Work Text:
Rui Kamishiro was a man of many words. He often rambled about things he liked, things he didn’t like, things he didn’t understand, all the sorts. He had a hard time not talking sometimes, even if it meant mumbling to himself in the middle of class. Even so, Rui Kamishiro didn’t always have the words he wanted to say, especially when it came to his emotions.
He didn’t know how to explain why he held back when Tsukasa had gotten injured. He didn’t know what to say when asked why he insisted Mizuki and him held hands when they crossed the street. He had a hard time saying he loved someone or he hated someone.
That’s why it didn’t surprise Tsukasa when Rui kissed him to confess instead of using words. Well… it did surprise him. Rui had kissed him after all, pulling away quickly when he noticed Tsukasa wasn’t reciprocating. Tsukasa could hear him apologizing and rambling but couldn’t focus on his words.
Rui likes me like that? Tsukasa was at a loss for words himself. Of course Rui likes me. It’s not like he ever hid it. But do I like Rui like that? Tsukasa felt himself spacing out. I love Rui. But do I love him romantically? He means a lot to me… But does that mean I want to kiss him? And hold hands?! And and- Tsukasa snapped himself out of his small spiral to see Rui still frantically rambling, looking like he was about to make a run for it.
Tsukasa grabbed Rui’s hand which made him fall silent. Tsukasa smiled at him brightly before kissing his knuckles. He leaned in to kiss Rui which Rui followed suit. Tsukasa Tenma was a man of many words, and even so, he didn’t always have the words he wanted to say, especially when it came to his emotions.
I’ll figure it out at some point.
—
It was kinda scary how fast Rui adjusted to being Tsukasa’s boyfriend. Or, it was at least scary to Tsukasa. He didn’t go around blatantly saying they were dating or anything like that. But Rui wasn’t scared to hold Tsukasa’s hand whenever or wherever. He wasn’t scared to try and steal kisses when he thought no one was looking. He wasn’t scared to squish Tsukasa’s face and pretend his head was a flower, pouting as if he just saw a cute puppy. It made Tsukasa embarrassed every single time.
Is this what being in love is like? Tsukasa liked the hand holding, and the kisses were only a little embarrassing. Besides, Emu gave the entire troupe kisses so he was used to it. He didn’t really like the cheek squishing but having Rui look at him like he had the stars in his eyes was enough to make up for it.
Even with all this, something didn’t sit right in Tsukasa’s stomach. He sighed loudly before violently rubbing his face. Rui laughed at him. Rui? Right, Rui was over. They were having a sleepover tonight. Their first sleepover with just the two of them. Rui was the one to suggest Tsukasa’s house in case the idea made Tsukasa uncomfortable.
Tsukasa wasn’t uncomfortable with it but he did feel like he was going to explode. He was still trying to figure out his feelings and he was sure the sleepover would help. Yet, he couldn’t help but feel everything at once. He knew he was overthinking it but he wasn’t sure how to stop.
“What are you wanting to watch?” Rui asked. Thank god Rui was there. Just that simple question snapped Tsukasa back to reality. He sat up on the couch to look at Rui. He hadn’t even noticed the pizza they ordered had arrived. Was he really laying there in agony for that long?
“Is there anything you want to see?” Tsukasa asked back. They planned on watching a movie together but Tsukasa could barely think, and even though he tried so hard to have even one, just one, name pop up in his head, he couldn’t. Rui brought his hand to his chin and hummed.
“No idea,” he smiled. Tsukasa sighed as Rui made his way to the couch, pizza in hand. “I’m sure if we flip through enough channels we’ll find something.” Tsukasa gave out another sigh. He didn’t really want to wing it but he couldn’t think clearly enough for any other options.
They eventually found something to watch. Rui had flipped to a random channel that was playing old horror movies. It was currently playing Hausu. Tsukasa had protested at first until Rui told him to give it a chance. And Tsukasa was glad he did. It wasn’t as scary as he thought it would be. Actually, the absurdity of it made him forget about his current crisis while they watched.
“We need to watch that with Emu and Nene some time,” Rui said as they cleaned up. Tsukasa nodded. “I think Emu will like it a lot.” They made their way up to Tsukasa’s room. He was a little nervous but knew Rui wouldn’t try anything. He might’ve been confused about his feelings for Rui but that doesn’t mean he didn’t know him.
And he was right. Rui gave him a kiss and made his way to bed. Tsukasa followed suit. They laid there for a while, Rui holding Tsukasa as he hummed. Tsukasa tried to focus on it so he wouldn’t start overthinking again.
