goodness… that girl…” He mumbled to himself.
-
7pm arrived, and Tsumugi wasn’t a second late. A knock sounded at the door of Gaku’s apartment, and he practically bolted to answer it. Though, he waited a couple seconds before opening the door to not seem too eager. He definitely wasn’t counting down the minutes.
“Tsumugi, welcome.” Gaku said with a smile, stepping aside to let her inside his apartment. She was holding a grocery bag of what looked like more boxes of pocky.
“Thank you, Gaku-san.” Tsumugi replied happily, watching him close the front door. He helped her take her coat off, and hung it up on the coat rack before the two of them sat down on the living room couch. There was a bit of distance between them, but that was okay. He was still close to her.
“Say… Tsumugi, have you heard of any games to play with pocky?” Gaku asked curiously, looking at her expectantly.
Tsumugi seemed to have to ponder his question for a moment. “A game? Hmm.. Yamato-san was talking about playing a game with pocky earlier today, but Mitsuki-san didn’t let him explain.”
Gaku felt a hint of irritation as he knew exactly what Yamato had been trying to play between him and Tsumugi. However, he hid that irritation fairly well.
“I see… Well, whatever game Nikaido was suggesting, my game is probably different.”
“Really? You have a game, Gaku-san?”
“Mm-hmm. Want me to explain?” He appeared confident, yet the anticipation of being able to play the pocky game with Tsumugi was getting to him. To be honest, he feared her rejection to play the most.
She nodded, looking at him expectantly. He opened one of the boxes of pocky, holding one of the pocky sticks in his hands.
“First… Do you trust me, Tsumugi?” Gaku asked quietly, looking at her with a sense of hope. He really hoped she’d trust him with this game.
And she nodded again. “I trust you, Gaku-san.”
He gave a quick nod in acceptance. “Alright then, I’ll explain… One person takes one end of the pocky stick, and the other person takes the opposite end,” he started off, placing one end of the pocky in his mouth. “We both take bites of the pocky. First one to pull away or breaks the pocky loses.”
“And if neither of us break away…?”
Gaku smirked softly with a silent chuckle. “You’ll see, Tsumugi. Still want to play?”
Tsumugi seemed to understand what the game implied, yet she didn’t say no.
“Yes, I’d like to play.”
“Very well. Remember I don’t like losing, Tsumugi.” He said as he let Tsumugi take the other end of the pocky in her mouth.
The game began. The first thing Gaku noticed was how close they were, and they hadn’t even started eating their ends of the pocky yet. He was surprised to see Tsumugi take the first bite. She didn’t pull away or break the stick yet, so he took a bite and got closer to her.
They took turns taking small bites.
Another bite.
And another, until it seemed there was one last bite to be taken.
“Tsumugi… I’m going to take the last bite.” He mumbled with the pocky stick in their mouths.
However, he was too late. He wasted his time speaking. Tsumugi took the last bite, their lips touching - even if it was briefly. He was sure his cheeks were bright red, probably just as red as hers.
Neither of them seemed to know how to respond. They technically kissed.
“I lost.” Gaku said with a small smirk as he regained his composure.
Tsumugi laughed softly at his response. She wasn’t as composed yet, but still spoke up anyway.
“Want to play again, then? Maybe you’ll win this time, Gaku-san.”