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Rui was sitting through a boring lesson in math class. The teacher had just given them a minute or so to complete the problems before she went over them, and of course Rui had already finished them. As Tsukasa got up beside him to sharpen his pencil, Rui was fishing in his bag for a rouge highlighter. Instead of the highlighter, he found an unfamiliar invention of his. Rui placed his bag back on the hook to inspect the spherical item. He looked at it curiously and soon found a button. He decided that it wouldn’t hurt to press it. After all, the worst it could do was attempt to roll out of his hands, right?
Wrong. A few seconds after he pressed the button, the machine started beeping and exploded into glitter. Tsukasa’s head whipped around at the sound to see Rui and the surrounding desks covered in glitter.
Rui blinked, still stunned by what had just happened. He seemed to snap back pretty quickly, though. “Ah, that’s where it went.”
Thankfully, it seemed Rui had undergone most of the glitter and the students around him seemed only slightly affected. Unfortunately, the teacher also noticed that something had happened.
“Kamishiro-!” The teacher exclaimed disappointedly.
“Yes, Sensei.” Rui replied, being used to this by now. He stood up, bowed, and headed towards the classroom door.
“Tenma,” the teacher said, turning to Tsukasa, ”Escort him to the principal for me, will you? Also, please get him cleaned up on the way, too. We don’t want the whole school covered in glitter.”
“Yes, Sensei.” Tsukasa said, bowing, and starting for the door.
When he got into the hall, he closed the door and turned to Rui, who was waiting for him.
“Rui! I turn my head for one second and you're already exploding things?!” Tsukasa yelled.
“Shhh!” Rui said, putting a glitter-coated finger to Tsukasa’s mouth, “No need to yell! Besides, how was I supposed to know it was going to do that?”
Tsukasa’s eyes narrowed as he pulled Rui’s hand away from his face. “Maybe because it was in your bag!?!” He whisper-shouted.
“Well, I haven't seen it in months! I told you I lost it! And half of my inventions look the same, you know, prototypes and such. How was I supposed to assume that this specific machine was a glitter bomb?”
“Because it’s exactly the type of thing you would have in your school bag!”
Rui blinked, “I suppose you’re right.”
Tsukasa facepalmed and grabbed Rui’s hand, dragging him to the nearest bathroom. “Come on, let's get you cleaned up.”
“And go to-”
“Yes, and go to the office.”
~~
As soon as Rui opened the bathroom door and saw himself in the mirror, he frowned.
“Aw, this is my favorite sweater!” He whined, then perked up, “Well, Emu-kun was saying it needed a little more kira-kira, though I didn’t believe her at first. After we wash it it would still have some glitter in it, you can never get glitter out of anything. I think it would be just the thing Emu-kun was describing, don’t you think?” When Rui finished his ramble, he turned to Tsukasa, looking for confirmation.
Tsukasa couldn’t help but smile at how stupid Rui looked covered in glitter. “Of course!” He said, “I’m sure Emu would love it! I surely do, you’re almost shining as bright as me!”
Rui smiled, wrapping his arms around Tsukasa’s neck and squishing their cheeks together, “I’m glad you think so, Tsukasa-kun!!”
“Ah, Rui! You’re gonna get glitter all over me!” Tsukasa exclaimed, playfully pushing Rui away.
The boys got to work cleaning as much of the glitter as they could off of Rui. They tried to shake as much glitter as they could out of Rui’s cardigan but it seemed an endless amount of glitter kept falling out.
“Okay, Rui.” Tsukasa said, “Shake out your hair over the trash can.”
“Nooo!” Rui whined, pouting, “It smells like vegetables!”
“How would you know that?” Tsukasa said, “No matter, you need to shake it out before one head turn sends glitter flying everywhere. Trust me, I would know.”
“Fufu~ did Tsukasa-kun and Saki-kun have a disastrous glitter experience when they were little?” Rui giggled, batting his glittery eyelashes.
“Yes! We made very pretty cards for our parents!” Tsukasa replied proudly, “And don’t change the subject!”
Rui finally complied and they shook as much glitter out of his hair as they could. When finished, Rui looked in the mirror and admired his sparkling hair.
“Oohoo! Does Tsukasa-kun like my new hairdo?” Rui chuckled, turning to Tsukasa.
“Yes, but I would enjoy it more if you didn’t still have glitter all over your face!” Tsukasa replied, grabbing a few paper towels, cupping Rui’s face with one hand, and pulling his head down to eye level and starting to wipe the glitter off. When he finished, Tsukasa hesitated for a moment before giving Rui a quick peck on the lips.
