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There’s a pleasant buzz in the air of the Himemiya mansion’s guest lounge that evening, the laughter and chatter of the Yumenosaki Academy second years illuminating the room with a bright, lively glow. The biggest TV screen Tomoya has ever seen is currently displaying a 2-vs-2 minigame in Mario Party, in which Mitsuru and Sora’s team of Donkey Kong and Daisy are utterly annihilating Midori and Hiiro’s Peach and Yoshi. In all fairness, Hiiro does seem to be making a valiant effort (that mostly amounts to Yoshi running headlong into a brick wall), while Midori appears to have completely given up, his controller tossed to the side as Peach just stands there idly.
Nearby on the floor, Yuuta, Shinobu, Tsukasa, and Tetora are playtesting Ibara’s latest monument to capitalism, Ensemble Square Monopoly. It looks like it’s getting pretty heated, and Tomoya’s almost relieved he’s not playing. He’s also pretty sure Yuuta owns about half the board by now, and seems to be surreptitiously swiping considerably more than his fair share of two hundred Monopoly L$ every time he passes go. A tip from his boss, maybe, or perhaps that’s just the kind of person Yuuta’s always been. In any case, Tomoya feels that they probably should have put someone a bit more responsible in charge of the finance department.
Tomoya, on his part, is seated upon a plush chaise lounge, absentmindedly petting Tori’s dog, King, who seems to have taken quite a liking to him. Just off to his right, their gracious host is chatting animatedly with Hajime over a heavily-laden snack table. They seem to have gotten to the topic of their favourite foreign snacks, and Tori is insisting that Hajime try something called Arizona Iced Tea, because, “... seriously, Hajime, you’ll love it. You can get it at an American import candy store – not that Yuzuru likes me going there, of course – but I'll try to get you some next time you come to my house…”
All in all, Tomoya is rather enjoying the relaxed atmosphere, and would be quite content to keep sitting there, letting King drool into his lap for the next hour or so.
In hindsight, he should've known the peace was far too good to last.
It all starts when Hinata, agent of chaos that he is, plops himself down beside Tomoya and takes a long swig from a bottle of cola rather dubiously labelled ‘Dr. Bob.’ Tomoya wonders which American import candy store that’s from.
“Hey, Tomo-kun,” he says, with a lazy salute. “What’s up?”
“Not much,” Tomoya replies, scratching between King’s ears. The dog lets out a contented little sigh. “I just thought I’d, like, relax for a bit. Y’know, after–”
“After you got destroyed at Reversi?” Hinata asks, grinning.
Tomoya’s loss to Hinata had been downright humiliating to say the least, and he’s already resigned himself to the fact that he’s not going to be hearing the end of it for a while. “Yeah, yeah, whatever…”
Hinata takes another gulp of Dr. Bob, pretty much draining the bottle. “HiMERU-san was right, this is good stuff,” he remarks. He turns his attention back to Tomoya. “But, Tomo-kun, aren’t you kinda bored of just sitting here? Like, don’t you wanna do something fun?”
“Not… really?” says Tomoya. “I mean, I’m having enough fun watching everyone doing their own thing…”
“But wouldn't it be even more fun if we could all do something together? I mean, it’s not every day we have the whole gang in one place, right?”
“I guess?” says Tomoya halfheartedly. He’s not really in the mood to lose at more party games, not least to eleven people instead of just one. “Maybe we could play… charades?”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you, Tomo-kun?” Hinata teases, playfully punching him in the arm. “Nope, we absolutely can’t play something that gives you thespians such a big advantage! It wouldn’t be fair on a cute girl like me, who hasn't got a single dramatic bone in her body!”
“Dammit, Hinata…” Tomoya sighs. “No one complained about fairness when Harukawa started playing video games against Amagi–”
“Just give Hiiro-kun a couple more minutes practice–”
“And you’re not even that cute–”
“And I took that personally–”
“And you’re one of the most dramatic people I know!”
At that comment, Hinata just lets out a scandalised gasp, falling backwards onto the chaise lounge with his arm draped across his forehead, like a lady from one of the overacted Indian dramas Wataru had forced Tomoya to watch once. The spectacle earns a cute little giggle from Hajime.
