Work Text:
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Megumi can feel a shiver run through his whole body, starting at his neck which Yuuji unexpectedly wrapped both of his arms around from behind. Class just ended and the few students were on their way back to their dorm rooms - including the two friends. The air outside has become cooler with winter slowly approaching, and Megumi sees a cloud of his warm breath drift away as speaks to his best friend.
“Nothing,” the pink-haired boy chuckled lightly before releasing Megumi from his embrace, but not without keeping one arm around the other boy’s shoulder. “What are you up to later?”
Megumi’s gaze is concentrated on the hand that still rests on his left shoulder before he shifts his attention to the boy on his right who is looking expectantly at him. Between his and Yuuji’s face were mere centimetres and Megumi would have been bothered by it if he hadn’t been used to the other’s lack of sense for personal space already. Nevertheless, he never was good with eye contact, especially not when the eyes staring back at him held the warmth of the last summer days in them and had such a stark contrast to the world around them. He quickly faced forward again, not able to withstand the pull he felt towards these bright orbs, hoping his friend didn’t take notice of his flustered state. “Studying with Toge”, he answers finally, starting to get irritated by their close proximity.
“Oh. Can I join you guys?”, Yuuji asked curiously. He was walking next to the raven-haired boy at a steady pace, trying to synchronize their steps but failing every time he took his eyes off their feet to look at the other boy’s face. Megumi’s cheeks had a faint blush and Yuuji couldn’t help but admire the red colour that began to adorn his face. Lately he had caught himself staring more than would be considered normal at his friend, noticing his delicate features and long lashes, but he had no desire to stop this newfound way of spending his time.
“I mean that we’re actually gonna study. No games.”
“Yes, yes. I am capable of studying, you know?”
“Could have fooled me.” Megumi scoffs.
The scoff earns him an unimpressed look from Yuuji who promptly lifts his hand off his shoulder and puts it in his coat pocket. Megumi feels the warmth of the hand linger on his shoulder for a moment before the cold wind erases the last traces of it. Somehow the loss of contact doesn’t sit right with him, the distance between them suddenly feeling infinite. He tries not to show his displeasure and sighs instead, tilting his head towards his friend as to signal for him to say what’s on his mind.
“You always think the worst of me.” The disappointment was clearly recognizable in Yuuji’s voice. And if his voice was not a dead giveaway then the sulky expression on his face was enough of an indicator of the change in his mood.
At the sound of his voice, Megumi scrunches his face. He did not like that expression on Yuuji’s face as it clearly didn’t fit his usual cheerful nature. It bothered him that he was the cause of this, especially because he wasn’t trying to tease him – which happens more often than not if it’s about Yuuji’s academic performance. He spoke without thinking and upset his friend and now suffers the consequences. The sight of a gloomy looking Yuuji right in front of him caused a weird pressure in his chest that he wanted gone. Megumi glanced at Yuuji’s eyes, which lost a bit of their prior spark, for a second before he sighed, “We’ll meet in my room after dinner.”
“Great. I’ll see you tonight!” Yuuji exclaims as he was back to all smiles and bright eyes, as if he hadn’t looked like someone spoiled his favourite show just a minute ago. “I’ll make sure to bring snacks”, he says with a broad grin on his face and finger guns as he turns around, ready to leave. He takes two steps before he comes to a stop and looks back at Megumi who had come to a halt as well, obviously surprised by the other’s sudden change of attitude.
“You should probably hurry back to your room. Your face seems really red already.”
After that, Megumi watches his friend walk away, unsure of what irritates him more right now: how Yuuji definitely only had acted upset and how it actually worked for him to get his way, or the comment about his red face. The raven-haired boy lifts his hands to touch his cheeks and frowns when he doesn’t find his skin to be cold but warm.
“Stupid,” Megumi mumbled to himself as he took his hands off his face and continued walking towards his room.
After meeting him for the first time, it didn’t take long for Megumi to notice Yuuji’s tendency to initiate physical contact with the people around him – be it a hand on the shoulder, leaning onto the person next to him, or throwing his whole body at someone when he laughed whole-heartedly. At first, he avoided being on the receiving end of this but at some point, he stopped resisting. Partly because he wasn’t as bothered by it as he originally thought, partly because he had observed Yuuji’s face fall for a split second when he noticed that Megumi purposely avoided his touch.
Lately though, Megumi found himself thinking about those innocent touches, trying to study how the always energetic boy acted with his other friends. He once saw Nobara leaning her head on Yuuji’s shoulder, and him leaning his head on top of hers while they were playing games on their phones. Megumi observed the scene and he imagined himself in Nobara’s place. ‘Seems uncomfortable’, was what he had decided then before he called for the two to get up and get back to training. When he thinks about it now, he wonders if Yuuji’s shoulder would be a good place to rest his head on.
♥
Toge and Megumi are sitting across from each other on the floor of the latter’s room, a table full of books and notes between them. Toge has been staring at the same page for the last ten minutes and Megumi begins to think the older boy might have fallen asleep with his eyes open. The raven-haired boy is currently struggling to keep his attention on the pages of his own blue notebook, full of hastily scribbled notes from class, because observing Toge and his battle with the book suddenly seems so much more important.
“Who wants some snacks?!” The door bursts open and reveals an enthusiastic looking Yuuji carrying a white plastic bag that is, no doubt, full of snacks. The two boys on the floor get startled by the sudden noise of the door swinging against the wall – half-asleep Toge managed to fling the book he was holding into a different corner of the room and hit his knee on the table in the process.
“I... oops?” The newcomer says with a sheepish smile.
Megumi looks at Yuuji with raised eyebrows.
“Surprise? Well, not much of a surprise because you knew I would be coming. But my entrance surely was surprising.”
