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Hirano slid the door open, looking around the corridor filled with students and strangers just to check if there were any new customers when he saw the all-too-familiar mop of brown hair waiting for him outside the classroom.
“Kagi-kun,” he waved at Kagiura, beckoning the boy to come over. “Get your ass over here and drop some coin,”
“Hirano-san!” Kagiura’s eyes brightened seeing Hirano waving him over. “You look like a delinquent, it suits you!”
Hirano laughed, sliding the door open to let Kagiura into the classroom which had been converted into a low-budget cafe. “I’ll treat you to a drink,” he said as Kagiura sat at an empty table by the wall.
“Yay, thank you very much!” Kagiura took a look around, observing the cafe set up.
The third years had gone all out with the decorations, making it authentic as possible with the low budget. The wall was decorated in ripped paper and every student was dressed in outfits that fit the whole delinquent theme of the cafe. Hirano was no exception to this - gelled back blonde hair, black leather jacket and a boldly patterned shirt, true to his fashion. In Kagiura’s opinion, Hirano pulled off the look best, but maybe he was being biased. There was even a fortune stand set up at a corner.
“A fortune stand?” Kagiura asked curiously as Hirano set the melon soda on the table.
“Ah, that? It was Hanzawa’s idea,” Hirano said, pulling up a chair to sit opposite Kagiura, setting down a drink for himself. “I was wondering when you’d show up, actually. Have you been wandering around on your own?”
“My friend had to use the bathroom so I thought I’d go ahead and come here,” Kagiura explained, looking down, his bangs hiding the expression on his face.
Hirano frowned, sensing something was bothering the guy. “Oi, what’s wrong?”
Kagiura was silent for a second before muttering, “Your charm…”
“Okay, you can stop right there.” Hirano sighed, reaching out a hand to ruffle Kagiura’s hair. “It sounds embarrassing enough already,”
Kagiura pouted at that, sporting the face of a stubborn child. “I don’t like it.”
“Don’t like what?” Hirano asked, taking a sip out of his drink.
“If other people learned about how nice you are, you’d be super popular,” Kagiura mumbled, crossing his arms.
So it was jealousy. “You’re being ridiculous,” Hirano snorted, a reassuring smile on his face. “I wouldn’t be popular.”
Kagiura looked at him. “Then promise me that you’ll never be popular.” His tone indicated that he was being completely serious.
“What the hell?” Hirano’s eyebrows furrowed, giving Kagiura a glare, his hand reaching out to flick Kagiura’s forehead, earning a groan of pain from the boy. “I don’t want to be popular in the first place but I’m not gonna be ordered around, even if it's by you!”
“Hirano-san, you’re scary,” Kagiura huffed, the pout still on his face.
"Yeah?" Hirano didn’t believe him for a single second. "You sure as hell weren’t acting scared.”
“But I am,” Kagiura took a sip of his melon soda. “I’m terrified, really.” His dry tone made it hard for Hirano to take him seriously.
“Don’t act cute,” Hirano gave Kagiura’s forehead another flick.
“Ow! I’ve just been struck a mortal blow to my forehead!” Kagiura cried out dramatically, rubbing the place Hirano had flicked him.
“Shut up, you weirdo.” Hirano laughed, sitting back down in his chair. “What was your class doing again?”
“We’re selling cheesy chicken,” Kagiura answered, finishing half of his drink in one go. “This soda is really good, did you guys make it or did you buy it from somewhere?”
“I’ll be sure to come by later, I could use a cheesy chicken,” Hirano said, copying Kagiura and finishing part of his drink. “I made the soda, it was surprisingly easy.”
“Now I can’t finish this!” Kagiura complained, staring at the pale green drink in his eyes. “I’d feel bad ‘cause you made it.”
“Dumbass, I can make it for you whenever,” Hirano muttered, hiding his face with his cup. “I have the recipe memorized,”
“Woah, really?” Kagiura exclaimed, looking at Hirano with shining amber eyes. “I lo-”
“Yeah, yeah, you’re welcome,” Hirano cut him off, a faint dusting of red appearing on his face. “Do you need to go back to your class or?”
“I don’t have to go back for a bit, and I was gonna visit other stalls too.” Kagiura said, finishing his drink. He set the empty cup on the table, leaning forwards. “But I wanted to visit you first,” he grinned, resting his elbows on the table and his face in his hands.
