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It was once in a blue moon that a member would get the dormitory all to themselves during the weekend. In this rare ocassion Yuma bids farewell throughout the week to some of the members as they travel for individual schedules as it is the case with Yudai, Nicholas EJ and Taki, or visiting family like Harua, Jo, and Maki.
He visits his family often but this time decides to take the weekend to unwind and have time to himself, maybe cook up some instant ramen and binge watch anime, his kind of relaxation.
That Friday’s evening he decides to start with self-care, he buys ice cream and fixes up some candles and face packs he got from Yudai and Harua and takes a long bath with his phone to binge a few anime episodes in the bathtub with a face mask on.
He settles on a shoujo that has him crying his eyes out as he goes through 3 strawberry milk ice cream bars, after that he boils some ramen (he does not care about having a puffy face the next morning since he’s going to be alone) and lounges in the living room with his meal while continuing to watch the show he selected.
It’s 3 am, maybe I should go to bed, he thinks as he stirs gently in the bean bag he was sprawled on. Yuma turns off the TV and stands up, dragging himself to his room and almost immediately loses consciousness.
The next morning (afternoon) Yuma slides down the stairs of his bunk bed after just staring at the ceiling for 30 minutes, he scratches his head looking a little lost and remembers the others are not home. It’s a thought that immediately brings a smile to his face, so he takes advantage of a clear house to do his laundry. He takes off his pajamas and adds them at the top of his pile, picking up his basket and padding down the hall as he hums a song.
Ooh nana, I didn’t notice
This world is somewhat strange
It’s not scary, because
I’ve met you, oh yeah
Then a door opens.
Yuma screams and immediately throws the basket at the door, catching a very distracted Taki off-guard who screams at him in return.
“WHAT THE HECK!!!”
“I SHOULD BE SAYING THAT!!!”
“WHY ARE YOU HERE!!!”
“WHY ARE YOU HERE!!!”
“WHY ARE YOU NAKED!!!”
“WHY ARE YOU YELLING!!!” The realization hits Yuma who quickly crosses his arms over his body to protect himself the best he could. He shifts uncomfortably and picks up a towel that laid around from his laundry to wrap it around his waist.
Taki just looks away feeling his cheeks heat up. “Ah, I don’t know.” He mumbles, clutching his chest. “I thought I’d faint. Also what’s with the pink underpants.”
“They were cute.” Yuma snaps, furrowing his eyebrows. “Wait why are you here???”
“I live here.” The taller one tilts his head. “Ah, you mean here right now? My schedule was just a couple of days so I came back.”
“But you were not supposed to be here.” Yuma whines, kneeling to pick up his clothes scattered around the floor. Taki mimicks his movements and helps him pick up as well, making the other rather self-conscious about his colorful underwear all of a sudden. Why didn’t he wear the black ones this week??
“Ah, I’m sorry. I thought you knew my schedule wasn’t that long.” He smiles awkwardly, pushing gently the basket towards Yuma. “I uhm… I’ll go make something to eat.”
As they part, Yuma buries his face into a dirty shirt and screams into it, completely embarrassed. He wonders what the acceptable time to talk to someone after such incident is and ends up sitting on the floor of the laundry room hugging his legs, hiding away.
Taki grabs a cushion from the living room and rubs his face into it attempting to somehow remove the flush from his face. He ends up laying on the couch for a moment with a feverish feeling swirling around his head, he closes his eyes he sees flashes of Yuma's skin that make him want to scream again.
By 6 pm they're completely normal. Allegedly.
Taki has started cooking dinner, some frozen dumplings and rice. Not his best work but it's something to satisfy his hunger, he'd probably go for cup ramen afterwards. He has put on some music on his phone to sing while cooking, a little habit he picked up from his mom.
Yuma is slowly lured by the smell, walking over to the kitchen to peek at what Taki was doing. He doesn't make his presence known and just watches the youngest dance and sing along to a couple of songs from BTS. There is a sudden vibe change in the music, the pace slows down and Taki stops dancing. There's also a change in his expression, it seems to soften as he sings, but there is also something else. The words his sings are laced with devotion, with tenacity.
Don't think of anything
Don't say anything, not even a word
Just give me a smile
I still can't believe it
All of this seems like a dream
Don't try to disappear
Yuma is entranced by this song. He's heard it a thousand times but this one felt almost as if he was hearing it for the first time all over again.
Is it true? Is it true?
You, you
You’re so beautiful, that I'm scared
Untrue, untrue
You, you, you
He gets goosebumps.
