Work Text:
CANDY GRAMS
Send your special someone a sweet message!
Handed out on Valentine's Day!
2 Dollars Each
Located by the front gates
Class had technically ended a few minutes ago, Mr.Noa had let them do their work and the room was buzzing to be dismissed. Well, it was buzzing for two reasons.
Bachira Meguru slammed the door open hard enough to startle half the class. There, in all his 5 '9 glory, he stood, decked out head to toe in cheap Valentines Day accessories. Bachira, making a show of his new outfit, walked in like a cowboy on a mission, enough to make even Mr.Noa fight a chuckle. Continuing the scene, he showed a small pink container to the whole class before announcing, “Candy Grams!” earning a variety of ‘woo’s from the class and a “hurry up” from Mr.Noa.
Digging into the box, Bachira started his route around the class, “one for Hiori Yo!” Given the opportunity Kurona would’ve guessed it was from Hiori’s new boyfriend, Karasu Tabito. Judging by the way Hioris face flushed red upon reading the front of the envelope, Kurona would’ve been spot on.
“Two for Yukimiya Kenyu!” Classic. Honestly, he expected Mr.Model to get way more, but compared to the bouquets of flowers and stacks of chocolates, the 25 cent lollipops were puny.
“One for Isagi Yoichi!” Based on the smug face Bachira made as he gently set the lollipop down it wasn't a secret who had sent it, not to anyone with a brain.
“One for Kunigami Rensuke!” Not even a question. Chigiri Hyoma. Next.
Bachiras parade came to a slow stop in front of Kuronas desk. As he shook the box in front of him, inspecting the lollipops clad in ribbons and cards.
“Four for Kurona Ranze!” The class erupted. Like a sitcom studio audience, Kurona could've sworn they were doing it on purpose, like there was a light up “oooo” sign he wasn't seeing. “You go Kurona Ranze!” Bachira dumped the last contents of the box on Kuronas desk and quickly made his descent back to the front of the class, where Otoya Eita was holding the door open for him. “Aaand,” Bachira feigned inspecting the obviously empty box, “none for Micheal Kaiser bye.”
The class was quietly laughing, but Kurona was more focused on the candies in front of him. Small heart shaped lollipops with ribbons that tied a small envelope to them, inside presumably a confession of sorts. Was it a confession? No, no one had ever confessed to Kurona. Let alone four people. Maybe it was his friends. It had to be.
“It's from Karasu,” Hiori spoke, holding a small piece of paper in his hand. “Are you a magician? cause when i look at your legs everyone else disappears,” he looked up from the page with a disgusted look, but beat red and laughing. “Christ. What a dork. Whose is yours from, Isagi?”
“Ah, Bachira,” not even looking at the card, he knows. “If you were a fruit, you'd be a cute-cumber, love Meguru.'' Isagi laughed, dropping the note on the desk, “cucumbers are not fruits, what?”
Yukimiya suddenly sighed, “some underclassmen.” he looked at his cards more upset than excited, “I feel bad rejecting them every year.”
“You know who's gonna have a really hard time rejecting people? Mr.Popular back there!” Isagi turned around in his chair to face Kurona, who was sitting directly behind him. Suddenly, the attention was on him, so no, his friends didn't send it. ¾ of his friends were right here and based on their reactions they had no clue. Oh god, it wasn't them.
“Whaaaat? No, no. I can't, I-I don't know…” Kurona has always been horrible at deflecting attention from himself, usually inadvertently drawing more attention to himself. Like a ballerina that suddenly trips and falls, then gets up, then trips and falls. “Maybe it's a prank, I don’t know anyone. Why would someone-”
“Hey!” Hiori interjected ”You’re cute, the shark thing? That's cute! It's not that crazy that someone likes you!” Hiori was too nice, but Kurona knew better than anyone that the teeth were cute, but not four confessions cute. Kurona wasn't dumb. “Ran, are you gonna open them or not?” Kurona stared at Yukimiya for a second, realistically he was too easily flustered to do this successfully.
Riiiiiiiiiing! Saved by the bell.
“I’ll open them at home.” He could tell it wasn't the answer they were hoping for but they also knew that Kurona was a bit stubborn when it came to trying to save face. Win some, lose some, and if all else fails they can bully him on a discord call until he tells them who the lovestruck classmate was. Lose some, (bully till you) win some.
Kurona figured that whoever it was, he would have to reject them. He already liked someone and was not interested in anything with anyone other than the person he liked. “Ya know,” Isagi stopped him at his shoe locker before he left. “I'd say there's a pretty good chance that one of them is him,” he smiled knowingly and suddenly telling Isagi Yoichi who he liked was the worst thing he had ever done. “I wasn't gonna say anything but I saw him at the Candy Gram stand at the beginning of the month.”