“Don’t just say things like that so casually!” Hirano sputtered, wiping his face with his sleeve to hide his increasingly reddening face.
Kagiura simply sat there, staring at Hirano with the most shit-eating grin on his face - as if he was enjoying watching Hirano become flustered. This guy… Hirano thought, with more affection than annoyance, averting his gaze from Kagiura. Sure likes to get a kick out of me, huh.
“Why not?” Kagiura tilted his head to the side. “No one’s paying attention to us.” His words were true - everyone in the cafe was too busy to pay the two of them any mind.
Hirano didn’t understand it, Kagiura’s ability to profess his love so openly. Nevertheless, the action managed to make his heart beat just a fraction faster than the usual rate.
“When’s your break?” Kagiura asked, seemingly taking pity on the blushing Hirano and kindly changing the subject.
“Probably soon,” Hirano answered after taking a second to compose himself. “Why, did you want to walk around together?”
“Yeah,” Kagiura nodded, turning a little red himself. “I thought it’d be nice,”
“What about your friend, didn’t you say he had gone to the bathroom?” Hirano reminded, pushing his chair back and standing up, picking up his and Kagiura’s empty cups so he could dispose of them.
Kagiura’s eyes widened as he remembered. “Oh crap, you’re right,” he mumbled and Hirano felt a little bad seeing the way Kagiura’s fell instantly. “We were supposed to visit the stalls together,”
“Oi,” Hirano moved to stand next to Kagiura, offering a grin. “We can always meet up afterwards,”
Kagiura visibly perked up upon hearing that. “Then, can we meet up after everything’s over?” He asked, already looking forward to the promise.
“Yeah,” Hirano promised, ruffling the taller’s hair. “We can try watching the fireworks too,”
Kagiura didn’t have to say the phrase; Hirano could see it clear as day in the depths of those sparkling amber.
The corridors are silent; the school as a whole was a lot quieter than it had been in the day now that the festival was over and everyone was busy wrapping up and preparing to head home. The sky outside was a navy blue, growing darker and darker as night approached. The two of them were walking down the hallway, their pinky fingers intertwined; the light from street lamps casting a faint silver on the gray flooring.
Hirano heard a few shuffling noises coming from one of the classrooms but he chose to ignore it, having a feeling that he shouldn’t meddle in whatever was happening in there. And he wasn’t walking down the halls as a member of the disciplinary committee at that moment so he’d let it slide.
Instead, he focused on Kagiura, who was talking about something to do with Niibashi, brown hair appearing black in the darkness. Despite the darkness, Hirano could very clearly see the shine in those amber eyes of his.
Why need street lamps when Kagiura was right there? The guy could light up a whole room without even trying.
“Hirano-san, look,” Kagiura stopped, looking out of the window where a firework had exploded, sparks of magenta and purple showering down from the sky. “Isn’t it beautiful?” He turned, looking at Hirano.
“Yeah,” Hirano agreed but he wasn’t paying attention to the fireworks bursting in the sky. “Beautiful.” Kagiura was appearing far too ethereal, the colored lighting of the fireworks shining on him. It was impossible for Hirano to tear his eyes away - because in his humble opinion, nothing could compare to the sheer gorgeousness that was Kagiura Akira.
Kagiura caught Hirano staring. “Hey, you’re not even looking at the fireworks!” He complained, no malice hiding behind his words.
“Anyone would agree that you make a better view than chemicals exploding in the sky!” Hirano retorted, sharper than he wanted to be, thankful for the darkness of the corridor that hid the redness on his face.
Kagiura looked away, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks. He wasn’t a stranger to the way Hirano silently reiterated his love, but it caught him off-guard every single time. He was grateful for them - it reminded him that Hirano loved him in his own way.
The sounds of fireworks bursting in multiple successions caught his attention, an idea forming inside of his head. “Hirano-san,” he said, tugging on Hirano’s pinky, a silent request to come closer. Hirano moved closer, Kagiura letting go of Hirano’s pinky finger to hold his hand instead. “Wouldn’t it be romantic if we were to kiss right now?”
Hirano was simply standing there, looking at Kagiura with those all-encompassing azure eyes of his, flecks of magenta and purple from fading sparks of fireworks being reflected in the blue. The noise of the fireworks have died down for a brief respite.
Kagiura wondered if he had asked for something too far out of his grasp.
