Work Text:
It was an odd evening at the Kamishiro residency that day.
He hadn't realized how fast it happened, first he searched up the game and next he was prompted with a download on his computer. He wasn't much of a gamer himself, so the shock upon seeing the size of the file had struck him all at once. With a curious click of the mouse he booted up the game, and waited for the loading screen to come to an end.
|✩|
It all started at Wonderlands x Showtimes practice after school.
“Neenee~! ☆ Are you almost donee?”
“No, Emu, be patient! I'm in a boss battle right now!”
Nene tensed up, tapping feverishly on her phone screen, as Emu clung onto her side and impatiently shook her. An air of defeat seemed to surround the two for very different reasons.
“Cmon, cmon!”
A sigh of defeat escaped Nene's lips as she stared down at the screen that read ‘game over’, and immediately went back to the character level screens to lament over just how pathetic she was at making her characters stronger. Emu, however, was more than thrilled to see the outcomes of her game, and excitedly lit up with a smile beaming on her face. Nene could've sworn her eyes burned from just looking at it.
“Yay, yay, yay! We can go back to Tsukasa and Rui now~! ☆”
“What, no! I only have a couple of hours to finish this boss or else I won't get the bonus drop rates!”
“But Nene!-”
“What seems to be the issue?”
A third voice echoed in the room, and the two girls paused to look towards the direction it came from. It was no other than Rui himself staring wide eyed at the scene in front of him, unable to make out anything from the quarrel.
“Ah- Rui, we were just…”
“Sorry, I just came to let you both know that Tsukasa and I managed to fix the issues going on with the sound speakers.”
Nenes cheeks burnt up with embarrassment as she spoke with a tremble etched in her soft voice. Maybe those extra drop rates weren't worth all the effort after all…
“Sor- sorry…”
Ruis' voice softened as he looked at the two girls with an understanding gaze, a soft, curious smile forming as he spoke.
“It's alright, Emu, why don't you go ahead and see if Tsukasa needs any help with anything?”
“Aye, aye captain!”
The energetic girl bounced off the floor and onto her feet as she excitedly ran off stage towards the speaker booth on the other end, leaving Rui and Nene alone to their own thoughts and worries.
“So, what happened?”
Rui walked over to Nene and sat down beside her, staring down at her phone with a game he seemed to recognize from one of their previous hang outs.
“Ah, is that the game you played last time I was over at your house”
“No, it's a different one. In this one you fight monsters in an open world terrain, that one was a tower defense game.”
Rui paused, a little embarrassed at his lack of knowledge on the topic. The one time he tried to converse with Nene on one of her favorite topics, he had failed miserably.
“Ah- and how does it work?”
Nene pursed her lips together and she stared back down at her phone, an uncertainty crossing her soft features.
“Won't the other two get upset if we waste time instead of helping them out?”
A smile tugged on Ruis lips as he nudged Nene playfully.
“I'm sure they won't mind us taking a break. Director's orders, how about it?”
Nene blushed as she gave him a shy smile, loading up her current save file to show him all her progress.
“Well, alright then if you insist…”
|✩|
98%...
99%...
100%
At last, the time had come for Rui to finally start playing. Upon clicking start, the game prompted him to set up an account. Carefully typing out his usual password, he lingered on the thought of a proper username. It had to be anonymous enough so Nene wouldn't find out he was trying to learn more about her favorite game, but not too out of the ordinary in case he ever got the courage to ask her to play sometime. As he stared down the username bar, an idea popped up in his head as he began to type out his nickname.
“P…”
“l…”
“a…”
Perfect!
“Platypus_”
He grinned to himself as he read out the final username and scribbled down his log in info onto a sticky note. No one would ever suspect a thing.
About an hour later after painstakingly reading through the tutorials and playing through the first quest, he was ready to try and properly play in a lobby for the first time. However, once he connected to a server, messages flooded the chat, with different people strategizing together to win, only one being addressed to him.
C4nary: @Platypus_ - “wut do u play?”
Rui shifted around as he stared at the message uncomfortably. His worst nightmare was coming true, gamer terms.
Platypus_: @C4nary - “Sorry, what?”
C4nary: @Platypus_ - “??? like do u play support, healer, dps…?”
Rui read the message about four times before retreating to a search engine for help.
Platypus_: @C4nary - “I think I play support?”
C4nary: @Platypus_ - “k”
Truth is, Rui had no idea what the optimal gaming strategy was for his makeshift team, he just chose the role that seemed the easiest to him.
How naive he was.
Endo_888: @everyone - “bro our support sucks they won't even use heals”
Rui frowned at the message and tried to ignore the stream of new chats highlighting his username. He knew he wouldn't be the best player right off the bat, but he never expected people to get so competitive. He couldn't help but wonder how Nene dealt with such a toxic environment at times.
C4nary: @Endo_888 - “shut up, can't u see they r a low lvl? maybe u should be support next time.”
