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Shindou never thought there would be something he desired more than playing soccer. Never thought his mind could be so full of anything other than soccer matches.
And yet, there he was. Confused, frustrated, and unable to stop thinking about Ranmaru. His childhood friend, his best friend, and the boy who made his heart beat too fast.
When they were younger, everything was normal… Or rather, innocent and naïve. They shared a sweet friendship and had fun playing soccer together. But things began to change in high school, when they both turned fifteen.
At first, Takuto didn’t think much of it. He kept focusing on soccer, his studies and music. But each day was worse than the last. Not because he disliked the feeling, but because he didn’t know what to do with it. And truthfully, that feeling had been there for much longer—Shindou just hadn’t acknowledged it.
Being close to Kirino made him nervous. He wanted more. He wanted to touch him more than usual, he wanted to kiss him, hold his hands, caress his cheeks, sleep beside him...
Now, both seventeen and starting their final year of high school before graduation, Takuto had decided he had to tell him. He had waited too long. It didn’t matter what Ranmaru’s answer would be.
But he couldn’t find the right moment.
“Shindou!”
A voice and a pair of blue eyes staring at him snapped him back to reality. The school bell had rung a while ago, and Takuto hadn’t moved from his seat—he’d been lost in thought.
“Oh, Kirino,” he responded, a bit nervous with his best friend's face so close. “Is something wrong?” he asked, avoiding his gaze.
“That’s what I should be asking you!” Kirino replied, crossing his arms, once again suspecting that Takuto was hiding something. “You don’t look me in the eyes like you used to…” he continued, his voice lowering with a tinge of sadness.
“I’ve just been tired lately from practice…” Takuto excused himself, standing up quickly and trying to make eye contact.
Seeing that blue-eyed boy sad was Takuto’s weakness. He didn’t want to make him sad, much less be the cause of it. All he wanted to see was that radiant and sweet smile that had made him fall in love time and time again.
“Then let’s eat together!” Ranmaru cheered up, flashing that radiant smile again and leading the way to the school cafeteria.
Takuto let out a quiet sigh and couldn’t help but smile slightly at Ranmaru’s words and expressions. He was definitely his weakness. He made his heart race.
But there was another reason Takuto hadn’t confessed yet.
And that reason was that for the past three years, Ranmaru had been receiving love confessions every day. It was as if the whole school had finally realized the beauty of the pink-haired boy. Takuto had more competition than he had expected—and not just from girls.
Both boys and girls confessed their love to Kirino and sent him letters. Not to mention the massive amount of chocolates he received on Valentine’s Day and White Day.
“Kirino-senpai, I like you! You’re such a beautiful girl! Please go out with me!”
It was happening again. This time, right in the hallway on their way to lunch.
Ranmaru sighed and crossed his arms.
“First of all, I’m a boy,” he clarified, clearly annoyed. “And well, I’m sorry, but I’m not interested in dating anyone right now,” he finished quickly, eager to get to the cafeteria.
Even though the rejection was directed at a first-year student neither of them knew, Takuto still felt a sharp pang in his chest hearing those words.
"He’s not interested in dating anyone..." he kept repeating to himself, thinking that he too would be rejected if he confessed to his best friend.
“Sorry you had to see that…” Ranmaru apologized, a bit embarrassed about rejecting someone in front of Takuto. “It must be uncomfortable.”
“Don’t worry,” Takuto said, repressing his feelings once more. “It must be exhausting for you to get so many confessions all the time.”
“Honestly, yeah…” Ranmaru sighed. “Maybe it’s because I’m single. If I started dating someone, maybe they’d stop bothering me…” he added with a slight blush, subtly glancing at Takuto, who was staring straight ahead, avoiding his gaze again.
“Is there someone you’re interested in?” Takuto asked, embarrassed after realizing what he had just asked.
“Well, the truth is…”
But before Ranmaru could finish, Tenma suddenly appeared in front of them with a yakisoba bread in hand and looking desperate.
“Shindou-san! Kirino-san!” he called, catching his breath. “Have you seen Tsurugi? I told him the yakisoba bread would sell out fast if he didn’t come right after class!”
“No… we haven’t seen him,” Shindou replied, crossing his arms and clearly unhappy that Matsukaze had interrupted that moment.
“You see, Shindou? If we don’t hurry, there won’t be any food left,” Kirino said, changing the subject and taking Takuto by the arm. “Good luck finding Tsurugi, Tenma!” he called out as they walked away.
The topic of who Kirino might be interested in didn’t come up again during lunch. In fact, Ranmaru avoided it completely and simply ate with Takuto while they talked about soccer and the upcoming exams.