“You hum while falling asleep at our troupe sleepovers too,” he said. Rui smiled. “Habit I guess. I always hummed Nene to sleep when we were little.” Tsukasa nodded slowly. He was more tired than he realized. Rui chuckled as he saw the other dozing off.
“Good night Tsukasa,” Rui kissed him on the forehead before holding him even closer. Tsukasa tried to stay awake long enough to watch Rui fall asleep. He surprisingly fell asleep quicker than Tsukasa thought he would.
Tsukasa was still confused but he felt content. He didn’t feel anything negative about being with Rui. He was actually pretty happy. He smiled as he kissed Rui’s nose before wrapping his arms around him.
“Good night Rui.”
—
Rui and Tsukasa walked to Nene’s house together the next day. It probably would’ve been more convenient to have had their sleepover at Rui’s house but Tsukasa was glad they had it at his.
Once they made it, the two of them were immediately jumped on by Emu. “Took you two long enough,” Nene said from behind her. “Excuse you! If I’m looking at my clock correctly, we’re actually earlier than expected,” Tsukasa argued back. Rui chuckled and ushered the others inside before the small argument turned into anything more.
They didn’t really have anything planned that day. Nene ended up playing video games while the others watched or did other things. Rui and Emu were talking in their own little language, brainstorming show ideas. Tsukasa mainly tried to find things to keep him busy.
He organized Nene’s plushies. He watched whatever game she was playing. He paced. He looked through the books at Nene’s desk. And then the ones on her bookshelf. And then the ones left on the table. Nene sighed.
“Here, you try playing. I’m having trouble with this level,” she said. Tsukasa knew she was lying but complied anyway. He wasn’t sure what game she had been playing or how it even worked, but he tried to play anyway, Nene’s judging eyes glued on him. Rui and Emu also watched him.
Thanks everyone for giving me an audience but this might be too much. He died soon after. Rui and Emu giggled a little bit while Nene smirked at Tsukasa. He looked at her disgustingly before directing his attention to Emu. Her giggles were interrupted by a violent yawn she had let out.
“Did you not sleep much last night?” Tsukasa asked. She smiled. “I was too excited to see you guys today,” she answered. Rui chuckled as he put a blanket over her, making sure she laid down slowly. “You see us almost every day though,” he said, tucking the sides of the blanket in. She hummed before dozing off.
Tsukasa was probably the fastest to fall asleep in the troupe but Emu was a close second. Rui left the bed to mess with something over at Nene’s desk while Tsukasa sat there and watched Emu rest. The weird feeling in his stomach was back. He didn’t quite understand it.
He stared at Emu and thought about when they first met. He really thought he was having one of the worst days of his life and that he’d never see her again after that day. The thought almost made him chuckle. The troupe had been through so much since then, even keeping that same girl he met that day from leaving them. It then clicked for Tsukasa.
It all made sense to him now. He did love Rui. He really did love Rui that way. But the problem was he loved Emu and Nene like that too. He loved all three of them so much. He thought back to watching Rui fall asleep, and how he got to wake up to his face that morning. He thought about Emu jumping on him and how peaceful she was sleeping now, and how he got to watch her be so content. He thought about Nene smirking at him after he died, him making a disgusted face back. He could see himself, a braver version of himself, giving her a kiss afterwards. Kissing Nene?
I really do want to kiss her.
He smiled to himself. He couldn’t believe he finally figured it out.
“What?” a voice from behind him said. He turned around to see Nene looking at him as if he had just kicked a small animal. Rui was facing the other way but he seemed frozen in place.
Had he said that outloud? Nene opened her mouth to say something but words wouldn’t come out. She looked over at Rui for a second. “Stop making that face,” she said to him, before looking back at Tsukasa. What face was Rui making? Was he upset?
“Hey Tsukasa, can you repeat what you just said?” Nene asked. Tsukasa looked puzzled. He knew what he said, or what he believed he said, but it wasn’t registering in his brain.
“I- I don’t know what I said.” It was half true but he knew it was annoying for Nene. She squeezed her eyes shut and sighed. Tsukasa really wanted to just disappear. And thankfully a saving grace fell into his lap.
Before Nene could get another word out, Tsukasa's phone went off. It was just a text from Saki saying she had made it home, but Tsukasa used it as a way to lie his way out of his current predicament.