Taki looks up from the frying pan, locking eyes with Yuma who was still peeking from the doorway. He has never seen a look like that on Taki's eye, this is all too new to Yuma and this scares him too because it's been two years already. This look doesn't last longer than 2 seconds, quickly melting into a smile. "Ah, hyung. Food's almost done. There wasn't much in the fridge so I improvised. K hyung will be jealous when he finds out I made dumplings just for you."
"Just... Yuma..." He says softly, trying to make sense of what just happened. His heart was racing just now.
"Yuma-kun... Are you okay?"
"Mhh... Yeah. I'm okay."
After a quiet dinner, Yuma goes back to his room to binge watch an anime in his bed. He props his phone on the side of his bed against the wall, turns off the lights and lays there on his side, hugging a pillow. The heroine and the main love interest seem to not realize they have feelings for each other, which draws a smile on his lips.
The way the main love interest is always gentle and caring towards her and how she finds his playful yet innocent side endearing... Clueless people are sweet.
There's a knock on the door a few minutes later and Taki peeks from the door. "What are you doing?"
"I'm watching an anime."
"Can I join?"
"Sure." Yuma stretches slowly, trying to find it in himself to sit up to go back to the living room and watch it there together but before he is given the proper time to do so he feels the weight of his bed shift. In the blink of an eye, Taki has climbed onto his bed and settled himself next to him. Seeing the phone propped on the side he shifts to angle his body towards the wall, wrapping an arm around Yuma's waist and nuzzling into his hair.
"Mhn... What's happening?"
"She likes him... but she hasn't realized he feels the same." Yuma can feel the vibrations of Taki's laugh through his own chest, he probably finds it silly.
"Really? What else..?" There is a certain trailing off in his words, his voice is barely audible too. Yuma remembers Taki is the kind of person to enjoy company and he's probably lonely back in his room so he can't find it in himself to push him away or suggest they trade his cramped bed for the commodity of their wider couch.
He hesitates before continuing, his slender fingers caress Taki's hand absentmindedly. "They... spent the day together and will probably realize their feelings are mutual soon... You know, you should just watch it instead of having me tell you everything..."
"I like it when you tell me what's going on..." Taki responds after a long pause.
His breathing has eased slightly.
He's falling asleep.
"Do you want to sleep here tonight? You can probably use Yudai's bed..." He trails off sensing it's too late now. Taki has already drifted to sleep, buried into Yuma's form.
He can look so small sometimes.
Yuma decides he's done with his anime and reaches to lock his phone, carefully tugging onto the covers of his bed over both of them to create a perfectly cozy cocoon.
It couldn't be helped.
As he settles back down he shifts gently in his hold and turns to face the youngest. He could see why Yudai doted on him so much, there was something so captivating about him...
He thinks back to the song he had heard in the kitchen, quietly singing as he reaches to brush a strand of hair away from his nose. This felt intensely intimate underneath the kakebuton in this enclosed space... Breathing the same warmth.
Just the two of them.
Will you stay by my side
Will you promise me
If I let go of your hand, you'll fly away and break
I'm scared scared scared of that
Will you stop time
If this moment passes
As though it hadn't happened
I’m scared scared scared I'll lose you
Suddenly, Taki opens his eyes and smiles a little at him. "That tickles..." He whispers.
They can barely see the outline of each other's faces traced by the moonlight filtering through Yuma's curtain and he's thankful for this because that way Taki wouldn't notice how red his own cheeks were. "Go back to sleep."
"You were singing..."
"I don't know what you're talking about..." He mumbles. "Go back to sleep."
Taki's soft smile shapes into a smirk and he shakes his head stubbornly, whispering part of the song instead.
You're just like a Butterfly
From afar, I steal glances; if we touch hands, will I lose you?
You shine in this pitch darkness that is the butterfly effect
Your light touches, I forget the reality at once
It's like a wind that gently strokes me
It's like a dust that gently drifts along
You're there but for some reason, I can't reach you, stop
You, who's like a dream is a butterfly high to me
Yuma just looks at him with big eyes, taken aback. Was the song all this time meant for him? There's a magnetic pull in his eyes Yuma can't look away from, there is something more hidden in those dark brown eyes. Is the one laying beside him really the same fun-loving, easygoing Taki he's always known?
Almost as if his mind was being read, Taki's hand gently cradles his cheek. His thumb hovers over his pale skin as if it truly feared hurting him with his touch.
Delicate.
"Like a butterfly..."