A sense of relief washed over him, and he couldn't help but feel grateful towards this anonymous canary. He decided to further solidify her argument by confirming fellow teammates' suspicions.
Platypus_: @everyone - “I'm sorry, I just started playing an hour ago. I'd appreciate some leniency.”
Only one more message popped up after that.
C4nary: @Platypus_ - “Try using ur skills like they taught u in the tutorial. Those give boosts to fellow teammates.”
A couple minutes later, with a sigh of relief, Rui happily beamed as he saw the win screen flash before him. He tried to follow his teammates lead and used what he tried to learn in the tutorials and it seemed to have helped him and his team in the end. However, he decided to send a final message to one of his teammates in particular before disconnecting.
Platypus_: @C4nary - “Hey, I just wanted to thank you for helping me throughout the game.”
C4nary: @Platypus_ - “Oh, you're welcome. I'm a lil curious tho, what got you into the game? No offense but u don't seem like a gamer lol.
Rui hopelessly sighed as he read over the message. He couldn't be that bad at video games. However the more he pondered how many strategies it takes to rhythmically press each skill, he found himself at a dead end and gave up trying to convince himself.
Platypus_: @C4nary - “Haha, you caught me. You're right, I'm not a gamer at all. Aside from playing at the occasional arcade, I don't spend much time playing video games. The reason why I got this game however was to try and bond over it with my friend, she really likes playing and I've been worrying about not being involved enough in the hobbies we don't already share.”
Rui paused after he sent the message and couldn't help but worry. Maybe he shouldn't be telling a stranger all his worries, after all he just wanted to thank them.
C4nary: @Platypus_ - “She's a lucky girl then, I understand how u feel tho. I have a friend too, and I feel guilty for not being there for him sometimes. In middle school, we stopped talking completely and about a year or so ago we got back in touch and now we're friends again. I still feel guilty tho, and I wish I could have spent more time with him back then.
Rui couldn't help but sympathize with this stranger, after all the story hit much too close to home. But before he could send back a text, another message came in from the same person.
C4nary: @Platypus_ - “Acc the whole truth is I've liked this guy for a while. He's so kind and always wears this stupidly smug grin on his face lmao. Despite that tho, he's always there for me and my other friends. I don't know how to tell him, I'm worried it'll ruin the friendship we already have. Besides, I’m not really in a position where I can confess, since we work as a team towards a shared goal kinda.”
He paused and felt relief wash over him. Thank goodness he wasn't the only one in a predicament involving a friend he had feelings for. He decided that he might as well spill out his secrets, since this stranger did too. What's the worst that can happen?
Platypus_: @C4nary - “How did you manage to summarize my current situation? I have feelings for the friend I speak of too, and coincidentally also went through similar experiences. I've had feelings for my person too for a while now. We've known each other since we were kids, and I can't remember a day where I wouldn't feel a little giddy seeing her. She's beautiful and kind, words can't describe how much I admire her. ”
C4nary: @Platypus_ - “Great minds think alike? So why don't u confess lmao. You seem like a great person I'm sure she'd like you back.”
Rui felt his heart thump wildly in his chest. How incredulous of this person to ask him such a thing? He had thought of the possibility over and over in his head, and it never ended well.
Platypus_: @C4nary - “For the same reason you won't confess. I'm too scared it'll go wrong, I can't lose her. We've overcome so much already.”
Defeated, Rui slumped back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. Truth was, he felt a little pathetic looking for help from a complete stranger online. He installed this game to try and at least bond with Nene over it and help her beat her boss battle next time, but it turned into a communal therapy session instead. However, a ping from his computer seemed to wake him up from his despair.
C4nary: @Platypus_ - “Look, I was gonna ask u to add me so I can teach u how to play but let's settle a deal. Let's both confess tomorrow, and update each other later. It'll at least help us feel less alone when we do so. It's difficult for me too, but talking to you has made me feel like maybe my problems aren't as big and complex as they make me feel. What do you say?”
Reading over the message, he paused and took a moment to look over at Nene's room across from his house. Her lights were still on at that hour (which wasn't too unusual) but despite that he still felt a pang of fear wash over him. Eventually though, the promise of having a new friend, relate and go through an uncomfortable situation like him made him feel a little more confident. He typed out a response that filled him with adrenaline.
Platypus_: @C4nary - “Alright deal. How about we both confess via letters? It's the most traditional way to go about it, right?”
C4nary: @Platypus_ - “Yeah, sounds good. I'll talk to you tomorrow then. Cya”
Platypus_: @C4nary - “Sounds good. Have a good rest of your day/night then.”
But before he closed the game, he remembered one final thing. The reason he even got this game in the first place.
Platypus_: @C4nary- “Oh also will u still teach me how to play?”
C4nary: @Platypus_ - “Sure, we'll have to work on your character builds first tho.”
|✩|
The next day was a long wait until after school. Rui anxiously suffered through all his morning classes until lunch when he would typically meet up with his friends. However unbeknownst to him, Nene had her own plans after school too, and before he could ask her if they could talk after school on their way home, she did.