He took a little bit longer than needed to read before talking. “It’s from Ichika. Something came up with Saki and I need to go.” He did feel bad for lying but he needed to get out of there and figure out how to deal with the mess he made alone.
Rui offered to walk him home but he declined. Nene probably stared at him from the doorway for half a block before going back inside.
—
The moment Tsukasa got home, he ran up to his room, fell onto his bed, and started screaming into his pillows. Saki came in to scold him but after seeing her brother’s state, she opted to sit next to him and rub circles into his back until he calmed down.
He didn’t like crying in front of Saki but he couldn't help it, and she’d probably be upset if he tried to hide it from her. On his walk home it dawned on him how much he possibly messed up earlier. It sucked. It really sucked. He had finally figured out his feelings and threw away the possibility for them to be fulfilled in the same breath.
He cried for what felt like hours, Saki never leaving his side. As he calmed down he sat up slowly. He sniffled as he tried to gain enough composure to talk to his sister. Saki continued to rub circles into his back but also used this chance to hug Tsukasa. He felt like he was crumbling but tried to keep it together.
He didn’t really know what to say, he just needed to say anything. “Did you fight with someone?” Saki asked quietly. He didn’t want to talk about that but he took the bait because he couldn’t keep quiet anymore. “Yeah, I had an argument with Nene,” he answered. Saki hummed.
She wasn’t going to prod unless Tsukasa wanted her too, and she could tell he didn’t. They sat in silence for a bit but it was killing Tsukasa. He needed something to distract him.
“How did staying at Ichika’s last night go?” he asked. Saki tried to talk in detail about her own sleepover knowing her brother needed a distraction. Honami and Shiho had stayed over too it seems. Tsukasa was glad Saki had such a great group of friends around her. And then it dawned on him.
“You love Ichika right?” he asked. Saki had told him that the two of them were dating so it wasn’t an out of the blue question. “I do. I do love Ichika,” she answered.
“Do you love Honami and Shiho just as much?” he asked afterward. Saki froze up a bit. “How- how did you know I was seeing all of them?” she asked in response. Tsukasa’s eyes widened. Ah I see.
“I didn’t know. It’s just how I’ve been feeling with my own friends,” he answered. They sat in silence again until Saki was able to form the words she wanted to say.
“Is that why you and Nene fought?” she asked. Tsukasa hummed to let her know she was correct. She hummed in response and leaned back a bit.
“I’m sure you’ll be able to fix this. But you need to talk to her about it. You can’t just bottle it up and deal with it yourself. It involves her so she needs to be a part of it,” Saki said sternly. Tsukasa chuckled even though it was hard to.
“I know. I’ll talk to her about it,” he responded. He wasn’t sure when but he would. He first needed to figure out what he’d even say the next time he saw her.
Saki gave her brother another hug before letting him have some alone time. He had a lot to think about and didn’t completely know how to deal with it.
He sighed knowing it was going to be hard to fall asleep. He stared at his phone for a bit and decided to go to the Sekai.
It was quiet, probably reflecting what he was feeling. He didn’t see any of the virtual singers. They were probably off practicing, playing, the sorts. He finally noticed Luka sleeping under a lamp post and went to sit next to her. He sat down as quietly as he could and put his head on her shoulder.
Tsukasa immediately felt better and even dared to fall asleep there knowing him not being in his room would worry Saki. He let out a sigh before feeling a hand rubbing his arm.
“It’ll… all be okay… Tsu… Tsukasa…” Luka said in her sleep. Tsukasa couldn’t help but smile but he also couldn’t help but start crying again. He let Luka hold him in her sleep until he calmed down. He stayed there a little bit longer before returning back to his bedroom and falling asleep.
—
“What do you think he meant by that?”
Nene and Rui were sitting on the swings at a nearby park. Nene was fidgeting with the bottom of her skirt while Rui stared off into the sky, humming to himself.
“I think what he said was pretty straightforward,” Rui responded. Nene grimaced in response. Rui wasn’t looking at her but he could feel it and it made him chuckle. “If it makes you feel better I don’t think he knows what he meant by it either.”
“And you’re okay with this?” Nene asked. Rui smiled and hummed. Of course he was okay with it but he didn’t know if Nene would understand. “Of course.” She punched him in the arm.
“Really? You’re really okay with your boyfriend saying he wants to kiss someone else?” Nene was dumbfounded. “You even smiled when he said it. What is wrong with you?” she muttered. Rui couldn’t help but laugh. It was strange and he knew it but he felt so happy about it.