“At least apologise to Toge,” Megumi sighs as he puts his notebook on the floor next to himself.
“Ah, right. Sorry, Toge. You okay?”
The one in question simply signs a thumbs-up as he rubs his knee with his other hand, his face not hiding that he must have hit the table hard. Yuuji rubs the back of his neck and apologises again to his friend as he walks over and hands Toge one of his favourite snacks and a drink from the vending machine that he got before joining the two others. The older boy gratefully takes the food from him and signs ‘thank you’ with a smile on his face.
The pink-haired boy then takes a seat on the bed which was presently used as a backrest by Megumi whose eyes had followed Yuuji through the room until he sat himself down on the bed right beside him. Yuuji’s knee ever so lightly touches the raven-haired boy’s arm now and Megumi is highly aware of the contact. He thought about moving to the side to avoid it but decided not to, because there was no way he could do it unnoticed, and maybe, just maybe he welcomed the feeling of the other’s presence.
It was an all too familiar sight, the way Yuuji leisurely placed himself on Megumi’s bed like he belonged there. It’s not unusual for his best friend to barge into his room without so much as a knock on the door, and often not even waiting for an answer, before he makes himself at home in Megumi’s room. The pink-haired boy would walk straight up to the bed and just sit or lay down right next to him. Megumi remembers how he pushed the other boy off the bed the first few times when he couldn’t handle the intimacy. He also remembers Yuuji’s sulking face every time he found himself on the wooden floor. After one of those instances, Megumi was unable to endure the look on the other’s face any longer, told him “Fine” and moved farther to one side of his bed to make room for Yuuji who undoubtedly beamed at this and climbed back up to lay beside him again. Since then, it has become a routine for them: Yuuji finding Megumi on the bed and joining him, their legs gently brushing against each other, Megumi’s heartbeat …
Megumi was ripped out of his thoughts when he felt a cold can of iced coffee at his neck. He almost jumped to the side, “What the ...?” He couldn’t finish his sentence before Yuuji’s amused chuckle resounded in his ears and he tilted his head upwards to frown at the culprit.
“Come on, time for a break,” Yuuji says with a warm smile and gestures towards the third boy in the room with a movement of his head. “Toge agrees.”
Megumi looks over at the older boy who is already looking at something on his phone while stuffing his mouth with the snack Yuuji got him. He didn’t even bother retrieving the book that is still laying sadly in a corner. “I’m a bit disappointed how easily you let yourself be swayed, Toge,” Megumi says as he picks up his blue notebook again only to have it swiped from his hand a second later by the boy behind him.
“Give that back”, he says with an annoyed tone as he pinches his friend's calf.
“Hey!” Yuuji exclaims in pain as he lifts his legs off the ground and rolls onto the bed. “What was that for?” The pink-haired boy’s voice sounds betrayed, and a pout is slowly forming on his lips.
“Don’t just take other people’s property,” Megumi says matter-of-factly and reaches his hand out.
“Heart been broken so many times,” Yuuji says dramatically but hands him his notebook back anyway.
“Don’t be dramatic.”
“I’m not.”
“You clearly are.”
“And what about it?”
Megumi sighs as he takes his notebook and starts reading through it again as Yuuji accepts his defeat and lays on his back to play with his phone. His presence causes Megumi to lose focus a few times, because he hears Yuuji moving on the bed – probably to find a more comfortable position or something. He is set on not turning around to see what the other boy is up to.
It is now the fifth time that Megumi has read the same sentence, and he still isn’t quite sure of what it wants to tell him. He feels himself getting frustrated and subconsciously brings his hand up to his mouth to bite at the skin around his nails – a habit that he’s trying to get rid of. Before his finger reaches his teeth though, he feels a warm hand engulfing his.
The first thing the raven-haired boy wants to do is to tear his hand away and snap at the person who thought it was a good idea to grab him like this out of the blue. But when he turns around, he once again is met with bright eyes that softly look at him and suddenly he forgets what he was about to say in the first place.
“Nope, not doing that,” is what Yuuji says in a calm voice.
Now that he feels the pleasant warmth of his best friend's hand, Megumi becomes conscious of how cold his own hand has been the whole time. For some reason, he hopes his coldness doesn’t bother the other who is leaning towards him now. Yuuji is laying on his side and leaning on his elbow as he eyes Megumi in a way he can’t decipher. Megumi keeps looking at the other boy and waits for one of them to move. Of course, he could simply pull his hand away, but the warmth of Yuuji’s hand is something he is not ready to let go just yet.
A few moments pass and none of them moves, so Megumi decides to focus back on his notes – or at least he is pretending to focus on them, because his mind swirls with thoughts of why their hands are still connected and if they missed the right moment to let go and pretend this is not at least a bit weird. ‘Is this weird? It feels like it’s a bit weird. Is it??’
He risks a glance over his shoulder to see Yuuji being back in his original position and watching something on his phone while he still holds onto Megumi’s hand. He keeps looking at their joined hands when Yuuji starts to gently rub his knuckles with his thumb. The raven-haired boy’s eyes widen at that and he stiffens. Yuuji either must have felt the other’s eyes on him or how Megumi’s hand tensed up because he takes his gaze off his phone and looks at Megumi questionably. He then lets his eye wander from his friend’s face, that he swears has a faint red tint to it, to their connected hands on the bed.
“Oh, this must be uncomfortable for you. Sorry,” Yuuji says with a smile as he releases the other’s hand. Megumi had to admit it was an awkward position for his arm and hand because his arm was bent backwards over his shoulder, but he wouldn’t have complained about it if it meant he could steal some more warmth. And it’s not like he disliked Yuuji caressing his hand. Why did he not dislike it? “It’s always so warm in your room that I get overheated easily. Your cold hand felt nice, like a hot pack, but cold.”
