Work Text:
It all started one fine morning, or it'd perhaps be more accurate to say afternoon. Nayuta had walked into the kitchen of his spaceship to grab a snack from the pantry to eat while he was working. He took a short look around the kitchen, none of the tables seemed to have changed positions since breakfast that morning, and no new plates were stacked up in the sink.
He heard the door open, and looked up to see Altus and Malim entering, seemingly engrossed in conversation before Altus noticed him and smiled at Nayuta, "Hello, Nayu".
"Altus, Malim, have you seen Ryzar or Nix anywhere?" the alien asked them, closing the pantry door, "I haven't seen them since last night, but they couldn't have possibly left the ship without telling me".
"No, I don't recall seeing them today either..." Altus noted, "Malim, you?".
"Me neither. Guess they just decided to sleep in today?" Malim shrugged, "Nix did say he usually has problems with sleeping".
"Yes, but both of them on the same day? Seems very unlikely," Nayuta sighed and shook his head, before the sound of the door opening caught his attention.
Ryzar had finally appeared and entered the kitchen, letting out a huge yawn. He wasn't wearing a shirt or jacket of any kind, which sort of caught the three other men off guard, and his hair was in a mess. "Mmm... mornin" he greeted them with a drowsy smile.
"Ryzar, it's 2 PM, why were you so late?" Nayuta asked him, "And have you seen Nix anywhere?".
"He's just gettin' dressed, don't worry 'bout it" Ryzar sleepily replied. Nayuta was about to ask how he knew that, before the door opened again and Nix entered the kitchen.
He already had his clothes on and Ryzar's jacket folded over one arm, though he looked like he had just gotten out of bed judging from his messy hair and drowsy expression. "Oh, hey guys. Were you waiting for us?" he asked Nayuta as he became more awake.
Nayuta looked between both Ryzar and Nix, a bit confused, "Yes?!? Why did you two wake up so late?! It's 2 PM-".
"Hey, calm down with the screaming, Nayu. My back's already killing me here," Nix told him, "All because of a certain guy...". He looked towards Ryzar when he said that, and the dinoboi gave him an apologetic chuckle.
Nayu's eyes widened, and he looked back to see Altus' and Malim's reactions. Altus looked equally as shocked, and Malim hid a snicker behind his hand.
Nayuta turned back towards Nix and Ryzar, "So, do you need me to cook you guys breakfast?".
"No need, I can do it myself," Nix replied to him, handing Ryzar's jacket back to him. Nayuta nodded to him, before he hastily exited the kitchen, dragging Altus and Malim out with him.
He shut the door behind him before turning to the other two, "Do you think they-"
"Oh, they were definitely fucking last night," Malim interrupted him, "Those absolute dogs. No wonder they woke up so late".
"L-Let's not make assumptions here now. Maybe they have a totally normal explanation for everything?" Altus told them, "Maybe it's all just one big coincidence?".
"Or maybe they were fucking last night and that's why they woke up late. We can't erase that possibility just yet," Malim said.
"It would explain why Nix had both Ryzar's jacket and back pain, and why he's blaming Ryzar for it," Nayuta said.
Malim let out a tsk, "Those guys have no shame, just outright giving us hints like that".
Altus sighed, "For now, it's a mystery. And we probably shouldn't ask them about it, that'd be invading their privacy".
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, big guy," Malim told him, patting him on the shoulder, "I'm gonna go try out those games we recently got, wanna join me?".
"Sure," Altus replied to him, before Malim walked away down the hall. Altus looked over at Nayu, "What about you?".
"I'll join you guys later. I'm just... thinking" Nayuta told him. The oni nodded to him before walking down the hallway and following Malim.
Nayuta took a small peek through the door window at the two. Ryzar and Nix were eating breakfast together and were seemingly chatting away. Notably, Nix had this sort of soft smile on his face only a spouse looking at the love of their life would have.
Was there more to their friendship than they thought? There's no way they already..... right?
Nayuta finally stepped away from the kitchen door, following Altus and Malim down the hallway.
---------------------
Ever since that incident last week, the other boys have been noticing how... close Nix and Ryzar were now.
Ryzar side-hugging Nix, the two hanging out more frequently than before, the soft smiles that Nix would give him, it was all sending alarms off in the other boys' heads.
Not that it was bad, of course. As long as everyone was happy, it was fine. But at some point the curiosity was too much for the alien.
"Hey, Nix? Are you busy?" Nayuta asked the cyborg as he was hunched over some work on a table.
He seemed to be looking over a blueprint of some small robot before he stood up from his desk. "Hmm? Is something wrong?" Nix said to him.
"I just wanted to talk to you about something," Nayuta replied, "Don't worry, it's not like you're in trouble or anything".
"Alright, I'm not five, Nayuta. You don't have to talk to me like that," Nix chuckled to him. He followed him into the hallway out of earshot of everyone else, "So, what is it?".
Nayuta turned around to face him, and took a deep breath in before beginning, "What is up with you and Ryzar lately?".
Nix's eyes widened at that question, a light blush appearing on his face, "Wait- what do you mean by that?".
