Chapter Text
In light of recent events, Miki has had a not-so-great time at school.
He’s usually alone, so that's no surprise. But the main thing that’s been irking him is how Eiki and Hajime have been too lovey-dovey and how everyone swarms them with cute comments about their relationship in the hallways. Don’t get him wrong, he’s happy that his childhood best friend finally put himself first instead of Miki but…
He just really needs to get to class. Like, right now. Without any hallway crowding of jealous girls and impressed guys. Miki sighs, turning the corner before either Hajime or Eiki see him and call out to him. He can’t help but feel a bit jealous too, but it doesn’t matter anymore since both of them are happy together. Much more happy than Miki could ever make them.
Miki scratches his head at the thought. A little parasite that’s been plaguing his mind. It’s not like they hate me though, right? I mean, I am the one that brought them together. If they didn’t like me then they wouldn’t have stuck around for long.
Today is not a day Miki wants to face his insecurities, so he pushes that thought away and hurries on to class. He would skip if it were any other day, but Miki feels like if he does he might just get an earful from his teachers and Eiki, probably with the addition of Hajime too since they’re always stuck together now. Miki grumbled at the thought, accidentally letting that ugly feeling of jealousy rise again.
As he walks through the less crowded hallways in a sour mood already, there’s some loud laughter further down the hall. He is in the first year area after all, not the first time they’ve been noisy but they seem to be lively. A bit too lively so early in the morning. A group of troublemakers maybe? Or is there something to be excited about? Miki cares less about it to be fair.
“He looks like he’s about to cry, what a wimp!” A loud voice cackles near the staircase Miki was supposed to take. He paused for a second, just to listen. A group of kids picking on this poor redhead, typical highschool bullies Miki guesses. Troublemakers it is.
Another one giggles in amusement, her phone raised to record a video or take pictures. “When does he ever look like he isn’t crying? Such a cutie with his face all pathetic like that… What a shame since he’s so quiet. Could’ve expected more wailing or something.”
“Never thought he’d actually make it into this school, you know? Thought he was gonna fail like he did in middle school!” One boy snickers, pouring some soda atop the victim’s head. There’s a small noise resembling a hiccup when the liquid hits his hair and uniform. They all laughed loudly, still continuing their actions of bullying the kid.
Normally, Miki wouldn’t get involved in anything like this. It’s not like he’s apathetic, it just isn’t his business! Usually Eiki is the one to deal with social or people problems like this, but he’s not here right now since– Urgh! He did it again!
Miki sighs in resignation and rolls up his sleeves for good measure in case some of the dweebs try to fight him. It’s been a while since he’s actually got into a bit of a spat, plus he needs to release some stress! Surely , Eiki won’t find out about Miki causing trouble like he did when they were younger! It’s not like he wants to, he just wants to scare his underclassmen a little.
After a long chorus of laughter, Miki finally decided to walk closer and stare down the group of first years picking on their classmate. They didn’t notice at first, until the redheaded boy finally decided to look up. Miki’s heart skipped a beat.
Pretty eyes. Really pretty eyes. Miki almost got distracted by them for a second. They were clear and bright, a beautiful shade of cerulean that he couldn’t look away from. Not only that, but the kid was a pretty crier too. The boy finally jumped back in fear when he noticed Miki’s dark look and scrambled away, much to his bullies’ confusion.
“What’s got you all worked up now? Some ghost behind us or something, twerp?” One of them snarked. “Look at you go, already such a scaredy cat. Didn’t your mother raise a man ?”
Alright, Miki’s heard enough out of that one’s mouth. Sure, picking on someone for being scared is somewhat funny, but then insulting their mom? Not acceptable at all.
“...Hey.” He said, cracking his knuckles. “Did anyone ever teach you basic respect?”
And that was enough to send the first years flying away in fear of a senior. Miki wasn’t actually going to beat them up or anything, he’s just glad that his intimidating face and aura scared them off. Miki sighs, scratching his head again. He is definitely already late to class, so is this kid in front of him. The poor boy was cowering and covering his head in fear of being hurt by Miki.
Those guys sure did a number on him… Even ruined his notebooks and everything.
“You alright?” He opted as a conversation starter, taking a hesitant step forward. “I won’t hurt you, it’s okay.”
It was like trying to not disturb a fearful animal or something of the sort, Miki feels as though he’s currently walking on eggshells around this junior. He looked around the hallway, no one else was in sight. The redhead sniffles weakly and wipes his wet face, from tears or soda? Miki doesn’t even know.
“Th…Thank you.” He stuttered out timidly, taking off his dirtied uniform blazer. “You didn’t need to help me though… They would’ve gotten bored anyways.” He muttered.
Miki learns that the boy’s name is Rin Amamiya. Despite their polar opposite personalities, they hit it off quite quickly. He helps Rin deal with bullies (or anyone that tries to pick on him in general) and Rin keeps Miki company as much as he can (since he noticed the older is usually alone most of the time).
They’d usually meet up during shared breaks or lunches, some idle chatter or something of the sort. Miki can’t quite remember, he was probably distracted by something. Maybe because of a cute laugh or a soft smile, his brain blanks out whenever Rin hangs around him. Not that it matters or means anything!