Megumi scrunches his face at the comparison and finally pulls his hand back to his side, “I’m not your personal fridge.”
“How would you be a fridge? An ice cube maybe.”
“Shut up.”
Yuuji laughs at Megumi’s attempt to appear aloof. The sound of his bright laugh fills Megumi with another form of warmth that comes from somewhere within his chest and he feels a familiar pressure build up again. He hoped that the small smile on his face wasn’t visible to the other two in the room as he tried to hide it in the collar of his woollen jumper.
Unbeknownst to him, even though his smile may have been hidden, Yuuji is able to see how Megumi’s eyes had softened just enough to be noticeable. Yuuji was sure he was out right staring at the boy in front of him now, but he couldn’t care less if it meant, even if just for a second longer, he could adore the expression on Megumi’s face, one that vanishes as fast as it appears, and one that could easily be missed.
Meanwhile, Toge had been a reluctant witness to the whole scene. He thought of leaving the room but decided against it, because one, it felt like they forgot his existence anyway, and two, he was nosy. He even repressed a cough so he wouldn’t interfere in their moment - his throat itches so bad he wants to cry. Toge pulls his eyes off the two friends, the unspoken business between them way too obvious, and opens his friend’s group chat and promptly texts, “I want a new study partner. Mine keeps flirting with his best friend.”
♥
It was an unusual sunny Saturday in late autumn and Megumi, Yuuji and Nobara decided to take a trip to downtown Tokyo for some fun and shopping – It was fun for Yuuji, shopping for Nobara, and supervisor Megumi who made sure the other two arrive back at school by the end of the day. The raven-haired boy always acts like he doesn’t enjoy those kinds of days, but his two friends know that he’s just trying to protect his reputation as the unsociable ice prince.
(“I’m not calling myself unsociable ice prince, the fuck?”; “Nobara said you’re unsociable. I came up with the ice prince part! You know, when you give me that look, the one you have right now, that always sends shivers down my spine, like ice.”)
The three of them take the bus after they had a satiable breakfast in the cafeteria, during which Nobara and Yuuji excitedly babbled about their plans for the day. The babbling soon turned into an argument about Yuuji being far too childish and Nobara not being able to see the potential of a day spent at the arcade. Throughout their bickering, Megumi hoped his coffee was hot enough to burn him from the inside so he would be released from the agony that came with listening to them. (No such luck.)
They spent roughly half an hour together before they lost Nobara to the big red “Sale”-signs plastered on the windows of a boutique that looked nothing like the girl could afford in the foreseeable future.
“When they see me walk in, they’ll beg me to wear their clothes,” Nobara had said with her usual confidence before she strutted towards the boutique’s door. Megumi and Yuuji watched her disappear into the store with their faces showing a mixture of bewilderment and disbelief. Instead of following after her, the two boys make their way to the nearest arcade after Megumi quickly shoots her a text that they’re going on without her.
“I hope you’re ready to be absolutely destroyed by me at every game”, Yuuji exclaims as he raises his arms above his head, a winning smile already playing on his lips.
“Sure.”
“It’s fine, you know? Losing to me, I mean. I’m an absolute genius when it comes to games.”
“You must be good at something, I guess.”
“I don’t like your attitude,” Yuuji says in a moping tone as he pokes Megumi’s cheek with his finger.
“Stop that,” Megumi grumbles as he swats Yuuji’s hand away like an annoying fly.
The pink-haired boy rubs his hand but smiles, nonetheless. “I’m happy you’re coming with me. As a “thank you”, I’ll win you something, the grand prize,” he grins at the other boy. Megumi’s eyes widen for a split second at the statement before his face returns to his neutral expression.
“Idiot. I’m only joining you because it’s less hassle than running after Nobara when she’s in a shopping frenzy.” Megumi doesn’t lie when he says this. Had he stayed with Nobara there was a hundred percent chance he would have to carry her bags and follow her around like a duckling. Indulging Yuuji’s antics for an afternoon seemed like the better option for him. And if he started to look forward to spending time alone with the other boy, well, that was nobody’s business but his own.
“Doesn’t change that I’m happy about you tagging along.”
Megumi doesn’t respond to that – simply because he doesn’t know what the right response would be. He could have opted to keep his cool façade up or just agree and say that he’s just as happy to be together with the smiling boy next to him. Instead, he chooses to act like he didn’t hear anything and continues walking down the busy street.
He still can’t wrap his mind around the things that happened between him and Yuuji lately, especially how his body reacted every time. Megumi hates overthinking, he’d rather have a direct answer to problems and conflicts, but this seems like a more delicate matter so no way in hell is he going to confront Yuuji about this. What would he even say? ‘Hey, lately my heart skips a few beats when you smile at me. Any theories you have about that?’ Yeah, no way. He’s going to figure this out by himself.
It didn’t take long before they arrived at an arcade that had a sign in shining letters above it, reading “Extreme Arcade”. Megumi scrunches his face at the unoriginal name and the tacky colourful lights framing the words. Yuuji, however, couldn’t be more excited, “Yes, this is the place to be. Rule number one: When choosing an arcade, always go for the one that spends lots of electricity money on the entrance sign. That means they have the good prizes.”
Megumi now scrunches his face at Yuuji and his so-called ‘rule’ that he obviously just made up himself. Still, he trails after his friend through the automatic doors and instantly is swamped by hundreds of sounds and lights. He feels a pull on the sleeve of his jacket and focuses on the person in front of him. Yuuji, with his bright hair and radiant smile, perfectly fits into the scene, Megumi thought as he lets himself be led through groups of children and other teenagers.
“Okay, let’s start easy,” Yuuji suggests as they come to a stop in front of a racing game. “Come on, get into the car.”