Suddenly, telling Isagi Yoichi was the best thing he had ever done.
He was an idiot to get his hopes up, he knew that. Kurona had asked him at the beginning of the month if he liked anyone and he had given a short “no” in response. Kiyora never lies. Kurona is an idiot and Kiyora never lies.
And now, sitting on his bed, Kurona holds the envelopes in his hands. No sender name, only labeled one through four. Were they all by the same person? Or was it a collective? A group of students that decided to all confess together? No, that was even less likely than it being Kiyora.
“Dear Kurona,
As of today (January 4th) I am not comfortable with you knowing who I am. But just know, I like you. I can't imagine you liking me back, if I'm being honest I can't imagine anyone liking me back. Based on the way you talk about yourself I think you think about yourself the same way.”
Isn't that the truth? When was the last time he talked to someone about himself? Or was it so obvious that this person was able to tell that Kurona thought that without him having to say anything at all?
“ That sucks. I wish you could see you the way I do. I feel like everyone has a thing. Something that makes them unique. You have so much. I could have spent my entire life trying to come up with you and I wouldn't have been able to. It's hard not to feel like I’m not worth your time.
I like you. So much. If you could only see me a fraction of the way that I see you, I could die happy.”
Holy shit. Wait. This person is serious. This wasn't a prank. This was real. Someone thought about him like this. Kuronas heart was ready to beat out of his chest. If this was only the first letter, what the hell were in the other 3?
“January 17th
Dear Kurona,
I’ve decided that by the end of these I'll actually tell you who I am, but I don't think I would be able to be around you normally right now if I knew that that letter was out there. Not much has changed since I wrote the first one. We haven't really talked since you made new friends last month , you posted about hanging out with someone over winter break, was it them?”
Yes it was. Him, Isagi and Hiori had only started hanging out after they started teaming up on the field, which was right before winter break. While out at a cafe they ran into Yukimiya, who despite being in their class, was so far out of Kuronas social circle that he didn't even remember that they were in the same class. He apologized with coffee.
Kurona had posted a picture of their coffee cups together with some stupid caption about new friends and hanging out, which was promptly reposted by all three of them. Ok, so someone who followed him online and someone who he hasn't talked to in a while. Considering how many followers he gained after Yukimiya breathed in his direction, it could've been anyone. Reeeally narrowing it down.
“I can't help but feel jealous, it's selfish I know. I wish I could get rid of the sick feeling I get when they crowd around your desk. I've never liked Isagi Yoichi.”
They've seen him at his desk, was it someone in his class? It wasn't one of his friends based on the way he was talking about them. What's wrong with Isagi? He could be a little rude on the field, sure, but if this person isn't on the soccer team they wouldn't have any reason to dislike him. And if they were it only eliminated a quarter of the class. Everyone was on the team, it was a sports academy.
“Maybe I’m wrong, if you like him he must not be so bad. You're very trusting, maybe you see something in him that I don't. I don't see much in most people besides you. That's why my sudden feelings have caught me so off guard. It's overwhelming.”
Kurona’s whole body felt light. Even if it wasn't Kiyora, it was someone. Someone looked at Kurona and thought these things. They saw things in him that Kurona had never even considered about himself. Not only that, they saw things in only Kurona. Not Yukimiya or Reo or Oliver or any of the guys that basically had to fight classmates off of them. Kurona. Kurona Ranze. With the speech impediments and shark teeth and fuckass haircut. Kurona fucking Ranze.
“February 1st
Dear Kurona,
Valentine's day is getting closer and you've moved your desk to sit with Isagi. I can't help but feel upset about that. I shouldn't, you can sit wherever you want, and I don't want you to think I'm some nut job that forces you to be around me.
Ever since I started liking you I've felt a need to be around you always. I never want to be around anyone and I want to be around you. Sometimes my feelings for you surprise even me.”
A pit formed in Kuronas stomach, he's always hated making people feel bad and even now, where he doesn't know who it is and never meant to make them feel bad, the pit forms.
Kurona was all too familiar with the feeling the writer was talking about. Watching Kiyora with Niko or Zantetsu made him feel sick. It was in his control, it wouldn't be hard for him to go over there and be with him too, but with the sick feeling came the same guilt the writer talked about. I don't want you to think I'm some nut job that forces you to be around me.
Kurona had tried to befriend him, but when the stone-faced mask never slipped, Kurona felt it eating at him. Why couldn't he make Kiyora smile? Or laugh? Or show anything resembling an emotion? Admittedly, Kurona had gotten into his own head about it. He hates me. He hates me and he doesn't want to be around me. It was what had driven Kurona to Isagi and co.
“I've never felt this strong about anyone before. As Valentine's Day gets closer I feel sick thinking about how you could react to my confession. I don't want you to not be friends with me anymore, I don't want to lose you. Even then i dont think it's right for you to smile at me and come over to my house without knowing. You deserve to know. Even if you never talk to again, you deserve to know.”
