Chapter Text
This night is a stormy one. Thunder grumbling, lightning crackles, all while rain pours down on everything it can touch. There had been warnings of a power outage in the area according to the local news, too. Tobi had managed to get Ryuuko to sleep before the storm started, so he's currently doing a few chores to pass the time.
Sunao, however, is lying down on the couch with a blanket, watching TV. He isn’t quite sure what sort of movie is on, but it’s not like he’s paying attention to it. He’d rather focus on the sound of dishes clattering in the other room.
“Tobi,” he calls, facing the kitchen’s doorframe so as to project his voice. "Are you done yet?"
With that question, the clattering noise halts, and his friend answers with, “I’ll be just a minute, don’t worry.”
The dark-haired boy has something on his mind—something important—that he thinks he should tell Tobi. It’s been annoying him for a while now, but he’s scared to mention it. What if he ruins everything he’d spent all this time getting used to? His friendship? Will it disappear with a few simple words? He doesn’t know what will happen at all…
He slowly sits up, wrapping more of the soft blanket around himself. Maybe he should stop imagining the worst case scenario; though that in itself is a whole other problem to deal with…
Then, a sudden bolt of lightning strikes, causing all electronic appliances to suddenly stop. It’s loud and distressing; similar to the sound of ten fireworks going bang all at the same time. It makes Sunao jump, and the shock of it alone is enough to make him tear up.
Tobi frowns. Since what happened on Christmas Eve, he's been doing his best to look after Sunao. Though, Sunao himself doesn't understand why Tobi even bothers with trying to help him. Why should he, when he’s just a worthless burden—who wishes to leave this world behind and have any trace of his existence erased? He's still incredibly awkward and shy, so how come his "friend" cares so much?
“Fuchi,” Tobi’s voice stops him from overthinking things. “Hey, it’s okay. Do you want me to sit here with you?”
“Tobi, I, um..” He can’t find the right words to say. He wants to say something—anything, but he doesn’t know how to put his feelings into understandable sentences. What is this odd feeling he has? It’s overwhelming for him, and he can’t understand any of it.
As the thunder gets louder, the amber-eyed boy sits on the couch, his hand so close to touching Sunao’s, but never making the connection they so desperately yearn for.
“My head hurts…” the taller one mumbles, looking away towards the floor. No, it’s not his head that hurts. It’s his heart. He needs to get these feelings out now—while he finally has the chance to.
So they scooch a little closer to Tobi, moving towards his right ear. They will get these words out even if it kills them. “I love you,” they whisper nervously. “I don’t… exactly know if that’s okay, but… I’ve felt this way for a while now, and—”
“No, it is okay…” Tobi interrupts, but he needs to give himself a second to think.
“Huh?”
“I feel the same way, actually… Funny, isn’t it?”
Sunao lets theirs and Tobi’s hands touch as they speak… “So that means…?”
Despite the blush grazing his cheeks and usual moody face, Tobi intertwines his fingers with the other’s. “Sh-shut up… it’s embarrassing…”
Without any hesitation, shut up is what Sunao does. Instead, he will let one small action do all the talking for him, leaning in and pressing his dry lips against Tobi’s cheek.
And in return, Tobi pulls Sunao down by the shirt to kiss him directly on his lips. They struggle to process the sudden action, but slowly lean into it and close their eyes.
Tobi sighs. He brings the blanket over the two of them and wraps his arms around Sunao.
“Sorry… I didn’t startle you, did I?” He moves his hand up and down their back.
The dark-eyed boy shakes his head and coughs out a chuckle. “It’s okay,” he says, smiling ever so slightly. “It was nice. This… wasn’t how I thought telling you my feelings would go, but…
Either way, I liked it.”
Tobi’s heart skips a beat at that. He.. liked it? He liked it when Tobi kissed him? Just hearing those words from Sunao makes him want to hold him close and never let go again.
“I guess that settles it… this is what we are now, yeah?”
Sunao just nods in agreement. He’s still processing it all.. Sure, this new “relationship” will take some weight away from his stress, but it adds a whole lot more, too.
What if he does something Tobi doesn’t like? He doesn’t know the first thing about love—or the distant future—so how will he learn?
He clings onto Tobi, praying, hoping that he knows how he feels right now. He wants to cry. He wants to know if these emotions are normal.
Is he even alive at this moment? Is this reality, or fiction—a made-up world in his mind? Is Tobi’s love for him a lie, or is it the genuine truth?
All of these thoughts swim through his head.
No, it can’t be real.. Tobi doesn’t love me. He’s just my friend.
“Fuchi? Look at me, will you? Are you alright?” Tobi’s worrying about them, yet he can’t seem to get through to them. This is bad. Really bad.
They’re shaking, crying, coughing, and losing their balance.
“Fuchi! Please! Please tell me you’re okay!” He pulls them closer, trying to provide comfort for them, but their consciousness is fading. If only Sunao was just a bit stronger, maybe they could respond, though that isn’t possible… They’re weak… Not like Tobi, who despite his short height, can kick and punch like those cool people you’d see in action movies.
Sunao has either passed out or fallen asleep… They got too overwhelmed and it took a heavy toll on their mind. But at least
“Shit, Fuchi.. You really worried me..” Tobi carefully lifts him up and carries him over to his bedroom.
He makes sure Sunao is laying down comfortably, before going back to the couch. And not long after, Tobi falls asleep there, not on his own bed.