The racing game had two screens and a miniature race car in front of each – apparently to enhance the experience, as Yuuji had told Megumi. Both boys take a seat in a car and the game begins. Yuuji leaned his body into every turn. Megumi could see his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth as well. The raven-haired boy calmly sits in his car and drives with finesse. He’s rather confident in his gaming skills, since Satoru made him play against him too often to count, but Yuuji never asked him about it, and he didn’t feel the need to brag about his skills.
“You …” Yuuji said, turning slowly towards Megumi, after he lost the third race.
It’s not like Megumi cares about winning or losing, but he can’t help the smug smile that graces his face at the dumbfounded look that the formerly confident boy sported right now.
“Since when are you good at this?!”
“I never said I was bad at it,” Megumi shrugs nonchalantly.
“That’s called cheating!”
“How is that cheating?”
“That’s withholding information!”
“Are you for real?”
“Dude, that’s a seriously messed up thing to do,” Yuuji states while shaking his low-hanging head.
“Huh??”
“I thought better of you, Megumi.” Yuuji gets out of the car and leaves his perplexed friend behind. The raven-haired boy is not sure what just happened, so he stays seated and furrows his eyebrows as he replays the situation in his head.
Megumi feels a tap on his arm and looks over his shoulder to see Yuuji chuckling at him. “I was joking, you know. I’m a bit salty you led me right into a trap, but I’m also impressed, not gonna lie. And as a pro gamer, I will recognise your skills,” he says and salutes the one he lost to with a smile.
Megumi snorts at that. He gets out of the car as well and lifts his arms to make his friend stop saluting him. “Cute how you think I need your approval of my skills,” he replies and puts a hand on the other’s shoulder.
“I try to be nice to a cheater and that’s what I get,” Yuuji’s sighs.
“Stop saying I cheated,” the supposed cheater says sternly and scowls.
The two of them quarrel as they walk through the arcade to the next game station. They come to a stop at a punching bag machine that is currently occupied by a girl who doesn’t look older than 8. A man that probably is her father picks her up so she can reach the punching bag. She pulls her arm back as far as she can before she takes a big swing at the bag. The numbers in the screen slowly count upwards until the machine shows a score of 73. An arcade worker who stands next to the machine looks pitifully at her as he hands her a pair of ridiculous looking sunglasses – no doubt a participation prize. The little girl does not look pleased in the slightest and whines, telling her dad that she had wanted the big prize that was on display behind the worker.
At that, Yuuji and Megumi shift their gaze to the apparent grand prize the girl was talking about and see an orange Nerf gun. Yuuji’s eyes light up the moment he sees the prize and he strides over to the punching bag machine to have a go at it.
“I’m gonna win you that.”
“I really don’t want it.”
“Don’t worry. I’m strong,” Yuuji winks at him.
“I know you are. I still don’t want it,” Megumi sighs.
Megumi has no choice but to watch the pink-haired boy take his stance in front of the machine. ‘There’s no chance he won’t win the prize,’ Megumi thinks, because Yuuji’s strength is no joke and he’s proven it many times. Megumi notices the little girl still standing next to the punching bag machine. Her eyes are watery, but she seizes her new rival with a competitive stare.
“Hey, go easy,” Megumi tells Yuuji. He doesn’t want the other to crush this little girl’s dream more than he has to. Yuuji only grins at that.
The pink-haired boy loosens his shoulder by rotating it for a moment. He then inhales before strikes the punching bag with precision right in the centre as he exhales. The screen on the machine rapidly goes up in the hundreds until it blinks and shows 999. Yuuji looks at the score with a pleased expression.
Megumi rubs his eyes in frustration as his friend definitely did not go easy on the machine. The arcade worker stares in disbelief at the score and then at Yuuji. Wordlessly he reaches over to get the Nerf gun and hands it to him.
“Told you I’d get it!” Yuuji exclaims, taking the prize and holding it up proudly for his frustrated friend to see. The pink-haired boy is about to walk over and give it to Megumi when he hears a few sniffles behind him, coming from the little girl who is currently hugging her father tightly. Yuuji looks at the girl with a sad smile and rubs his neck as he walks over to her.
“Hey,” Yuuji says as he squats down to talk to the girl, “do you want to trade? I think your sunglasses are really cool.”
The little girl stops sniffling and shyly looks at the older boy who holds out the Nerf gun towards her. She looks at Yuuji skeptically at first, but she seems to see his genuine intention. She slowly holds out her hand that clamps the sunglasses.
“Cool, thank you!” Yuuji says to her as he accepts the sunglasses and in return hands her the Nerf gun. The little girl jumps in excitement and shows the newly acquired toy to her dad. Yuuji laughs at that as he stands up again and is about to walk back to Megumi. As he takes his first step, he notices someone pulling at the hem of his hoodie. He tilts his head down to see the girl standing next to him with a big smile on her face. “Thank you,” she exclaims before reuniting with her father. Yuuji watches her go with a soft smile.
Megumi observed the scene playing out in front of him. He knew Yuuji was a considerate person, always making sure everyone is happy before he takes care of himself. Megumi hasn’t met a lot of people as selfless as his best friend and it always amazes him when he sees Yuuji acting like this. His chest tightened when he saw the exchange between Yuuji and the little girl and he can’t help the tender expression that undeniably is visible on his features. He tries his best not to be too obvious about it when he sees a mop of pink hair jogging back to him.
“No grand prize for you. But you can have the sunglasses,” Yuuji chuckles apologetically.
Megumi’s heart does a tiny jump. He is so close to telling the other boy that he doesn’t need a prize, that the other boy doesn’t need to worry about not getting the grand prize, that he’s just happy they’re spending time together, that he’s an idiot, the sweetest idiot. But he doesn’t.
“These sunglasses are ridiculous.”