Or, well, maybe it does. Rin has a presence that always seems to make Miki feel warm inside. Like a fluttery feeling inside his stomach. Hajime hadn’t made him feel like that at all when he had feelings for her, but maybe that’s because Miki didn’t really like her as much as he tried to convince himself. It wasn’t like he didn’t like girls, definitely not, it’s just… Rin was different.
He was timid and shy, yet stubborn whenever he got passionate about something. He was kind and considerate, always asking if Miki was doing okay. He loves his little brother and cares about his family a lot. Rin was soft, perhaps too soft for Miki’s liking because he didn’t hold grudges or spit nasty words to people that have wronged him. For some reason, he doesn’t think of Rin as any less even despite the fact their personalities and morality clash. Miki thinks he might…
No, Miki is just making sure the kid is okay out of concern, nothing else! He’s currently waiting outside in the hall for Rin’s class to finish up (out of concern). Then he notices a defeated look on the boy’s face when he’s handed a test back and narrows his eyes (out of concern). Miki stands up a bit straighter and looks out for any suspicious looking students that might pick on Rin’s dejected face (out of concern).
Totally. Miki doesn’t feel anything… at all . (He says, almost as if Miki wasn’t denying the fact that he did, in fact, feel something for his junior because everything he’s doing is “out of concern”.)
“Ah…” Rin slumps as he receives a paper with a grade that’s not quite the best. He goes back to his seat and sits down to review what he got wrong. Rin’s brain screams in comedic anguish. How is he so bad at studying!?
He sighs, leaning into the chair while wallowing in self pity. Class ends in mere seconds when the lunch bell rings and everyone is rushing out to get to the cafeteria before anyone else. Rin usually packs his own lunch, only being mediocre at best, but he quickly makes his way to meet up with the new friend he made.
Or well, what he hopes is a friend. Rin isn’t entirely sure what Miki thinks of him. He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t heard those ridiculous names about popular guys in their school, Miki being one of them. He’d also be lying if he said he wasn’t a little bit attracted to his senior. Rin mentally smacks himself at that thought, cheeks turning a burning red as he realizes that he probably shouldn’t be thinking like that about Miki.
If he’s any slower, Miki might get upset or impatient that he was late or slow again. Rin hurries to grab all of his stuff and practically sprints towards the door. Clearly, Rin is worried that Miki might be waiting for him, however, he must’ve beat Rin there because—
“Watch out.” The older man said smoothly, raising his hand to stop Rin from crashing into him. For some reason Miki has a sense of déjà vu but he can’t figure out why. He shakes it off, instead focusing on the fact that Rin’s hair is surprisingly very soft. “You should be more careful, you know? You could’ve hurt yourself running around blindly like that.”
Miki was already waiting by his classroom door. Waiting for Rin in specific. The younger of the pair sputtered and stumbled back while experiencing whiplash and embarrassment. (Miki sneakily holds out his arm in case Rin really does fall backwards.)
“I, um, I’m sorry!” Rin apologized immediately, bowing his head. “I was just worried that you would’ve been waiting for me, so I… I just wasn’t looking…” He admitted sheepishly with a faint dust of pink on his face. Miki snorted to himself at the response, that’s cute .
“Just be careful. If you bumped into those dickheads that pick on you, I wouldn’t be here to protect you.” He said simply, ignoring the fact that Rin seemed to grow redder at his words. Probably of shame or something, right? Not because Rin is interested in him at all, right? Miki digresses.
They make their way to some remote area outside to eat together, chatting about some idle things. School, home and family life, a bit of gossip about the school’s basketball team and tension between its players, some other things Miki still can’t quite pay attention to since he’s too focused on Rin’s face. He cares less about what’s happening in the school.
Miki would much rather just listen to Rin’s voice and pay attention to something else. His cute freckles, his adorable cheeks, his gorgeous eyes, his soft lips…
“Are you not going to eat Kurose-senpai?” Rin asked, eyes staring at Miki’s distracted face quizzically. The older one snaps out of his trance, blinking twice before sighing and stretching backwards.
“Not hungry. I’ll eat at some later time.” Miki brushed off nonchalantly, earning a pout from Rin. God, that’s really cute.
“You shouldn’t skip meals, you know!” His junior exclaimed, picking up Miki’s lunch. “If you’re not going to eat it, I’ll just force you to!”
“Whatever shall I do~? Some wimpy first year wants me to eat my lunch.” He remarked sarcastically, waving his hands around to emphasize said sarcasm. Rin glares at him. Miki sighs. “Alright, alright, fine. I’ll eat the food, just keep talking.”
Rin instantly brightens at Miki finally taking a single bite from his bento box and continues to talk (not that he’s paying attention, Miki just likes hearing Rin’s voice). To say the least, Miki appreciates the knowledge of someone talking to him like a normal person would instead of being intimidated or putting him up on a pedestal. He wonders why the kids in Rin’s class don’t like him, but Miki feels as though it’s a sore topic and won’t pry. Rin will open up bit by bit, slowly moving away from his timid nature as he gets more comfortable with his senior.
Miki is willing to wait.
Well, maybe keeping him around isn’t so bad. I’ll just keep watching him until those bullies finally learn to back off.
In light of recent events, Miki learns to love again – albeit unknowingly.