Work Text:
Tatsuya can’t stop looking at Jun. Seeing a face that had lingered in only the furthest corners of his memory revealed before him makes his eyes widen and his heart pound in his chest, the compulsion to flick his lighter almost overwhelming but he clenches his fists instead and swallows hard. He can’t blink away the brightness his old friend’s presence brings, but then, maybe he never could.
Jun stands next to him as the group discusses their next move and Tatsuya’s eyes trace over Jun’s face, catching on his lips as he makes sounds of agreement and adds detail where necessary. Hands in his pockets, Tatsuya thumbs the lid of the lighter while Maya catches his eye and raises her eyebrows knowingly.
*
It’s a childhood crush and Tatsuya is surprised it came back in such full swing, not so much like a switch being flipped but a dimmer wrenched all the way up. When he’s not beating himself up for forgetting--well, he’d never fully forgotten, he thinks, not when Jun was such an essential part of him, souls entwined together--he’s imagining how Jun’s hand would feel in his, smaller, softer perhaps, but holding on tightly. The urge to protect him has always been strong, but when Jun carefully tends to his wounded knuckles after particularly rough battles, Tatsuya wonders who is looking out for who.
And if Tatsuya’s face turns as red as his hair when Jun coyly offers to kiss it better one time, that doesn’t mean he says no.