“I’m gonna keep them then.”
“Please don’t wear them.”
Yuuji puts the sunglasses on. They’re red and spell out the word “goofy” in glitter with the Os being the holes to see through. “I think they look good on me.”
Megumi snorts.
“I don’t take any criticism from someone who owns only one pair of shoes.”
Megumi looks scandalised at that statement and kicks Yuuji’s butt with his knee.
“I’m not wrong,” the sunglasses-wearing boy chuckles as he rubs the spot on his butt that just received a kick. He looks at his sulking friend with gentle eyes – which Megumi couldn’t see because of these terrible glasses. After a moment he puts his arm around raven-haired boy and leads him away from the punching bag machine.
“Oh. Wait here for a moment,” Yuuji tells the other after they passed a few more game stations. Megumi is still a bit offended by the earlier statement about his shoes – he owns more shoes, they’re just not as comfortable – and simply stays where he was left. Megumi waits for a few minutes, maybe, during which he occasionally hears frustrated groans from his friend nearby, but he doesn’t intend to check what he’s up to. ‘Stupid Yuuji with his stupid sunglasses that make him look even more stupid.’ Suddenly, he hears the other addressing him.
“Since you obviously don’t like the sunglasses, I wanted to get you something else, so …”
Megumi turns around and bursts into laughter at the sight before him. There stands Yuuji, with these ridiculous sunglasses that spell “goofy”, holding a pink coloured stuffed hedgehog in his hands, his face a combination of shy and cute, and Megumi thinks he hasn’t seen something as endearing as this in his life.
Yuuji is stunned. He didn’t expect this strong of a reaction, especially not laughter. He thought the other would maybe dismiss his attempt of gifting him something again or take the stuffed animal from him without further recognition. And Yuuji would have been fine with it because he knows Megumi is not the most expressive person, but seeing him like this, Yuuji has the strong urge to protect Megumi’s laughter, wants to see if he can get other reactions out of him that he doesn’t show to anyone else. He is glad he’s still wearing the sunglasses or his friend might have seen the pure adoration in his eyes with which he's looking at him.
Megumi takes a bit to recover, not used to putting his emotions on display the way he’s doing it right now. But he feels good, this feels right. Yuuji may be the first person to see him like this in a long while. He can’t remember the last time he genuinely felt his cheeks hurt from laughing. Megumi thought he forgot how to feel happiness without restraint, but he should’ve figured that if anyone was going to remind him of it, it would be the boy right in front of him.
“As much as I like seeing you laugh like this, could you please accept the hedgehog?”
Megumi holds his breath for a second before he laughs again, not as hard as before though. When he calms down, he takes the stuffed hedgehog from Yuuji’s hands and studies it. It is indeed a normal hedgehog, just pink.
“Why a hedgehog?” Megumi asks curiously.
“Reminded me of your hair,” Yuuji easily says. (He receives another kick to the butt for that.)
The two boys leave the arcade soon after with Megumi carrying the pink hedgehog under his arm. Nobara hasn’t replied to Megumi’s message from earlier, so they decided to go back to where they had left her. They stood there for a while, looking around to possibly spot a redhead in the crowd of people.
“Over there,” Megumi says and points with his hedgehog in the direction of Nobara who stands in front of a “free samples” stall that offers some new biscuits from a nearby bakery.
“Don’t call it free samples if you don’t let me have them for free,” Nobara argues with the woman from the stall.
“You had two of every flavour already,” says the woman in an agitated tone.
“I haven’t sampled them enough yet,” Nobara replies.
Megumi and Yuuji arrive as the woman from the stall looks ready to climb over the counter and the raven-haired boy drags Nobara away from the biscuits before this can get any more out of hand. (Yuuji snatched some samples when the woman was too occupied with yelling after the other two. He shared those with his friend when he joined them again and Nobara told him “Good job.”)
They make their way towards the bus station. Nobara had promptly handed Yuuji her shopping bag with clothes she bought earlier. ‘I knew she would make us carry her stuff,’ Megumi thought to himself.
“Do I want to know why one of you wears ugly sunglasses and the other one carries a stuffed animal, or should I stay curious?”
“We won those,” the boys said in unison.
“Sure. Just please don’t walk next to me with those glasses, Yuuji. Let Megumi walk between us,” Nobara says as she looks at Yuuji with a slightly disgusted expression. Yuuji follows her instructions without discussion and walks to the right side of Megumi. He adjusts the hold he has on the shopping bag with his right hand and lets his left hand swing between himself and the raven-haired boy. At some point, Yuuji feels something graze the back of his hand and he looks down to see Megumi’s hands next to his. A dumb grin plasters itself on his face as he makes sure their hands ‘accidentally’ brush against each other for the rest of the walk.
Megumi definitely takes notice of all the contact their hands make. At first, he thought he should put his hand in his jacket pocket, but a part of him that was tired of being repressed, that started to yearn for Yuuji’s presence, was stronger. Now, they walk side by side, one with a bright grin on his face and one trying to hide his red cheeks in his jacket as their hands pull all each other like magnets.
♥
The bus ride home:
The bus back to school is packed. All three of them stand and hold on to the handrail above their heads. After the third stop, a seat next to Yuuji becomes vacant and he sits himself down. Megumi doesn’t pay too much attention, having no problem standing for the remaining time on the bus. He looks at the scenery outside the window when he feels someone grabbing his waist. His body jerks back and he immediately tries to see who just grabbed him so boldly. His eyes wander down to the hands near his waist that are connected to no other than Yuuji.
“What?” Megumi inquires with a panicked look.
“You can sit on my lap,” Yuuji says happily.