“I just feel like I’m one step closer to my goal is all,”Rui responded. Nene sighed and went back to fidgeting with her skirt. “And what goal of yours would include Tsukasa kissing Emu?” Rui stayed silent for a moment, wondering if he was ready to share. He had pushed this far though so there wasn’t any reason to stop now.
“I really meant it when I said I’d fight for all of us to stay together. You guys mean the world to me and I’d do anything for you. And I know I have trouble saying it but I also know you aren’t dumb Nene, you know what I’m hinting at,” Rui said.
Nene did know what he was hinting at. It was shocking hearing it from Tsukasa in any way but from Rui it felt like second nature. She knew he couldn’t say it but Rui loved Emu and Nene as much as he loved Tsukasa. Nene kept quiet as a way of telling Rui he could keep talking.
“It feels like a dream getting to wake up next to Tsukasa, but I still dream of the day I get to wake up next to all three of you. Our sleepovers have spoiled me a bit with that,” he chuckled. Nene sighed a bit. She knew Rui usually woke up first during their sleepovers and would hum until the others woke up. She had pretended to still be asleep one time while Rui petted her hair. She’d seen him do the same to Tsukasa and Emu.
They were quiet for a bit before Rui spoke up again.
“Is it selfish of me to want all three of you?” he asked. He was still looking up at the sky. Nene knew if they made eye contact Rui would tense up and probably wouldn’t have spilled his heart this much.
“No, I don’t think it is,” Nene answered. She didn’t completely understand it. Not loving all three of them, but how he could do it so equally and vehemently. Even though he was dating Tsukasa, Nene felt just as loved by him. She tried to imagine getting kissed by Tsukasa or Rui the way she got kissed by Emu and couldn’t see it.
“Rui I- I get what you’re saying and I,” Nene grabbed Rui’s hand and he finally made eye contact with her. It was her turn to spill her heart. “I love all of you too. But I don’t think I love you guys equally like that. I don’t want to play favorites with you guys.”
Rui smiled at her and squeezed her hand tightly. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I think what’s important is that we all love each other. It might be different, it might be unequal, but we love each other.”
Nene let out a small sigh and closed her eyes. She could feel Rui fidgeting with her hand that he was still holding. She thought about Emu and Tsukasa. Tsukasa watching lovingly as Emu slept. She couldn’t help but think she would’ve said the same thing. She thought about the shoebox in her closet where she kept all the letters Tsukasa wrote to her, knowing Emu and Rui had multiple letters too. She thought about Emu and Tsukasa fighting over who would be mother duck when the group went somewhere crowded. She thought about Rui covering her ears when it got too loud. She couldn’t help but smile. She finally figured it out too.
“I really want to be with you guys forever huh,” she whispered. She felt Rui’s grip tighten and a small chuckle. She opened her eyes to see him looking at the sky again, smiling. She wondered how long Rui’s wanted this. But there was another question on her mind as well.
“Why did you only confess to Tsukasa?” she asked. Rui wasn’t sure how to answer because he really didn’t know. Did he feel like it was easier to only confess to Tsukasa? Had he thought that if being with all three of them didn’t work out, he’d still want to be with at least one of them? Was his body against him that day and forced him to confess even if he wasn’t ready?
“I don’t know,” Rui answered. Nene didn’t prod further. She knew he was telling the truth.
They sat there for a little longer in silence, knowing a little bit more about each other and knowing a little bit more about themselves.
—
“How’s this one Emu?” Rui asked. The two of them were sitting at Rui’s desk as he worked on some robotic butterflies for an upcoming show. He still needed to work on ones that would actually fly around but today was meant to be spent working on atmospheric ones that only move their wings. Simple work but there were a lot of butterflies to make.
“Woahh!!!!” Emu placed down the butterfly she was working on and took Rui’s to examine it. “It’s so pretty Rui!!!” she exclaimed. Rui chuckled as Emu tried to look at every little detail on the little guy. “Yours is looking quite beautiful as well,” he said.
Emu beamed at the compliment and went back to work. She enjoyed helping Rui with his projects. She was always open to trying new things and it made Rui happy. Plus, the things Rui worked on usually led to fun so even if Emu didn’t always know how to help, they’d both enjoy their time together.
After what felt like a million butterflies, Rui stretched and let out a yawn. “Break time?” he asked, in which Emu hummed in agreement. Rui made his way to the couch and faceplanted himself onto it. Emu followed behind and faceplanted into Rui gaining a pained groan from him. She was almost tempted to do it again just to see if he’d play along but Emu was more tired than she’d realized.