Tomoya just rolls his eyes and concedes, “So, what exactly do you wanna do, then?”
Hinata instantly sits himself back up, and his gaze falls upon the empty cola bottle in his hand – and all of a sudden, his eyes light up in a way Tomoya isn’t sure he likes.
“Let’s play spin the bottle!” he says, like it’s the best idea in the world.
Tori, who clearly doesn’t share the same sentiment, whips his head around from his conversation with Hajime. “Uh, let’s not!”
“Aww, c’mon, Hime-kun, it’ll be fun! Or are you shy ‘cause you’ll maybe have to kiss Tsu–”
“Shut up!” Tori hisses, face scarlet. Luckily for him, Tsukasa seems to be far too busy mortgaging the Rhythm Link offices to be paying any attention to their conversation. “It’s my sleepover, so I get to decide what we play, okay? Besides, we’re all guys, so…”
“Not quite,” says Hinata delicately – and before anyone has the chance to figure out what that means, he adds, “But also, so what? It’s not like anyone here is straight or anythi–”
“I am,” says Tomoya, because it’s true.
The effect of his words on the room is pretty much instantaneous, though. Hinata just stares at him incredulously, while Tetora and Yuuta glance up from their game of Monopoly to give him a look, and Hajime almost chokes on his tea.
“What?” says Tomoya defensively, as he watches Tori give Hajime frantic little slaps on the back, “I’m just saying…”
“Tomo-kun,” says Hinata, placing a firm hand on Tomoya’s shoulder, “You know you’re probably the least straight one out of all of us, right? Like, we all know you’re down horrifically bad for Hidaka-senpai…”
“N-No, I’m… It’s not like there’s anything wrong with it, but I’m not…”
Tomoya isn’t gay. Like, Hinata isn’t wrong, per se – sometimes even the merest glimpse of Hokuto does make his head spin and his heart pound like crazy – but that’s an exception, obviously, because Hokuto is objectively the coolest person in the whole of Japan, and he’s sure anyone with eyes would most definitely say the same. And sure, he’d kind of fallen head over heels for Wataru the first time he’d laid eyes on him (a memory he’d much rather die than ever acknowledge again, in all honesty), but Wataru had been all dolled up like a gorgeous woman at the time, so Tomoya had made the executive decision that that particular crush didn’t count. Not really. And sure, there might have been the odd occasion where he’d referred to Hajime as ‘the cutest being in the galaxy’ – but that one was literally just an indisputable Fact. Like, the sky is blue. Water is wet. Hajime Shino is cute.
But apart from that (and maybe a couple of other times he’d swooned over Nazuna, or caught himself staring a little too intently at Mitsuru’s handsome face, and perhaps just once he might have said that he’d have fallen in love with Mika if he was a girl), Tomoya likes girls. It’s just, he doesn’t really know many of them, except of course his sister (who is… his sister), and Arashi (who’s way out of his league, anyway), and Anzu (who’s more like a cool older sibling to him than someone he could ever be attracted to).
“Oh, Tomoya-kun…” says Hajime, who seems to have finally recovered from his coughing fit, “That’s not…”
“I almost feel sorry for him,” says Tori.
“See?” says Hinata. “That’s why we’ve absolutely gotta play spin the bottle! So we can help Tomo-kun discover himself!”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I agree with Hinata-kun,” Hajime pipes up earnestly. “I think I’d like to play… To help Tomoya-kun, of course.”
Hajime’s word is pretty much law at Ensemble Square. Not that he knows it himself, of course, but it hadn’t gone unnoticed how Café Cinnamon had started stocking a fancy brand of Sri Lankan tea once Hajime had casually mentioned to Eichi just how much he’d loved it after Hiyori had brought some along to their last FLAVOR circle meeting.
(If Tomoya had casually mentioned to Eichi how much he’d liked a certain drink, he’s pretty certain Eichi would have done everything in his power to ensure no food service outlet at Ensemble Square ever served it again, but that’s another story.)