“Ha! Now we’re even!” He boasted, letting go of Rui’s quickly reddening face to put his hands on his hips proudly. He then looked around the bathroom and noticed that they somehow ended up getting the sink and trash can even more covered in glitter than Rui was before.
“Jeez, Rui” Tsukasa said, “Just how much glitter did you put in that thing?”
“Ah! Wonderful question, Tsukasa-kun!” Rui replied, “Unfortunately, it is a question that I do not have the answer to! It is a wonder how much glitter can fit into such a small sphere!”
“Nevermind that!” Tsukasa huffed, grabbing Rui’s hand again, “Time to go to the office!”
~~~
As they walked to the principal's office, Tsukasa said, “Rui, you’re coming over to my house after school today so we can wash your hair.” Just as Rui was about to interject, he said, “No ’but’s! You need someone else to wash your hair or that glitter is never getting out!”
“Fufu~ Tsukasa-kun is so caring~!”
“Of course! As expected of a world future star!”
“Ah, how could I forget?”
They soon made it to the principal’s office and Tsukasa waited patiently outside of the room for Rui to be finished with his meeting with the principal. At this point, the principal was used to it and knew Rui didn’t have any malicious intent. Thankfully, he only assigned Rui to clean up the glitter as a replacement for detention. Tsukasa assured the principal he would make sure Rui got it done before they left school.
~~
Rui leaned on the broom he was using to clean the floor, “Is it clean enough yet?” He groaned
Tsukasa scratched his head, “Yeah I really don’t think we’re ever going to get every single speck of glitter cleaned up, but it looks clean from a distance.” He said.
Rui perked up instantly, the broom clattering to the floor. “Wonderful! We can go home now!!”
Tsukasa picked up the broom and headed to put it in the closet they got it from. “You can go on ahead, i’ll bring the cleaning supplies back to where we got them.”
At that, Rui excitedly left the classroom and Tsukasa watched as he sped down the hallway. Tsukasa quickly put the cleaning supplies up and chased after the director. “Rui!! Don’t run!!”
Tsukasa reached the ground floor and as he was leaving the stairwell, a figure jumped out at him.
“BOO!”
“BAAHHH!!” Tsukasa screamed, nearly falling on the floor. Luckily, the figure caught him.
“Fufu~ got you~” The person giggled.
“Rui! Don’t do that!” Tsukasa said, turning around and dusting off his clothes, “I could have had a heart attack!!”
“Aw… but Tsukasa-kun’s reactions are priceless!” Rui pouted.
“Ah! Don’t give me that!” Tsukasa exclaimed, “Now come on, your hair isn’t going to wash itself!”
~~
They eventually made it to Tsukasa’s house and took off their shoes. Tsukasa led Rui up to his room and started rummaging through his closet for some clothes that would fit the taller boy. He eventually found a very oversized T-shirt that he wouldn’t mind getting wet and shorts that would probably fit Rui.
“Here,” Tsukasa said, tossing the clothes to Rui, “I’m washing your uniform, so change into those.”
Tsukasa let Rui change while he got things ready to wash Rui’s hair with. When Rui was finished changing, Tsukasa told Rui to wait for him in the bathroom and went downstairs to put the clothes in the wash. When he made it back upstairs he quickly changed into clothes he wouldn’t mind getting wet and walked into the bathroom to find Rui waiting expectantly by the tub.
Tsukasa started the water and waited until it was a decent temperature. “Is this okay or is it too hot?” He asked Rui.
Rui ran his hand under the water, “It’s fine.” He said, smiling with gratitude.
“Okay,” Tsukasa said, grabbing the detachable shower head and sitting on the floor next to Rui, “Now put your head over the side of the tub and I’ll get started.”
Rui hesitated, but complied and Tsukasa switched the water to the detachable shower head and started running the water over Rui’s head. He laid the shower head in the tub for a moment while he put shampoo in Rui’s hair.
“Is this okay?” Tsukasa asked as he scrubbed small circles into Rui’s scalp, making sure he wasn’t making the director uncomfortable. Rui hummed a ‘mhm’ in response. “Okay, I'll keep doing it like this then. Oh, and you might want to close your eyes if you haven't already.” Tsukasa suggested.