Friends? Going over to their house? Kurona didn't have many friends, and he had only been to two of their houses. Isagi had invited him over winter break and he had gone to Kiyoras at the beginning of the first semester.
Kurona felt his stomach fall as he put the pieces together, like a detective finally stepping back and seeing the red threads connecting. Frantically shuffling the papers around, Kurona set them out on his bed in order of date. He really is a detective. A detective on the brink of cracking the biggest case of his career.
January 17th: “We haven't really talked since you made new friends last month,” when was the last time he talked to Kiyora? He went over to his house in November, talked to him about hanging out over break at the beginning of December, and a short text chat midway through the January. Jesus, he had been so in his own head about it that he hasn't really talked to Kiyora in over a month. Some friend.
“I’ve never liked Isagi Yoichi,” that's right. Kiyora doesn't like Isagi. Isagi had benched Kiyora when he moved schools and joined the team midway through their first year. Then he benched him again mid game at the end of last season, arguing with Mr.Noa to make sure that hiori got put in again. Kiyora was upset at that, he had left the game 5 minutes before it ended and it was the closest Kurona had ever gotten to seeing Kiyora physically displaying his emotions.
The final letter was still in its envelope, and Kurona could hear the angel and devil on his shoulder arguing. What if it’s not him? Was he forgetting anyone? Maybe he had a different friend who he was forgetting. Kuronas hands were shaking as he peeled back the sticker, and his breathing was uneven when he pulled the paper out of the envelope.
February 14th
“Dear Kurona,
It’s been so long since we talked, it kind of makes me sick that by the end of the day you'll know how I feel when you haven't even looked at me in a month. I hope Isagi is well.”
There was that pit in his stomach again, he hadn’t done it on purpose, it was a mix of worry that he was annoying and nerves surrounding Kiyora. If it even was him. Kurona’s eyes scanned the page, desperate for an answer to the question that was burning in his head, but there was no name on the page. The whole front of the small page was covered in writing, and it left no room to sign the front of the page.
“It’s probably pathetic that I still feel like this for you. My whole life I’ve been treated like some weirdo, and I’m finally seeing it. My heart hurts when I think about it and you.”
It was hard to not see Kiyora in this, he had never been the most positive. Now his heart hurts.
“Over the past few months I have been in denial, even in these letters, where I was supposed to be honest with you, I have been lying. I don't like you. I love you.”
Kurona could hear himself breathing now, and unconsciously squeezed the paper in his hand, covering it in wrinkles. In his head, he was screaming Kiyoras name.
“Despite your neglect, my feelings have spiraled out of control. It's all consuming and as much as I wish I could escape it, I feel like I'm stuck in a hole where your name is echoing off the walls. You've consumed my waking thoughts. I love you.”
The page ended there, the three final words were squeezed in at the end. No, no, no. He promised he’d say who. Kurona frantically scanned the page again, did he say who? Did he miss it??
It was closer to 6PM now, the sun was starting to set outside, and it was shining through Kuronas window blinds. Kurona breathed out a shaky breath as he ran his fingers over the writing, you didn't chicken out did you? Suddenly he felt it, the same ridges and bumps that were on the front of the page were on the back. Kiyora didn't chicken out. He. They. Whoever wrote it.
Kurona closed his eyes, pointed his head towards the sky and flipped the paper over. He kept himself there for a while, holding the final page in hand, his admirers heart in hand and by extension, his heart in hand. What would he do if it wasn't Kiyora? Cry? Only one way to find out.
Kurona looked down at the page, and he felt his heart drop again. This time, it was good, and Kurona felt every ounce of doubt and anxiety leave his body. Like a bucket of cold water after an eternity of being on fire, the words on the page extinguished the pain in his heart.
“I, Kiyora Jin, love you.”
Standing outside Kiyora's house Kurona gulped his heart back down. Leaping out of his chest and threatening to kill him, Kurona quickly knocked with letters in hand, and quickly considered running away and taking this to the grave.
“Oh, Kurr.. Kurona, right?” Kiyoras older brother opened the door, recognizing him from his last visit. Sakusa was a spitting image of the rest of the men in his family, and it'd be easy to mistake him for one of his brothers if it wasn't for the fact that he was almost comically taller than Jin.
“Yes, yes. Is uh. Is Jin home?” What a stupid question. Jin was always home.
“Yeah, come on.”
Stepping in Kurona instantly remembered why he had loved the Kiyora household the first time he had come over. Everything was homey, covered in family pictures and knick-knacks. There were three of everything, labeled with the brothers initials and the house seemed to have a constant smell of baked goods via Mrs.Jins cooking. Standing in the entryway Kurona could hear a sports game on the tv, Jin's younger brother shouting at a video game somewhere and his dad talking business on the phone. This was a home, and somewhere in it was someone who loved Kurona Ranze.
