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Hayato sometimes wishes he could turn Sakura’s “romance sensor” off.
It’s cute when it’s not something that’s being used against you. Hayato has been working hard to keep his feelings for Nirei in check—unfortunately, he simply never accounted for Sakura’s “romance sensor” to work against him. It hadn’t even been something Suo had thought about.
Until now, that is.
It’s the three of them on patrol right now, including Kiryu and Sugishita. It’s just like any ordinary day and patrol, except Sakura keeps stealing glances at him and Hayato isn’t sure if he should feel annoyed or not. He smiles lightly, the same steady thing that rests on his face most of the time. He’s good at masking when he’s annoyed or irritated—something he also had learned from his Master, back then—and so it’s easy for Hayato to hide it when it calls for it.
There’s a faint pinkness to Sakura’s cheeks. Hayato has no idea what Sakura keeps blushing over, either. He’s not doing anything out of the ordinary, is he?
Perhaps he’s sticking a little too close to Nirei, he thinks to himself. He glances at Nirei to his left, before flicking his gaze up to Sakura, who is at Nirei’s left. Sakura is already staring at him, his eyes slightly wide and a little shaky. Hayato wants to sigh. Instead, he carefully conceals an eye roll by looking forward again. No, that can’t be it. This is how close they usually walk together—if only because Nirei himself has no real sense of personal space, which is something that Hayato personally doesn’t mind.
They end up helping at a store, a young woman who works at one of the convenience stores that many of the Furin members like to frequent. She had needed help with bringing in the new product delivery, and since there haven’t been any instances that have required fighting yet, they decided to stop and help her bring everything inside and even unload a few things.
Nirei is currently speaking with her outside of the store, as animated as he usually is. The young woman must be close to their age—maybe around Kotoha’s age, if Hayato has to guess—and she’s smiling in Nirei’s direction, as most people do when talking to him. There’s a feeling curling inside of Hayato’s gut right now, and he’s well aware of what that feeling is: jealousy.
He has no reason to be jealous, of course. Nirei is free to talk with whomever he desires to talk to, be them girls and boys and anyone else in between. Still, rationality is something Hayato’s lovesick mind isn’t very great at understanding. He watches through the window, eye slightly narrowed in the direction of it. It’s not until he hears some kind of strange and strangled noise from beside him that Hayato even realizes he’s no longer alone in this part of the store.
Hayato slowly turns his head, and sees Sakura standing directly to his right. His entire face is red, practically steaming because of how flustered he’s made himself. Sakura’s mouth is twitching, one hand held up with his fingers twitching as well. It’s like he can’t decide on what to do first, talk or point. There’s a jumbled mess of stammers coming from him. Hayato is only slightly worried that this is how Kiryu and Sugishita are going to find them.
“How can I help you, Sakura-kun?” Hayato asks calmly, a tense smile being sent his friend’s way.
It only seems to make Sakura redder. He flounders again for a second, before he points out the window towards Nirei. “Y–You… and Nirei…”
Hayato raises an eyebrow. “What about Nirei-kun?”
“Y–You—! I mean, yo—you’re—” Sakura can’t bring himself to say the words, his eyes wide and shaking. He almost looks like he’s going to pass out at any given point. “With… Nirei, you’re—”
For some reason, Hayato feels a bit bad for Sakura. Whether it’s because he’s playing with Sakura too much or just because Sakura can’t bring himself to say what he means, he’s not sure. With a quiet sigh, Hayato turns to look out the window again. He startles just slightly when he sees Nirei already looking back through the window, inside, towards him and Sakura. The young woman is gone now, the door opening with a jingling bell as she enters the store once again, thanking them for their time.
Hayato seizes the opportunity to escape. Sakura is distracted by the convenience store worker, so he slips his way outside as quietly as possible. Outside, Nirei is lingering in front of the store window. His hands are twisting around in front of him a bit, a nervous habit that Hayato has come to notice during their training sessions together. He watches Nirei for a moment, the blonde boy avoiding looking at him, though Hayato doesn’t mind.
Then, softly, Nirei asks, “Why did Sakura-san look like that?”
“Hm?” Hayato tilts his head slightly, blinking. “What do you mean, Nirei-kun?”
“Like he did with—” Nirei pauses, a small hesitation. A sudden blush starts to spread across his cheeks. “L–Like he did with Umemiya-san and Tsubaki-san! His… His romance sensor. You know?”
“Ah.” With a small noise of acknowledgement, Hayato goes quiet. He glances over his shoulder, back into the store through the window. Thankfully, their classmates and friends are distracted, so they have no audience for the moment. Hayato carefully chooses his next words.
“Sakura-kun… made a discovery, that’s all.”
Nirei’s eyebrows furrow in confusion at that. “A discovery? About me and—and Watanabe-san?”
Slowly, Hayato shakes his head. “No, not you two. It’s… about me, actually.”
Nirei’s eyes go wide, eyebrows flying up to his forehead. “Y–You, Suo-san?! Do you like—”
Before Nirei can finish, because Hayato knows what he’s going to suggest, Hayato takes several careful steps forward into Nirei’s space. Nirei’s mouth snaps shut as Hayato grows closer to him, his hands finally stopping their fidgeting. He reaches out for one of Nirei’s hands, taking it into his own gently. He smiles then, small and soft. This isn’t particularly the most ideal spot to make a confession, but it’s not as though Hayato had a plan to confess at all. It’s all because of Sakura’s damned romance sensor.
“I like you, Nirei-kun.” Hayato says the confession softly, gazing down into Nirei’s amber eyes.
They’re wide and shaky as they stare back at him, Nirei’s mouth having now fallen open due to surprise. “M… Me, Suo-san?”
“Is it so hard to believe?” Hayato mumbles, eye searching all around Nirei’s face. When there’s no particular answer, other than a sudden harsh breath from Nirei breathing out, Hayato lets his gaze dip just a little further than usual—a simple glance towards Nirei’s lips. His eyes flicker up just as quickly, but he’s sure that Nirei would have noticed, staring at him so hard.
He watches with rapt attention as Nirei’s eyes do the very same, shakily lowering until they land on Hayato’s lips. He stares for much longer than Hayato did, and can’t seem to pull his gaze away now. “S—Suo-san…”
Hayato leans down and in, their noses mere centimeters apart. “Nirei-kun. May I?”
Nirei nods quickly, eyes still wide. “Yes—yes!”
With a soft chuckle, Hayato leans all the way down, tilting his head slightly, and gently presses his lips against Nirei’s. It’s a simple, chaste kiss. Nirei’s lips are trembling under his, but he still kisses back at the same time. A soft pressure between them. Hayato smiles into the kiss before he pulls away, letting out a soft breath. Nirei breathes out at the same time, warm breath fanning out over Hayato’s lips.
Ah. Hayato may just have another problem.
He wants to kiss Nirei endlessly.
“Suo-san…” Nirei murmurs quietly, gently gripping at Hayato’s hand. “I like you, too, Suo-san.”
Hayato smiles, wide and genuine, chuckling softly. He squeezes Nirei’s hand before pulling it up and pressing a kiss to Nirei’s knuckles. “I’m glad. I suppose I should thank Sakura’s little romance sensor just this once…”
Nirei laughs, bright and happy. His face scrunches up, happiness evident in his expression, and Hayato’s heart warms his entire chest. He can’t help himself, pecking the corner of Nirei’s laughing mouth before he stands up straight. Sakura has probably exploded inside of the convenience store, but it’s alright. Kiryu or Sugishita will take care of him.
Probably.