Rui sat there patiently while Tsukasa washed his hair. His neck was starting to hurt, but he didn’t complain. He just focused on the feeling of Tsukasa massaging his scalp and the sound of running water. It was nice.
“Oh, Tsukasa-kun!” Rui began as Tsukasa started to rinse the shampoo out of his hair, “Did you know that in Norse mythology the god Loki shapeshifted into a female horse to lure away Asgard’s horse and subsequently got pregnant?”
Tsukasa froze. “What the hell… did you… did you really just tell me about Loki horse pregnancy?”
“Indeed I did!” Rui giggled, “ah here’s something else.. There's a song by music artist Lemon Demon.. I told you about him!! Anyway, he has a lot of interesting songs! He has one song that i find especially funny about two trucks havi-”
“NO! No! I don’t want to hear it! Whatever it is, it can’t be good!”
This prompted a laugh out of Rui. Not a chuckle, but a real laugh that echoed in the bathtub. Tsukasa couldn't help but laugh along with him. Tsukasa had never really heard Rui laugh like this before. It was quite an odd laugh, but he adored it all the same.
Tsukasa then put conditioner in Rui’s hair, making sure he put enough so his hair would be soft afterwards, then rinsed it out.
“Okay, Rui,” He said, grabbing a towel, “you can lift your head up now.”
Rui complied, once he sat up he rolled his neck, and then turned to Tsukasa, face and hair dripping with water. Tsukasa giggled and dried off Rui’s face. He pulled the towel away from Rui’s face to see a goofy but fond smile plastered on his face. Tsukasa kissed his nose and asked him to turn around so he could put product in his hair. Once Rui turned around, Tsukasa started lightly drying his hair so it wouldn't drip, then brushed it. After that, he put the product in it. He then started drying his hair by scrunching it and when it was as dry as he could get it, he tapped Rui’s shoulder to let him know he was done.
Rui turned back around and said, “Thank you, Tsukasa-kun. I appreciate it.”
Tsukasa smiled, “my pleasure! Now, I know you just changed shirts not that long ago but that one got a little wet, would you like a different one?”
“I wouldn't mind, wet shirts aren't exactly my cup of tea,” Rui replied, before hastily adding, “if it’s no trouble.”
“Of course not! I’ll go get one now!” Tsukasa boasted, heading across the hall to his room to grab another shirt. He gave the shirt to Rui and then went downstairs to move Rui’s school uniform into the dryer. He walked back upstairs and into his room to see Rui sitting patiently on his bed. Tsukasa couldn't help but notice how beautiful he looked.
Rui smiled when he saw Tsukasa in the doorway. Tsukasa smiled in return and walked over to Rui. He plopped onto the director’s lap and they looked at each other fondly for a few moments. Then Tsukasa cupped Rui’s face and kissed him on the cheek. Rui smiled wider in response and grabbed Tsukasa’s face to start peppering it in kisses. Tsukasa giggled and kicked his feet as Rui’s still-damp hair tickled his face along with the light kisses.
“Ah, Rui!” Tsukasa giggled, “that tickles!!” He said as he lightheartedly tried to push Rui’s face away, hands moving down to the director’s shoulders when he pulled away.
“Just one more!” Rui chuckled, wrinkling his nose in glee, “Tsukasa-kun is just so cute!!”
Tsukasa grumbled in embarrassment and buried his face into the crook of Rui’s neck. Rui chuckled again and wrapped his arms around the star’s torso, pulling him closer. Rui then softly fell back on the bed, bringing Tsukasa down with him. After a moment of readjusting, Tsukasa had snuggled up beside Rui. He placed his head on Rui’s chest and listened to his heartbeat as the boys laid there in comfortable silence.
Eventually, the dryer finished and Tsukasa brought Rui downstairs to make him some dinner. While he was cooking, Rui watched him fondly and they started idly chatting. When Tsukasa finished cooking, he plated the food, while leaving some for Saki when she got home from band practice, and they sat down at the table to eat. After a few complaints from Rui about the vegetables, he eventually caved and tolerated them.
While they were eating, Saki came home and they did not hesitate to tell her about the disastrous glitter bomb incident as she joined them at the table.
Soon enough, Rui had to head home and Tsukasa gave him his now glitter-free school uniform and wished him goodbye.
“Text me when you get home, okay?” Tsukasa said, hugging Rui.
“Of course.” Rui responded, kissing the top of Tsukasa's head, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
As Tsukasa was waving goodbye to Rui, he couldn't help thinking:
Today was a good day.