“No, thank you,” the raven-haired boy replies. Megumi can feel his cheeks heat up once more. ‘What does he think he’s doing?’ It’s not like he hates the idea, but he thinks he might implode if he did sit down on the other’s lap. He barely can manage their hands touching. If he sat on the boy now, Megumi wouldn’t be able to look into his friend's eyes for the next few weeks.
Yuuji’s face falls at that. He promptly stands up and offers Nobara his seat, who takes it without further questions. Megumi looks questionably at Yuuji.
“Why do you offer her the seat and not your lap?”
“If I had offered her my lap, she would’ve been mean about it.”
Nobara must have heard their conversation because a second later she says, “Right. As if I ever would have sat on Mr. “Goofy’s” lap here. What would all the attractive people on the bus think of me?”
“See,” Yuuji says with a disgruntled face as he lightly kicks Nobara’s shin and finally takes off the sunglasses.
Megumi only snorts at that.
♥
It’s been a week since the ‘Arcade Incident’, as Megumi likes to call it. He usually is not one to give out dramatic names, but it felt fitting this time around because he knows something changed within him that day. He’s clever enough, finally, to put two and two together and admit that Yuuji is more than a friend to him. The bright boy had weaved himself into Megumi’s life so effortlessly that Megumi had no chance but to surrender to the light Yuuji brought to the dark corners of his mind.
The raven-haired boy observed Yuuji a bit closer during the last few days – how he acts with his other friends, more precisely. There was no way Megumi would risk what they have without any evidence that the other maybe, perhaps, possibly reciprocates his feelings. He knew that for his own sake, he either has to get over his feelings or address them directly, which meant talking about them with Yuuji. The mere thought of that conversation made Megumi put his hands in front of his face and groan in frustration. So, yes, he wants to play it as safe as possible.
His research only unveiled further how enamoured he was with his best friend, who made every room he stepped into light up. Megumi caught himself snapping his head around whenever he heard Yuuji’s laugh because he didn’t want to miss the expression of pure joy on his face. He swears, more than once did he hear something in his neck crack. Megumi also noticed he had been more lenient when it came to any form of physical contact between them. He even initiated the contact at times because he craved to feel Yuuji’s presence, particularly on days when he felt exhausted by the world around him. Yuuji had the ability to put him back together when he felt his head being crumpled into pieces. So what if they bumped shoulders while walking alongside each other, or their legs became tangled beneath the table during dinner. It was all part of Megumi’s research.
That’s everything he came up with though. Yuuji acted as physical with his other friends as always: Sleeping on Toge’s shoulder, carrying Nobara on his back, his arm around Toge as he tried to explain to him how to win at claw machines. The only difference to how he acts with him is that the touches they share are more delicate, more personal, not openly for the world to see.
Megumi groans and puts his head on the table he’s currently sitting at in his room. He tried to study to get his mind off things for a while, which clearly wasn’t working the way he imagined. His mind and body were drained from all the racing his thoughts have done night and day over the past week. He decides to quit for now and nap on his bed. He gets up from the floor, turns off the light and drags his body onto the bed and closes his eyes as he cuddles the pink hedgehog that had sat in a corner of his bed.
His peace of mind lasts for about five minutes before he hears a knock on his door. “Yeah?” Megumi all but grumbles into his bed sheets without much thought. He only hopes the other person will leave quickly again. Through the door steps a cheerful looking Yuuji and Megumi is unsure whether he’s blinded by the glowing aura that radiates off the boy or if it’s the light from the hallway that illuminates him. Anyway, Yuuji is on his doorstep right now looking like a damn angel and Megumi wonders if he had indeed died during his nap.
“Oh, sorry. I'll let you sleep,” Yuuji says as he notices Megumi on his bed with the lights out.
Hearing the other boy talk to him was enough to get Megumi’s mind working again, not to its full potential but at least he was awake. He sits up on his bed, his vision darkening for a second because he moved too quickly and clears his throat before speaking.
“No, it’s okay. Come in.”
“Should I turn on the light?” Yuuji asks as he points to the light switch by the door.
Megumi’s face scrunches when he thinks about the harsh light of the ceiling lamp. He leans over to his nightstand to turn on the small lamp there. “Will this do?”
“Sure,” the pink-haired boy chuckles as he closes the door behind him and walks towards the bed.
Had this happened before the ‘Arcade Incident’, Megumi wouldn’t bat an eye, but this is the first time after the ‘Arcade Incident’ that they’re going to be alone in his room. Megumi’s brain is now back at full capacity and the cogs turn incessantly, providing him with a hundred scenarios per second of how this could play out.
Yuuji sits down on the bed and shuffles back far enough that he can lean against the wall to sit comfortably. Megumi sits cross legged now, the stuffed animal still in his arms, and looks at the new addition to his bed, waiting for him to say something, if anything.
“I see you and the hedgehog get along well,” Yuuji chuckles as he points towards the stuffed toy. Megumi blushes and puts the hedgehog aside. The still chuckling boy takes out his phone from his pocket and holds it sideways, probably waiting for a game to load. He feels Megumi’s eyes on him and looks at him with his head tilted sideways.
Megumi doesn’t like how this goes according to scenario #23 where Yuuji acts like normal and Megumi has to make the first move. He knows there won't be another chance so soon to approach the elephant in the room. He sighs internally, he can't let this opportunity slip through his fingers.
“You came here to … play games?”
“Yes. Why?” Yuuji asks. “I can leave if I bother you.”
“Why did you come here for that?”
“I usually do,” Yuuji seems confused.
Megumi sighs, feeling the chances of a serious conversation liquify and slipping through his grasp. He might still be too tired to handle this situation with the oblivious fool opposite him.