“You remember his room, yeah?” Sakusa broke him out of his thoughts, already walking back to the living room, not bothering to wait for an answer. Not like it mattered, Kurona could see Jin's name on his bedroom door from here. Suddenly, his steps were heavy as he approached it, but still not nearly as heavy as his hand was as he raised it to knock.
The look on Jin's face when he opened the door was more of a reaction than Kurona has ever been able to get out of him. Eyes jumping between the letters in his hands and his face, Jin looked scared. His face was a silent plea, a quiet “you should've waited for school” and a screaming “what are you doing here?!” all at the same time. Kurona instantly felt bad.
“Can we talk? Please? Please?” Ranze slammed his eyes shut after that, his tic has brought him a lot of embarrassment in the past, but pleading with someone to speak with him was a new low. Jin just nodded and moved out of the way.
Jin's room was reflective of a side of him most people would ever see. Posters of artists you'd never expect, skateboards and guitars and a collection of journals that he saved his words for. Paint cans, expensive shoes and underground clothing brands on hoodies that Jin never wore outside his room. Each had a piece of Jin that no one but a select few would ever know. Kurona took it in, it almost felt like home, for every piece of Jin, was a piece of Ranze that adored him.
“I’m sorry.” Jin snapped Kurona out of his thoughts. “I-if ye-ye-you don’t wh-wha-want ts-ts-ts-to be f-f-f-f-friends that, that's fine” Kiyora Jin had never been one to talk, and shortly after they became friends Ranze figured out why: Kiyora Jin has a stutter. Being reminded of that made him feel a little stupid for being embarrassed about his speech tic.
“Ye-ye-you don't haf-haf-have to ts-ts-try to be n-n-nice ‘bout it,” Jin was trying his best to let Ranze know he didn't have to spare his feelings, and it hit him like a truck, he was preparing for a rejection.
“No!” Ranze suddenly jumped up and shouted, scaring Jin in the process. “I-I mean, uhm,” Ranze had no plan for that, other than correcting the idea that Ranze was rejecting him. Kuronas heart was falling through his body, and fairly he was even more nervous than he had ever been.
Ranze was standing on the edge of a cliff, looking over the edge at a lake below, he couldn't tell how deep it was or if he would die if he jumped. Jin was standing behind him apologizing for putting him there and in his hands were letters detailing how the last time he was here, he jumped. Now was his turn. He just had to jump.
Step. Step. Step. “I like you.” Jump.
“Like,” He was falling and for the first time in a long time, it felt good. “Like-like.” It was a rush that made both his and Jins faces flush red. “I’m sorry for not talking to you enough, I was scared…” he's not scared anymore, “that you didn't like me?” shuffling the papers in his hand Ranze found himself speaking his mind, he doesn't do it often but once he does he has a habit of not stopping.
“I thought you didn't like me. Honestly, I feel a little dumb now. But- I miss you… and I can fix this. I don't like the way you talk about yourself. I don't see you like that. Youre so much more than that. Can I? I want to show you that. You deserve to know-” before Kurona could finish his word vomit of a confession Kiyora had leaned in to close the gap, kissing him, but as soon as he did he seemed to regret it, pulling back quickly. Like feeling the water then opening his eyes and realizing he was still falling.
Kuronas mind was blank. He had thought about kissing Kiyora before, he imagined all the ways he would make it romantic, like a movie. He imagined himself confessing and kissing Jin in the rain. He imagined Jin kissing him after scoring the game winning goal in the final moments of a finals game. He even imagined Jin as the knight that saved the prince in the tower… he wasn't proud of that one. Imagining what the water felt like.
Of all the ways he imagined this happening, of all the times he planned out what he would do, when it was actually happening his mind was blank. Genius.
“Again.”
“Huh?”
“Kiss. Again.”
Jin just laughed and Ranze remembered how bad he missed seeing Jin smile. Turning his attention back to Ranze, Jin smiled again, and his half-lidded plum eyes practically had hearts in them. Ranze’s never been kissed, so he just mirrored what Jin did, he seemed like he knew what he was doing. Lean, close eyes, pucker, kiss.
Splash. Kurona finally did it. The water wasn’t shallow, it was as deeper than he ever imagined it being, warm and welcoming. Jin's lips were soft and he tasted like the cherry lip balm he kept on his keychain. Thinking about it made Kurona smile into the kiss.
Jin pulled away after a few seconds, “can you stay?” Kurona was taken aback, he was barely even thinking, let alone of leaving. “Here? With me?” Jin looked down and held Kuronas hand in his, “I doh-don't want you to… leave.”
“I won't leave you.”