Tomoya’s not immune to it himself, naturally – despite how many years he’s been Hajime’s best friend, it’s still hard for him to say ‘no’ to those beguiling eyes, that disarmingly adorable smile. So by the time Yuuta’s empire has sufficiently bankrupted the other Monopoly players, and a last-minute Bowser Revolution somehow secures Midori the title of Mario Party Superstar, everyone’s gathered in a circle, with Dr. Bob taking pride of place in the centre. They explain the gist of the game to Hiiro, lay down a few ground rules (no one has to play if they really don’t want to, no rerolls allowed unless Hinata’s spin lands on Yuuta or vice versa, anyone can forfeit their turn for a dare) – and they’re off.
Hinata, being the one who dragged the rest of them into this, volunteers to go first. He gives the bottle an enthusiastic spin, and Tomoya holds his breath as he watches it rotate, once, twice, three times… And to his relief, it eventually grinds to a halt in front of Tetora.
Hinata looks like he’s just won the lottery. Tetora’s face conveniently chooses that moment to colour coordinate with the streaks in his hair.
“Looks like it’s you and me, Tetsu-kun!” Hinata says, beaming. “C’mon, pucker up!”
Tetora slowly shuffles towards him. “Just so you know, you’re not exactly my type, but–”
“You mean I’m not, like, some hot, chiselled hunk?” Hinata pretends to look hurt. “You meanie, Tetsu-kun! You’re not allowed to break my heart before we’ve even had our first kiss!”
“D-Dude, stop talking like that…” Tetora stammers, pointedly avoiding eye contact. “And I… I like pretty girls too, so…”
“Hey, I fit at least half of that criteria.”
Tetora stares at him. “… Which half?”
Hinata just silently raises an eyebrow. Tomoya thinks he finally understands what she’s getting at.
(… Which makes it one more girl he’s not attracted to. He doesn’t think about that part too hard.)
“Will you two just get on with it already…?” Midori mutters, eyes fixed on the ground.
Hinata flashes him a thumbs up and grin he won’t see, and, without missing a beat, moves her hand to cup Tetora’s cheek – then goes in for the kill.
A distinctly unmanly squeak escapes Tetora the moment their lips collide, although for the second or so that Tomoya can bear to watch, he does appear to be kissing Hinata back. It’s pretty damn embarrassing to keep looking at them, so Tomoya instead turns his attention to the rest of their classmates sitting awkwardly in the circle around them. A few people, like Midori, seem to have developed a sudden interest in the carpet, but Sora is gazing at the pair with a knowing little smile on his face, and Yuuta just mimes retching, with all the disgust of a little brother having to witness his older sister making out with their mutual friend.
“Ehehe, I think Hinata-chan likes Tetsu-chan!” Mitsuru whispers, from Tomoya’s right.
“You don’t say…” Tomoya replies drily.
When they eventually break apart, Tetora's face could put the Ryuusei Red uniform to shame, and Hinata’s is split into the biggest, goofiest, most lovestruck smile. They both look a little punch-drunk as they stumble back to their places, and Tomoya has a feeling that they might be exchanging a few more kisses – privately – in the very near future.
“I knew this was a good idea,” Hinata says dreamily, once she sits herself back down beside Tomoya.
“For you, maybe,” Tomoya retorts.
“I’m pretty sure it’ll work out for you too, in the end.” Tomoya’s doubt must show on his face, because Hinata quickly adds, “Trust me, Tomo-kun. Would a pretty girl ever lie to you?”
“You’re not that pretty,” Tomoya says, and Hinata feigns indignation.
They decide to go clockwise around the circle from there, a decision that Tomoya is more than okay with – not least because it means that his turn to spin the bottle will come last. He observes as Tsukasa shakily kisses Hiiro (putting all one-sided academic rivalries aside), Mitsuru gives Sora a shameless smooch (even Tomoya can admit they’d make a cute couple), and Shinobu shyly pecks Tori on the lips (an interesting bonding exercise for next year’s Student Council, to say the least). Just when he’s starting to let his guard down, Yuuta warily gives the bottle a spin – and when it stops, it’s unmistakably pointing towards Tomoya.
Hinata wolf-whistles, shoving Tomoya unceremoniously into the middle of the circle. Yuuta just rolls his eyes.
“Sorry about Aneki,” he mutters, glaring coldly at his sister over Tomoya’s shoulder. “You okay to do this, or…?”