They situated themselves, Rui sitting pretty normally and Emu resting her head on his side. She found herself almost falling asleep before Rui suddenly spoke up.
“I had a dream last night Emu,” he whispered as if he was sharing a secret. She sat up a bit to get closer to his face. “What do you dream about?” she whispered back.
“You, me, and Nene were sitting in a theater as we watched Tsukasa on stage,” Rui was staring straight in front of him. “He stood there in the dark as projections of our memories played over him.” Emu hummed to let Rui know she was paying attention.
“I thought that was going to be it but then,” Rui turned to look at Emu. “He turned around and watched the projections with us. I don’t know what it was about it, but it made me feel bittersweet. I woke up with tears on my face this morning.”
Emu wiped his cheeks with the paws of her shirt as if it hadn’t been hours since it had happened. She then hummed, closed her eyes, and let herself fall onto Rui. She tried to imagine it. There they were, her, Rui, and Nene, sitting in a theater. Rui sat in the middle holding both their hands.
It was dark but she could see the outline of someone on stage. Then the projector turned on and she could see Tsukasa fully. He stood there as it played over him. Their first show together. Their plane ride to America. Their first sleepover. Their first group hug. Their first time they all cried together.
She watched as the projector showed when they first performed in the Sekai, trying to convince Rui to come back. Tsukasa turned to watch with them as the Tsukasa on the screen held out his hand. Emu could swear she saw him smiling, even from so far away.
She laughed a little once she opened her eyes again. “I think I saw your dream Rui,” she said. It was Rui’s turn to wipe away her tears. She hadn’t even realized she’d started crying. They stayed silent for a while until she was able to calm herself down.
“Do you think we’ll be able to stay together… forever and always?” she asked quietly. Rui hummed. “Forever and always.” He didn’t know why he was scared to talk about it with Emu. Out of everyone, she’d be the one who’d understand how he felt the most. If Rui didn’t know what he was feeling when it came to his troupe, Emu would always know how to put it into words. But it wasn’t Rui’s feelings she was saying, it was hers. Rui just felt the same.
He gave out a little sigh. “How about you rest for a bit. I know you were about to fall asleep,” he said. Emu nodded, snuggling back into his side. Rui rubbed circles into her hand. He knew her hands must hurt after how much they worked but he didn’t dare say it out loud. He knew she’d try to also massage his hands and not get any sleep. He just sat there and hummed.
The four of them were getting together tomorrow to play a game Nene picked out. He wondered how it would go. He hadn’t seen Tsukasa since the other day and he had been pretty bad at messaging. Rui hoped he was okay.
He tried not to think about it too much. Nene understood now. Emu wouldn’t have said anything negative in the first place. And Rui wanted this. He just hoped Tsukasa wasn’t scared to bring it up.
—
They had met up at Rui’s house to play the game Nene picked out. Tsukasa tried his best to act like his normal self but he could feel inside that he was still a mess. He had tried his best to figure out what he would say to explain himself but the words never came to him.
His plan for now was to hope that if it got brought up at all, it wouldn’t be from him, and he’d just have to wing it from there. He wasn’t sure what he was going to say but he was willing to lay his whole heart out if he needed to. But it would need to be prompted to happen.
They all got situated, Emu and Nene on the floor and Rui and Tsukasa on the couch. It was a singleplayer game so they’d be watching Nene play unless someone else wanted a turn. Tsukasa tried to read the name of the game.
“St-still Wakes The Deep?” he said. Not only was it in English but it was also hard to read Rui’s TV. “Good job Tsukasa,” Rui smiled. Tsukasa beamed before his smile dropped completely. “Wait, is this a horror game?”
“You’ll be fine,” Nene said. She started the game before they could argue any further on it. It was a horror game. And it scared Tsukasa, a lot. It was also stressful. Tsukasa didn’t understand how Nene was playing through some points knowing she was also getting scared.
The only one who seemed to be 100% completely enjoying themselves was Rui. He chuckled whenever Tsukasa grabbed his arm or hid behind him. He helped Nene through some of the worst parts. And worst of all Tsukasa could swear he heard him saying “beautiful” to himself during certain parts of the game. His boyfriend was losing it.
Emu was also enjoying herself just not to the same extent as Rui. She enjoyed horror games from time to time but she didn’t really like playing them so was forced to just watch the entire time. Rui tried to entertain her by swinging his legs over her and pretending to fasten her into a rollercoaster. She smiled bigger whenever he did it but still kept her attention on the game.