“It’s fine. I’ll nap though, if you don’t mind.” Nothing to lose, nothing to win right now, he thinks. He lays back down on the bed, but his position is a bit awkward because Yuuji occupies a good part of the bed with his legs that are stretched across it. Megumi tries to lay on his side, on his back with his knees bent, but nothing feels comfortable to him. And even if he found a good position to sleep in, he probably wouldn't be able to get some shut eye anyway.
“Do you wanna put your head on my lap? Whatever you’re trying to do right now doesn’t seem very comfortable,” Yuuji chuckles as he looks down at his friend in his obvious misery.
They look at each other wordlessly after that. The cogs in Megumi's brain are turning once again. He knows this is a sensitive situation, but laying in Yuuji’s lap sounds like music to him right now. His mind is positively screaming at him to do it. Would it have consequences?
“And then you plan on watching me sleep? That's a bit creepy,” he says. He hopes some banter will make him less nervous while he already shuffles closer towards his friend.
“Some people would think it's romantic,” Yuuji mumbles, just loud enough for Megumi to hear. The raven-haired boy blushes at the comment but keeps his head turned away from the other in hopes of the colour on his cheeks staying unnoticed.
Laying on Yuuji's lap takes some adjustments before Megumi finally sighs contently. Feeling the other this close to him calms his mind immediately from all the loud thoughts that currently reside within him. Megumi lays sideways on the boy’s lap who, by the sounds of it, is now fixated on the game on his phone again.
A comfortable silence falls over them and Megumi is about to drift off into slumber but stiffens when he feels a hand caressing his hair. He tries to stay as still as humanly possible as the sensation sends shivers through his body. Yuuji's gentle touch seems like a reward after a week of headaches over their relationship. He feels stupid for worrying so much when all he had to do was embrace whatever was happening between them.
The caresses stop for a moment in which Megumi can hear the game's music continuing. It's unfair, he thinks, how he has to compete with a phone game for attention, but for now he takes what he can get. He doesn't have to wait much longer before the soft touches return to his head and he almost, almost makes a sound of approval.
“How can your hair be so soft when it looks so spiky?” Yuuji whispers. He must have thought that Megumi was asleep by now, but the boy in his lap heard him loud and clear. “Maybe it's a bit like you,” Yuuji goes on. Megumi tries to not scrunch his face. ‘What does that even mean? Do I look spiky?’
In favour of receiving more hair caresses, the raven-haired boy opts to not loudly state his disapproval of the comparison. Instead, he stays still on Yuuji’s lap and slowly but surely his exhaustion gets the best of him, and he falls asleep.
Megumi doesn't know how much time passed when his sleep is disrupted by movement. He feels his head being lifted carefully and then placed on something soft - a pillow, he guesses. He's about to lose consciousness again when he notices something warm brushing against his forehead. And in his state, Megumi can't be sure if he's imagining things or not, so he slowly opens his eyes and comes face to face with a shocked looking Yuuji.
The pink-haired boy often forgot to think about the consequences that come with his spontaneous actions. This was one of those instances. Yuuji had never thought about the possibility of Megumi waking up from the kiss on his forehead. His sleepy friend looks at him with half lidded eyes and his mouth in a little O-shape, and Yuuji has to mentally restrain himself to not just go for it and kiss him right on the lips. He isn’t sure what else to do now though, he has already gone and done the damage.
They have been wordlessly looking at each other for a few heartbeats, the only thing audible is their labored breathing. The air around them has noticeably shifted after this unexpected turn of events and none of them knew what the next step should be. Their faces are still close to each other since Yuuji didn't dare to move a muscle, like he was scared of startling Megumi even more than his action probably already has, judging by the way he looks like a deer in the headlight.
He couldn't help himself, really, when he saw the soft, sleeping face of the otherwise reserved boy, and he felt his heart grow even fonder of him than it already was. He could see that Megumi must have been exhausted so he didn't want to bother him too much and decided he should leave him be. He carefully had moved the other off his lap and made sure he didn't move around too much as he propped a pillow under Megumi's head. He was proud of his work and the fact he didn't wake the other boy up, but when he looked down at the slumbering boy, his body acted on instinct. It really wasn't his fault, Yuuji would like to argue.
‘This is definitely Yuuji's fault,’ Megumi thought. ‘Why would he just… just do that?!’ He just came to the conclusion that he shouldn't worry about being forward with his feelings right now and then Yuuji goes and throws over his plans. He doesn't know whether he's surprised or relieved or scared or mad and he doesn't think he has much time to find out because suddenly Yuuji starts to move.
“I.., uh… good night,” Yuuji says while rubbing his neck and in the motion to return to a standing position.
“You fucker,” Megumi growls as he sits up once more and stretches his hand out to yank the other boy back down to his level, so they see eye-to-eye once more. “Are you really about to leave like that?”
Yuuji is shocked for a split second before he sighs and puts one of his hands over Megumi's hand that currently has a tight grip on his jumper. He gently pries the other’s finger open and holds the hand with his own close to his chest. Yuuji didn’t come to Megumi’s room with a plan, he just wanted to spend time with him – a selfish wish, nothing more. He didn’t think something significant would happen, but he had summoned a storm with his mindless action so now he had to make right by it.
“Leaving was the easier option,” Yuuji says quietly as he squats in front of the bed.
“And what would've been the other option?” Megumi inquires with a stern look. Yuuji can see a sea of anxiousness and anger swirling in Megumi’s eyes, and he so badly wants to calm it.
“The other option, well…” Yuuji averts his eyes and looks at the ground, as if the words he’s looking for will magically appear on the wooden floor. “I don’t think you would’ve liked it very much,” he says with an awkward chuckle. Yuuji is not stupid. He knows that his relationship with his best friend has taken a turn during the last few weeks, knows that he quite possibly has been too obvious with his feelings, but there was no telling if the other boy feels a similar pull towards him. He had thought about being open about his feelings, but he didn’t want to risk what they had. And if he was allowed to stay by Megumi’s side as his best friend, he would gladly do so.