“Y-Yeah, I’m fine,” Tomoya replies, suddenly aware of just how close Yuuta is. “I… I don’t really wanna see what kinda dare these guys would come up with if we forfeited, anyway…”
… And if he’s completely honest with himself, he wouldn’t exactly mind kissing Yuuta. He’s definitely better friends with Hinata, to be sure, but for some reason, he’s always found Yuuta to be the more attractive of the Aoi twins. Which he knows doesn’t make sense, really, considering that they’re literally identical, and the only other major difference between them is the fact that Yuuta’s a guy–
Tomoya doesn’t think about it.
“Well, uh, if you’re ready…” Yuuta mumbles.
Tomoya nods, takes a deep breath, and presses his lips firmly against Yuuta’s. It’s not an unpleasant sensation – no different to the strictly professional stage kisses he’s shared with the other members of Dramatica, only with the notable exception of the fact that Yuuta tastes distinctly of spicy chips. The fact that they’re being watched doesn’t really bother him either, considering he’s kissed people in front of much bigger audiences in the past.
Hell, this whole thing almost feels nice.
They break apart after a few moments, and Yuuta throws him a skeptical look that he can’t quite decipher. Still, as they both return to their places in the circle, Tomoya can’t help but feel that that particular encounter didn’t go all too badly. As long as he stays calm, perhaps he’ll be able to escape this game with his dignity intact.
Perhaps.
“Wow~,” says Hinata, as Tomoya retakes his seat beside her, “For an allegedly ‘straight guy,’ you sure were happy enough to smooch my cute li’l bro, weren’t you, Tomo-kun?”
“I’ve kissed guys before,” he replies, shrugging. When Hinata just stares at him in disbelief, he hastily adds, “You know, for theatre! Not ‘cause of anything else!”
“Sure,” says Hinata, sounding thoroughly unconvinced. “Also, Tomo-kun, if you are interested in Yuuta-kun, then you’d better make sure you act like a gentleman, or–”
She’s abruptly silenced by Yuuta throwing a cushion at her head.
As everyone else gets back into the game, Tomoya feels a tug on his right sleeve. “Tomo-chan, Tomo-chan,” Mitsuru whispers to him urgently, “Look at Hajime-chan…”
Tomoya glances over at Hajime, who’s conveniently situated on the other side of Mitsuru… And, for some inexplicable reason, is staring daggers at Yuuta. Is he… mad at him? Tomoya can’t for the life of him figure out why he would be. It’s not like Yuuta did anything bad – if anything, he was pretty civil, circumstances being what they are – so why on earth does Hajime look so murderous? In any case, it’s not an expression he wears very often at all, and Tomoya hates seeing him upset more than anything, and he’s just about to ask him what’s wrong when Midori grudgingly takes his turn to spin the bottle – and by some odd twist of fate, it ends up pointing squarely at Hajime.
“O-Oh!” he says, his scowl fading into a rosy pink glow that blooms prettily across his cheeks.
“Thank God…” Midori murmurs.
Tomoya gets it. Anyone would be lucky to kiss Hajime, considering just how beautiful he is, and that’s not to mention how he’s still way cuter than any girl Tomoya has ever met. Still, he can’t help but feel just a little protective as Midori shyly approaches his best friend. They’re both blushing like schoolgirls on their first date, and Hajime giggles softly as their noses brush together; it’s no secret that he thinks Midori is good-looking and, in spite of himself, Tomoya definitely has to agree. They’d make an absolutely gorgeous couple if they ever got together. The thought of it makes Tomoya strangely uncomfortable, and that feeling is only compounded by the sight of them kissing each other sweetly, coy smiles not leaving their faces the entire time.
It’s not that he’s jealous. It’s just, if Hajime ever started dating someone, they’d have to deserve him – to treasure him forever like the gem that he is, to dedicate themself to him wholly in a way Tomoya isn’t sure he can trust anyone else to do. Like, sure, Midori’s a good guy, obviously, but does he know how special Hajime is? Does he truly appreciate the softness of his heart, the way he sings to the flowers and tenderly picks up bugs to place them out of harm’s way when he tends to the rooftop gardens? As Hajime’s best friend, Tomoya couldn’t forgive anyone if they ever broke such a beautiful heart.