Even with all the parts he hated about the horror experience, Tsukasa tried to focus on the game’s story. He found himself getting sad as more of the crew died and as it felt like all hope was being lost. He tried to keep himself from crying as they reached the end of the game and the main character remembered his family back home. He had left after arguing with his wife, but even so, she and their kids were waiting for him to return home. It was bittersweet.
Tsukasa sat there quietly as the others discussed some things about the game. He really loved all of them. He couldn’t imagine a future without any of them. He wanted to hug all of them. He wanted to kiss all of them. He wanted to wake up with all of them and make them breakfast. He chuckled a little at that thought which caught Rui’s attention.
Rui rubbed Tsukasa’s back and gave him a smile of reassurance but all it did was bring him closer to breaking down. He told himself he wouldn’t be the one to bring it up but here he was. He fell from the couch to the floor as he started crying. It startled Nene but Tsukasa hugged her before she could do anything.
Rui joined the others on the ground, him and Emu patting Tsukasa’s back while also keeping Nene grounded. Tsukasa kept crying but tried to speak.
“I just… I just love all of you so much. Is that selfish? Is that selfish of me?” he sobbed. It was hard for him to say that he loved someone. He hadn’t said it to Rui since they started dating. But he found the strength to. Nene let out a shaky breath and tried to comfort him.
“No… no it doesn't make you selfish Tsukasa,” Nene said. She tried to pay attention to Emu and Rui’s hands on her back or else she would start crying too. “We love you too. I- I love you too.”
Tsukasa started crying harder at that and Nene held him, giving him a kiss on his head. She started crying too even though she tried so hard not to. Rui and Emu came closer and joined in their hug.
“I love you too,” Rui whispered. Tsukasa knew it was even harder for him to say but hearing him say it almost sent shivers down his spine. It’s like it was real. That they loved him back. Tsukasa didn’t have the strength to lift his head to face him but it was okay. Emu left kisses all over his head before squeezing all of them tightly.
“I love you guys so much. I don’t think I could ever see a future without you,” she said. Rui and Emu were trying their best not to cry so that the other two could calm down easily but they still found themselves tearing up. They all cried together for a bit until they were all calm enough to just sit there.
Tsukasa finally lifted his face from Nene’s shoulder and looked at her. He looked directly at her but looked for Rui and Emu’s hands to hold. He gathered the courage to speak and let his heart spill.
“Nene. Rui. Emu. I love you. It took me a while to figure it out, and I caused problems when I did, but it doesn’t change the truth. I love everything about you. I could never imagine a life where I couldn’t hug you like this, cry with you, hold your hands, kiss you. I want you in my life for the rest of time. I want to fall asleep with you in my arms. I want to wake up before the rest of you and cook you breakfast. I want to watch you do the things you love and achieve your goals. I want to be there as your friend, your troupe mate, your love. If you’ll have me.”
The others looked at him. Rui looked like he was going to cry again but was trying to keep it together. Emu was crying, already jumping onto Tsukasa. Nene squeezed her eyes and let out a small laugh.
“Of course I’ll have you,” she said. Rui nodded in agreement and Emu placed another kiss on Tsukasa’s cheek. He turned toward her and gave her a small kiss and wiped her tears away. Nene smiled.
“You got to kiss her like you wanted,” Nene said. What? Oh that’s what happened. Tsukasa looked at Nene with a seriousness in his eyes. “I wasn’t thinking about Emu when I said that.” Nene’s eyes widened and she preemptively moved away as Tsukasa tried to kiss her cheek. He gave up and settled going for Rui instead, who happily took the kiss.
“I don’t think I’m ready for that much affection,” Nene said. She slowly moved herself back closer to the others. “That’s okay Nene! There’s other ways to show love,” Emu smiled. She was still holding onto Tsukasa but used one of her hands to hold Nene’s.
“Well what does that make all of us?” Rui asked. He had that stupid smile on his face. Nene kicked at him, knowing this is what he wanted all along. She smiled though, because it was what she wanted as well.
“We’re lovers aren’t we?” she said. Tsukasa choked at the response. He wasn’t expecting to actually hear it, especially from Nene of all people. That got a laugh out of both Nene and Rui so he took it as a win. He took the entire interaction as a win. He felt so happy.
It took him a bit, and he still wasn’t good with wording his emotions. But he made progress. And Tsukasa was happy.