An unknown force pulls him down, fingers grasping at his tie with a grip that could easily be compared to death. The taste of strawberry explodes in his mouth, overwhelming but nevertheless welcome, overriding the usual melon soda flavour that usually resided.
He catches a brief glance of Hirano’s face - the blonde was grinning - before Hirano was on him again. Pulling him closer until Kagiura had no choice but to wrap his arm around the shorter boy’s waist to keep himself stable.
The explosions of the fireworks were faint in comparison to heartbeats.
The fireworks simply faded into white noise as they lost themselves in each other, too busy living in their own little bubble to care for the rest of the world.
The heartbeats gradually stilled, the multitude of sparks causing Hirano’s azure eyes to appear multi-color, a small chuckle falling from Hirano’s lips as they pulled apart.
“Damn,” Hirano laughed, a grin on his face and Kagiura almost felt as if his heart would break out of his rib-cage. “That was amazing.”
Surprisingly enough, the first emotion Kagiura felt was not an immense amount of happiness from the realization that they had finally kissed after a year of being unsure and months of taking their relationship at a pace that wasn’t too overwhelming. Instead, what he felt was confusion - not the bad kind, rather, it was the sort of confusion that made one think: did that really happen?
“Huh, we can kiss?” Hirano watched Kagiura tilt his head to the side in confusion as he came to terms with reality. It was adorable, watching his boyfriend act so cute over such a simple action like kissing. “We can do that?”
Hirano himself was reeling and coming to terms that he had been the one to kiss Kagiura. He really didn’t know what had urged him to but Kagiura had suggested it and suddenly his body was moving on its own, as if Hirano had no control over it. He didn’t regret it at all but he also couldn’t help but wonder why it had taken them so long to get to this stage.
Hirano wouldn’t deny it: one of Kagiura’s most respectable qualities was the fact that he didn’t push boundaries. They had finally begun dating after a year of figuring themselves out; Kagiura had plenty of opportunities to give Hirano kisses that weren’t on the cheek or the back of his hand. Yet, Kagiura never pushed, giving Hirano time to gradually become used to the next level of their relationship.
Was it because Hirano hadn’t given Kagiura an indication that he was allowed to do so?
“I never said you couldn’t,” Hirano clarified, giving Kagiura’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “We’re dating after all; there’s no reason why you can’t kiss me.”
“Then,” Kagiura looked like a dog who had just been given a whole bag of treats. Hirano could literally see the dog ears and the wagging tail. “Can I kiss you again?” His voice was soft; Hirano’s heart sped up a fraction faster as he realized just how much Kagiura treasured him to wait this long.
“Like I said,” Hirano let go of Kagiura’s tie, using the hand to gently ruffle the taller boy’s hair. “I never said you couldn’t,”
He wasn’t given a verbal reply. Instead, he was yanked forwards, hitting Kagiura’s chest and fingers gripping onto the younger’s shirt so he wouldn’t lose his balance. He didn’t even have time to process anything because the next thing he knew, Kagiura’s mouth was on him - a perfect balance of gentleness and desire. Hirano’s fingers curled into the fabric of Kagiura’s shirt as he felt Kagiura’s hold on him grow tighter.
The sheer intensity of it all was enough to make Hirano lose his mind.
They parted, Kagiura’s arm still around his waist and their fingers intertwined. The world slid back into focus, the explosions of the fireworks being set off in the distance mirroring the weight of his heartbeat.
“Hirano-san,” Kagiura untangled their fingers, treating Hirano’s hand as if it were glass, rubbing the pad of his thumb over the skin in soothing motions. He bent his head down, touching his forehead to the back of Hirano’s hand. “I love you.” He murmured, lifting his head to press a kiss to Hirano’s palm.
Hirano didn’t reply. Kagiura didn’t need him to. The expression he wore on his face - the azure eyes flecked with the multi-color sparks of the fireworks that held so much love, the fond smile and the red-tinged cheeks - was more than enough.
“Come on,” Hirano murmured, intertwining their fingers again as soon as Kagiura let go, unable to erase the feel of Kagiura’s lips against his skin. “Let’s head back before we break curfew,”
Kagiura nodded, giving Hirano’s hand a gentle squeeze before leading the way out of the school building. The walk back to the dorm was a good fifteen minutes but time melted as they walked back together, catching the last sparks of fireworks showering down from the sky. They didn’t let go of each other the entire way back.