He’s absolutely not jealous.
“Uh, Earth to Tomo-kun…” Hinata whispers, snapping him out of his thoughts.
“You’re making a really weird face, Tomo-chan,” Mitsuru adds helpfully.
Tomoya gives himself a little shake, tearing his eyes away from Midori and Hajime. “It’s nothing,” he lies, and he’s pretty sure neither of them buys it.
After that altogether bizarre experience, the game resumes as normal – or as normal as it can get, anyway. Midori is immediately thrown back into the deep end when Tetora’s spin lands on him, although, from the downright casual way they kiss each other, Tomoya can’t help but wonder if they’ve done it before. Tori does get partnered with Tsukasa, just as he’d feared (or perhaps hoped), and they’re both petulant and fire-truck red as they exchange what Tomoya interprets as either a slightly aggressive or very passionate kiss. And on Hajime’s turn, he ends up kissing Sora, once again cute and shy and giggly, and once again filling Tomoya with that weird sense of apprehension that is absolutely, positively, one hundred percent not jealousy.
But aside from his little brush with Yuuta earlier, Tomoya himself somehow manages to escape the divine whims of Dr. Bob for most of the rest of the game. He’s fine with that, naturally. As insanely attractive as some of the boys in his grade are, a completely heterosexual guy like him has no business locking lips with any of them, and he has absolutely zero interest in kissing a girl like Hinata either. So when Tomoya’s turn eventually comes around, he can only pray that he doesn’t end up humiliating himself as he cautiously sets the bottle in motion – and he hears Hinata and Mitsuru let out a triumphant little whoop, and his heartbeat gains momentum as the bottle steadily loses it, and he watches it get slower and slower as it gradually comes to a standstill, and–
It’s most definitely pointing towards Hajime.
Shit, Tomoya thinks, as Hajime lets out a flustered shriek. Shit, shit, shit.
“Oh my God,” whispers Hinata, grinning from ear to ear.
“Hinata, what the hell–” Tomoya hisses back. There’s no way in hell this whole thing isn’t rigged.
“You can thank me later,” she says smugly, for some godforsaken reason that’s utterly unfathomable to Tomoya – and then pushes him into the middle of the circle once again.
Hajime staggers over to him, cheeks crimson and eyes cast downwards. He looks completely mortified, like he wishes the ground would just swallow him up and be done with it, and Tomoya finds that his own misgivings instantly evaporate in favour of concern for his dear best friend.
“You okay, Hajime?” he asks gently. “You don’t have to do this, you know… If you really don’t want to.”
… Although deep down, there’s a part of him that would be just a little bit disappointed if Hajime actually said ‘no.’ Not for any particular reason, really, other than the fact that he seemed quite happy to kiss both Midori and Sora earlier, and Tomoya’s surely closer to him than either of those guys are, and Hajime should be able to trust him more than he trusts anyone else… Or perhaps it’s their closeness that’s the issue here.
Perhaps that’s the reason for the swooping feeling in Tomoya’s stomach right now, too.
In any case, Hajime’s comfort is the most important thing. Tomoya’s about to ask if he should forfeit their turn, when Hajime looks up at him anxiously (and God, had his eyes always been this pretty?) and whispers, “Do… Do you want to do this, Tomoya-kun?”
“H-Huh?” says Tomoya dumbly, caught off-guard for a second. “I mean, uh… I don’t really mind–”
And Hajime’s lips are on his in an instant.
He smells nice, is Tomoya’s first thought. He always smells nice, like flower petals on a fresh spring breeze, but when he’s close enough for that delicate, floral scent to envelop them both, it’s enough to drive anyone crazy. His lips are soft and warm and taste almost familiar – like the honey-flavoured lip balm he often lends to Tomoya, and the sweet black tea they’ve shared countless cups of over the years. Hajime’s arms snake themselves around his waist, and he kisses him and kisses him until they’re both giddy and breathless, and it feels so good, almost as if… As if Tomoya is into this?