They were finishing lunch on the school rooftop, a place they often went to so no one would bother them, and where they could enjoy the peace and quiet they both loved.
But the rooftop wasn’t a secret. Many students knew that Ranmaru often ate there with his best friend.
“Kirino-san, please accept this!”
Once again. Shindou frowned at the voice of a girl from their grade, who had interrupted to hand Ranmaru what seemed like a love letter, then ran off seconds later.
“Another love letter?” Takuto asked, pretending not to care, but unable to hide the jealousy in his tone.
That small shift in his voice made Ranmaru notice.
“Does it bother you that much?” the pink-haired boy asked, looking at him with concern.
“It’s not that,” he replied, trying to sound normal, but with a sadness he couldn’t quite hide.
“Shindou,” Ranmaru said more seriously now, placing a hand on his best friend’s shoulder and looking him in the eyes. “You know you can tell me anything, right?”
Would it be okay to tell him now? Now that another girl had just confessed with a letter? Takuto felt like he had no right. Like he didn’t deserve to say it because he hadn’t had the courage before Kirino became so popular.
But it felt like Ranmaru was inviting him to. Like he was giving him a sign. Like he wanted to hear those words.
“Kirino, do you really want to hear it?” he asked hesitantly, his heart starting to race faster and faster.
“I’m all ears for anything about you, Shindou,” Ranmaru confirmed, letting out a small laugh to try and calm his clearly nervous best friend.
And it wasn’t just nerves. Takuto was scared. Scared of hearing Ranmaru’s answer.
“We might grow apart if I tell you…” Takuto continued, still unsure, eyes cast downward.
“Why would that happen? Did you kill someone or what?” the pink-haired boy joked. “I can’t think of anything that would drive us apart, unless…”
Ranmaru went silent for a few seconds, his smile fading and showing a hint of sadness.
“Unless you’re about to tell me you have a girlfriend and want to start eating with her every day and spending more time with her,” he finished, looking away to hide his face, but the sadness in his voice was so obvious that Takuto understood everything.
“I’ll get a girlfriend the day you get one,” he joked with a calmer voice and a small smile. He finally had it clear.
“I don’t want a girlfriend!” Ranmaru quickly blurted out, turning to meet his eyes.
“Me neither,” Takuto replied, locking eyes with him.
“But there is something I do want,” Kirino added, looking down shyly with a faint blush, then raising his eyes to meet Shindou’s brown ones.
“Me too,” Takuto admitted, heart racing as he stared into those blue eyes that said everything.
And without needing to say anything more, without needing to confess what they now both understood, they slowly brought their lips together and closed their eyes, sharing a warm and sweet kiss they would always treasure.
After a few seconds in which the world felt like it belonged only to them, they opened their eyes and slowly pulled apart, both blushing and flustered, but smiling with pure happiness at the mutual feelings they’d finally confirmed. Feelings that had been mutual for a long time.
“I guess having my best friend as a boyfriend wouldn’t be so bad…” Ranmaru suggested shyly with a small smile, looking away and then back into his eyes.
“I’d love to have my best friend as a boyfriend,” Shindou replied, placing his hand on top of Ranmaru’s. “Kirino, I’m sorry I didn’t realize it sooner… I’ve been an idiot.”
“Me too… and you even made it easy for me,” Ranmaru admitted, remembering all the obvious moments he had ignored.
“I think you were the one making it easy for me. I just didn’t have much hope,” Shindou replied, taking his share of the blame.
Unable to help laughing at how foolish they had both been, they looked into each other's eyes again, with that pure and sweet love they had always felt, and once more brought their lips together in a warm and lingering kiss.
Since then, Kirino stopped receiving confessions and love letters. Now that they were together, Shindou seemed quite protective of anyone getting too close to Ranmaru—unless they were on the Raimon team—making it very clear the pink-haired boy was taken.
“It feels great not having to reject someone every day,” Ranmaru commented, stretching with a peaceful smile. “I guess everyone already knows…” he added, slightly embarrassed, since ever since that day, he and Shindou walked to school holding hands.
That meant anyone could see them, and yes—everyone had confirmed that Ranmaru Kirino was no longer single.
Shindou smiled proudly and offered his hand to Kirino, who took it with a shy smile and a blush on his cheeks.
“I’m really happy I finally get to be like this with you,” Takuto added, giving him a kind look and that special smile he reserved only for Ranmaru, making his heart race and cheeks flush.
“Sometimes I think it’s kind of unfair.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t get how you’re not the one who made the whole school fall in love with that smile,” he thought to himself, then leaned in to give Takuto a small kiss on the cheek.
“Because I’ve got the most handsome boyfriend in school,” he simply said with a big smile and pink cheeks, making Takuto fall for him even more.