“Try me.”
Yuuji whipped his head back upwards faster than his muscles liked, “What?”
“Try me,” Megumi repeats with a soft blush on his cheeks. “How would you know I don’t like it if you didn’t give me the chance to see for myself.”
Yuuji felt his mouth go dry. His hand, that was still holding onto Megumi’s, became sweaty but instead of letting go he only tightened his grip around the other’s. “Are.. you okay with that?”
“How would I know?” Megumi answers slightly annoyed with a barely visible pout.
At the sight of the other’s expression Yuuji has to laugh. He tries to hide it behind his hand but without success. It suddenly feels like a window has been opened in a stuffy room and he was able to breathe freely again.
“What's there to laugh about, you idiot?” The irritation in the raven-haired boy's voice is noticeable. He's about to smack the boy in front of him hard on the chest, but Yuuji catches his hand midair. Both of Megumi's hands are now being held by the laughing boy who slowly calms down again. He takes both of Megumi's hands and leads them towards his own face.
“We talk about the same thing, yes?”
“Of course we are.”
“Then tell me, what was my second option?” Yuuji smirks with a newfound confidence.
“Well, you were obviously talking about, you know, …” The last words of the sentences are mumbled by the boy on the bed whose cheeks are tinted in a rose colour, and Yuuji thinks he hasn't seen anything prettier than the blushing boy in front of him in the dimmed lights off the nightstand lamp.
“I couldn't hear that.”
“A kiss. Kissing. Shut up,” Megumi bites back without any animosity in his trembling voice.
“And you can't tell me if you'd like it or not?” Yuuji's smirk softens into a warm smile.
Megumi doesn't say anything. He looks deep in thought about the question he was just faced with. He doesn't have much experience with romance or love or anything that comes with it. Of course, he had wondered what it felt like to kiss someone and maybe lately he thought about what it would feel like to kiss his best friend. But being confronted like this drives him into overthinking.
Yuuji can see the obvious turmoil the other boy faces right now. He slowly moves Megumi's hands towards his mouth and gently presses his lips against the knuckles. The raven-haired boy stiffens for a second as his eyes widen at the sudden gesture. Megumi's mind is yelling at him to do something, anything, but he can only stare at the bright eyes that are already locked on his.
“Thoughts?” Yuuji chuckles.
“Too many,” Megumi answers.
“Negative?”
“I... wouldn't say that.”
“Damn, you're really putting me to work here.”
“I just don't know. I don't know what it should feel like. I don't even know if I wanna throw up right now or if I'm really fucking happy.”
“I hope it's the second one because I really cannot handle the smell of puke.”
“You're unbelievable.”
They start laughing. Maybe it's the return of their usual antics that erases the last remains of awkwardness between them, but both feel at ease again. Megumi welcomes the warmth that Yuuji's hands on his send through his body, a familiarity that keeps him in the present and doesn't let his thoughts wander.
“So, how comfortable are you with the idea of … of a kiss?” Yuuji doesn't want to pressure his friend into anything and he's trying not to get ahead of himself, but he can barely contain his excitement anymore.
“Fuck, okay. Give me a second.”
The boy with the pink hair finally stands up from his squatting position and releases Megumi's hands. He might appear calm to the outside world but on the inside he's vibrating with anticipation because that definitely wasn't a ‘no’. Meanwhile, Megumi is still unsure whether he needs to puke or not. He sits cross-legged on the bed again, his hands resting on his knees. ‘Just fucking do it,’ he thinks to himself. He wants it, has been wanting it for some time now.
He looks up at his friend and thinks that pink hair would look ridiculous on anyone else - he's told Yuuji that shortly after they became friends as well. The other only answered that he likes to think of it as the colour of cotton candy. And Megumi now agrees: it's the colour of a cotton candy sky right before the sun sets. He has always liked those sunsets the best because they painted the world in their warm palette. Megumi's thoughts are interrupted when a hand is placed on each side of his face and his head is tilted upwards.
“Are you done debating?” Yuuji quietly chuckles as he begins to lean down until their foreheads are touching.
“Yuuji,” Megumi whispers and his friend hums in acknowledgement, “there will be no going back after this, right?”
“Not if I can help it,” Yuuji smiles.
Megumi smiles as well because he should have expected this kind of answer from him. And he smiles because he knows his heart is gonna be safe, that he doesn't have to guard it anymore. And he smiles because if he's following Yuuji now he's going to need him closer and he knows he doesn't need to be afraid of that thought.
“I thought so,” is the last thing Megumi says before Yuuji closes the distance between them completely as he clumsily presses their lips together.
The kiss lasted for a few seconds in which neither of them moved. When they part, both slowly open their eyes again while their faces remain close enough that they can feel each others’ breath on their skin.
“Thoughts?” Yuuji asks once more, now with a blush of his own.
“Definitely not wanting to puke. You?"
“I'd say a solid 6.”
Megumi punches him.
“7.5,” Yuuji coughs.
“I will throw you out.”
“I don't think you will,” the boy with the cotton candy hair laughs (and coughs) as he holds his stomach. He cups Megumi's face once more with his hands and caresses his flushed cheeks with his thumbs. “Did you know that you are very pretty when you blush?”
“Did you know that you-” Megumi starts but can't finish his retort before Yuuji once more kisses him, gentler this time. Their lips start moving harmoniously with each other and Megumi's hands find their way to the other boy's jumper and pull him closer. Yuuji smiles into the kiss when he notices the raven-haired boy showing the tiniest bit of neediness. The second kiss lasts longer than the first one and leaves both a bit breathless.
“I probably already know, but I'll gladly listen to your complaint anyway.”