"You know what I mean! Are you two an item or not?!" Nayuta asked him. Nix's face flushed a more intense red at that, he almost looked like he was gonna bluescreen at that moment.
"No!! We're not!! I- Why would you think that?!" Nix yelled at him, "We've never done anything like that together?!".
"Hello?! Remember that one time both you and Ryzar happened to stay in late and wake up at the same time?" Nayuta told him, "You came in carrying Ryzar's jacket and complained about a back ache that he caused! And let's not forget about all those lovey dovey looks you keep on giving him!".
Nix processed what Nayuta said for a moment, before his eyes widened in realisation, "Did you think we were fucking?!".
"Not just me, but Altus and Malim too," Nayuta told him, "Malim was really the first one to propose the idea, but I'll admit I entertained it a bit too".
Nix stood there in shock for a moment, face flushed and almost like he was going to overheat from the embarassment, "We- We weren't though".
Nayuta raised a brow at him, "You weren't?".
"Yeah?? I woke up from a nightmare, Ryzar happened to be up too and he invited me to stay the night over in his room!! And the reason we came in so late was because he insisted on cuddling the whole morning!!" Nix told him, "Sure, we slept together, but not in that way!!".
"Then- Then what about the back pain?".
"You'd have back pain too if Ryzar was basically using you as a pillow! I woke up with him laying on top of me, felt like having a ton of bricks on my chest!" Nix explained to him.
"Ohhhh. Well, I guess that makes more sense, now that I think about it," Nayuta said. He turned on his heel, "Well, I'm sorry for the disturbance, Nix. Let's forget this ever happened, okay? I'll explain everything to Altus and Malim".
He expected a response from the cyborg, but when he turned his head, Nix's face was still flushed mad red and he seemed to be staring off into space. Nayuta raised a concerned brow, "Umm, Nix-?".
"I think I'm in love with Ryzar" Nix blurted out suddenly.
It was silent in the hallway then, as Nix stewed in the realisation of his feelings. Nayuta stared at him, a bit surprised, "You... You didn't realise it?".
"Not until now! I-I've never felt this way towards someone before" Nix told him, leaning against the wall for support with his head in his hands, "No wonder it feels so weird and nice and overwhelming..".
Nayuta just watched him with a surprised look on his face, before approaching him and giving him a reassuring pat on the back, "The robot finally learns how to love, huh? Good luck with that, Nix".
Nix looked back up at him, "Wait- What do you mean by that?!".
"I mean, you're both people who never really got to explore their emotions and the world outside of a controlled environment. You've never experienced love before and Ryzar is, in the nicest way possible, a bit oblivious and dense, so yeah". Nayuta gave him another pat on the back, "Good luck with that".
Nix let out another groan and just then, Ryzar and the other two entered the hallway then. "Oh, Nix! Nayu!" Ryzar grinned to them both, giving them a small wave.
Nix immediately stood back up and turned towards Ryzar, doing his best to give him a smile without looking too embarrassed, "Hey, Ryzar!".
Altus and Malim both exchanged looks and looked to Nayu, who simply gave them a shrug as Ryzar and Nix continued talking. "What were you and Nayu talking about?" Ryzar innocently asked him, chuckling a little.
Nayuta and Nix both looked at eachother, and made a silent agreement then. "Taxes, " both of them replied at the same time.
Ryzar looked a bit surprised at that answer. "Oh. I didn't know we had to pay those," he said, "I thought that cause we were in space-".
"Well, aliens have a very unique taxing process I was just informing Nix about!" Nayuta nervously laughed to Ryzar, patting Nix on the back, "I'll tell you about it later, I just need to talk to Altus and Malim about it first".
Nayuta quickly ushered Malim and Altus back into the lobby, leaving Ryzar and Nix standing alone in the hallway. "Huh, that was strange" Ryzar said, then looked back towards Nix, "Anyways, you wanna play some games in my room?".
Nix looked back up at him, a light flush still on his face before he smiled at him, "Of course. I'd love to".
Meanwhile in the lobby, Nayuta had shut the door behind them before taking a deep breath in, "You want the not-surprising news or the surprising news first?".
Malim and Altus exchanged a curious look before Altus replied, "The surprising one first".
"So, surprisingly, Nix and Ryzar aren't together, as we previously thought," Nayuta told them, "And no, they did not fuck the night we thought they did'.
"Damn, that's dissapointing," Malim said, getting some confused looks from the other two, "And the not-surprising news?".
Nayuta scratched his neck, wondering how he was going to word this, "Me asking Nix about it... made him realise he actually liked Ryzar".
Both of their eyes widened in surprise. "I don't know, Nayu. I'd say that's pretty surprising," Altus pointed out.
"Poor guy, having a crush on one of the most oblivious men in the universe," Malim sighed, "Do you think we should help him with it?".
Nayu looked through the glass pane of the door back at Nix and Ryzar. They were still talking to eachother, and Ryzar's tail wagged excitedly behind him like a puppy. And Nix continued to look at him like he was the most important person in the world.
"I think they're going to be just fine without our help," Nayu told the others, "I have confidence they'll figure it out soon".