“Hey, Rui, uhm there's something I gotta tell you…later.”
Judging by the way she anxiously stammered and blushed, Rui worried something was horribly wrong.
“Nene, is something the matter?”
He gave her a concerned look, and before he could press on further, Nene stopped him.
“Wah! No, no! Of course not! I-It's something else!”
Heaving a sigh of relief, Rui nodded and smiled back.
“Oh thank goodness, I had something to talk to you too about.”
“So I guess we'll talk later?”
“Yeah, later.”
And just like that, the bell rang, signaling all the students of Kamiyama to get back to class, and for Rui, it was a dreadful next couple of hours as he anxiously awaited for the end of the day. Once the final bell rang, he was out of the class in an instant leaving all his peers in a flurry of confusion and curiosity.
As he arrived at their usual meeting place to go and walk home together, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of worry. It was taking her unusually long to arrive. Convinced he was being stood up after nearly 20 minutes of waiting, Rui began to walk home in defeat only to feel a tug behind him at that moment.
“I’m sorry for taking a while. I…was helping clean up…”
He nodded and the two started on their typical route home, however he decided to leave off confessing just yet. He needed to make sure she was ok first.
“Nene, are you sure you’re ok? You’ve been acting a little strange all day.”
He noticed the blush that tinted her cheeks at the observation, typically he would make a sly remark at her to further prod her cute behaviors but now was not the time. Shyly mumbling, she waved off the question with no further explanation.
“I-I’m ok.”
A tense atmosphere surrounded them both for a long time. They tried conversing with simple topics like the weather and what classes they had after lunch but it all felt uncharacteristic for the both of them. Rui sighed a little in defeat, he’d have to tell his online friend that today was simply not the day to tell her, however he remembered Nene herself had something to ask of him first. If he couldn’t talk about what was on his mind, she could talk about what was on hers.
But as he softly spoke out his question, another shy voice quipped up beside him in tandem, mirroring the sentence mumbled out loud.
“So what was it that you wanted to talk about-”
Stares. A wave of embarrassment washed them both all at once, and now the air turned from tense to purely awkward.
“Rui, you go first- I’m sure whatever you have to say is more important-”
“No, no Nene I insist. Ladies first.”
“Since when have you been such a gentleman!?”
For the first time that entire walk, Rui seemed to loosen up and allowed himself to laugh a little, the butterflies bubbling up in his stomach as he churned the sentiment into words, laughing it off as he spoke the painful truth.
“But Nene, I’m worried you won’t be able to tell me what you have to say the same as you once would.”
A deafening silence fell upon them before Nene quietly spoke up, her voice softening as she voiced her concerns.
“Nothing could change how I see you, Rui.”
Before he could further speak, Rui reached into his pocket and pulled out a slightly crumpled letter. His confession.
“Nene, I’m sorry. I really am, it’s just I’ve felt this way for a long time now, and I hope you understand.”
However, instead of being met with a face of unimaginable horrors, he was met with a blushing Nene, who stammered over her words as she rummaged through her own school bag.
“I- Rui, I…”
As she held out the letter, the pieces clicked into place for Rui and he finally understood. They both wanted to confess that day. Staring down at both the letters, they exchanged a smile as a wave of relief washed over the both of them.
“Hehe~ I’ll have to see what you have written for me Nene~”
“O-Oh shut up you-!”
The two exchanged light hearted laughs, and for once the entire walk home they felt at ease with each other. As Nene looked down at her letter from Rui with a flushed smile she laughed and decided to quip up and confess something else.
“You know, I actually would’ve never had the courage to confess to you if it weren’t for a stranger I met yesterday in a lobby, on that game I was telling you about yesterday. They told me all about their fear of confessing to their own crush, and it hit close to home. It made me realize how insignificant things are I guess.”
How odd. Rui found himself nodding along to her story, and the more he listened, the more familiar it struck him.
“Hm, that’s…interesting because I got the courage to confess to you through a random person I also met in a lobby. I haven’t had the chance to tell you yet, but I installed that game you told me about yesterday in hopes to get to spend more time with you and bond over something you liked…”
Now Nene seemed to mimic the tilt in Ruis head as they both pieced the situation, slowly but surely.
“No way…”
“Are you?!”
“You’re Platypus! I Should’ve known sooner! I can’t believe I said all those sappy things about you, to you!”
Nene furiously blushed as she hid herself in her hair, and Rui couldn’t hold back the laughter that erupted. The teases he could throw at her now were priceless.
“Now, now Nene~ don’t make me flash that ‘stupidly smug grin’ again at you~”
“Oh shut up!!”
“Fine, fine, will you at least still teach me how to properly play later?”
“Ugh, fine!”
Later that night, when Nene had some time to herself, she logged back into her account and found one new notification from an all too familiar platypus.
“I love you”