They break apart, briefly, but Hajime chases after his mouth like a man starved, and Tomoya scarcely has time to catch his breath before Hajime is kissing him again. It’s completely different to a stage kiss, or the coy, giggly way Hajime had kissed the others earlier – he’s bold, almost desperate, like he needs Tomoya more than he needs air itself, and for some reason, Tomoya finds himself more than happy to reciprocate. He’d do anything to make his best friend happy, after all. Hajime is practically in his lap at this point, and Tomoya’s heart hammers in his chest as he slowly moves one hand to caress Hajime’s cheek, threads the other through his soft, silky hair, takes his lower lip between his own and kisses him deeply, as if they’re the only two people in the whole world, and–
A polite cough from Tsukasa brings them crashing back down to reality.
They immediately let go of each other, both bright red in the face and gasping for air, and Tomoya holds Hajime’s wide-eyed gaze for about a second before needing to avert his eyes out of embarrassment. It’s a horrible idea, really – the rest of their friends are either gawking at them in disbelief or looking away awkwardly, or Mitsuru, who just flashes them both a double thumbs up, positively beaming.
“Get a room,” jeers Yuuta, who looks completely and utterly done.
“You two are seriously worse than Hinata-chan and Tetora-kun…” Midori grumbles, biting into a slice of pizza that’s long since gone cold.
“But Tomoya-chan and Jime-chan both have such a pretty pink colour right now!” says Sora, smiling a little.
Hajime buries his face in his hands, looking like he could just about die. “I-I’m so sorry, Tomoya-kun…” he mumbles through his fingers, “I… I just…”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Tomoya reassures him, even though it’s most definitely not okay and Tomoya is questioning his entire life right now. “I, uh, kinda got carried away too–”
“N-No, you didn’t do anything wrong! It was me who… I shouldn’t have… Uu, I just like you so much, and… and…” The rest of his words are muffled and unintelligible and he so closely resembles a trembling, cornered prey animal that no one really has it in their heart to keep him in the spotlight for any longer – least of all Tomoya.
He’s still a little rattled by the time he returns to his place in the circle, unable to shake the ghost of the feeling of Hajime’s lips on his. As soon as Hajime sits back down, Tomoya notices Tori nudge him, whispering something urgently into his ear – and Tomoya’s so fixated on watching them, so curious about what on earth they could be talking about, that he doesn’t register that Hinata's trying to say something to him until she elbows him lightly in the ribs.
“Sooo,” she says, once she’s finally gotten his attention, “What was all that about, Mr. Straight Guy?”
“Shut up, Hinata,” is Tomoya’s only reply.
“You know,” she says, with an annoying little smirk, “Hajime-kun did say he wanted to play this game to help you, right? So in the end, he got what he wanted, didn’t he?”
“How… How the hell is any of this helping me in any way?!” Tomoya splutters, a question that’s apparently hilarious, judging by the way Hinata and Mitsuru both fall over themselves laughing. Tomoya fails to see the humour.
“Is… Is the game over then?” Shinobu tentatively asks from across the circle. “Now that everybody has had a turn?”
“Let’s go around again!” Hinata suggests, earning cheers from some and groans from others. Tomoya’s hardly paying attention, though, instead looking back over at Hajime, who still seems to be deep in a serious, whispered conversation with Tori.
He really is so impossibly gorgeous. It’s a raw, genuine kind of loveliness, like a wildflower sprouting from concrete – humble yet vibrant, delicate yet powerful, and so candid that Tomoya knows that nobody could ever achieve anything like it on purpose. It’s like his inner beauty manifests itself outwardly, grace radiating from his skin and compassion leaking from the corners of his smile, and there’s a part of Tomoya that’s always ached for it, that hasn’t been able to look away from Hajime since… Since they were both kids, really.
… And he’d wanted to kiss Tomoya. And Tomoya had liked kissing him. Surely, when considered together, those two facts implied… Well, they implied something.
“Hajime-chan really did get exactly what he wanted, huh?” Mitsuru comments casually, while chaos erupts around them as Hinata’s second spin lands on Shinobu.
… Perhaps Tomoya isn’t quite as straight as he first thought.
(And later that evening, when the Himemiya family’s servants lay out twelve extravagantly fancy futons into two neat rows of six, Tomoya slips into the one beside Hajime – and when they drift off to sleep, their hands find each other beneath the covers, and their fingers remain intertwined throughout the entire night.)