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“So, are we done here? Do you know what to do? Good, let’s go back inside, then. It’s freaking freezing up here.” Yu smiled at Kanji and began walking towards the staircase that allowed access to the roof of the Amagi Inn. The grey-haired teen had given Kanji some empty but somehow helpful words of advice about dealing with his crush late at night. Try talking to them more often… Be kind to them… Show your affection through gifts… Ugh, Yu-senpai is really not very good at explaining his methods! As Yu was staying in Inaba for Golden Week once again, his team had agreed on staying at the Inn with him for a few nights. However…
“Damnit, why do we all have ta’ share one room? All eight?!” Kanji mumbled as he slid down the stairs and towards the shared room.
“Hey, don’t forget Nanako. There were no other available rooms, since it is Golden Week. C’mon, Kanji, you’ll be fine.” Yu chuckled lightly and opened the door to a long line of gently snoring bodies, save Teddie and Chie, whose mouths were gaping open as their snores echoed throughout the room.
The bear was on the very end of the string of mattresses, with Chie’s legs outstretched next to him, her arm wrapped around a compacted Yukiko. Next in the line was Yosuke, who unconsciously tried to cuddle Yukiko however on pure instinct she kicked him and he retreated. Rise was on Yosuke’s opposite side, smiling gently in her sleep.
As for Naoto, Kanji gulped audibly. The tiny detective was curled up around Nanako and they appeared to be shivering. The little girl, however, seemed very comfortable in Naoto’s arms.
“There’s only two clear spaces on the floor. Hm… It’s your choice, Kanji. You wanna be stuck between the two loudest, most kicky people in Japan, or next to Funbags?” Yu smirked and Kanji snarled at him, red-faced.
“Uh… Oh, fuck it. Have fun being stuck next to the bear and the carnivore!” Kanji sneered, trying to sound menacing but realizing his failure as Yu slid down calmly onto the large bed. The delinquent followed soon after, nervously plopping down between idol and detective.
“Sweet dreams, Kanji.” Yu giggled and Kanji honestly felt like hitting his senpai over the head, but now was not the time. There was a row of sleeping teenagers, plus a seven-year-old, and he definitely did not want to be the one to wake them up.
Kanji tried to focus on something far away from Naoto, but he couldn’t help but admire their existence. He thought they looked calm and soft in their sleep, as if their strict mannerisms and their silent, almost stoic mask that the detective held during most of the day had all crumbled along with their consciousness. Naoto’s snore was very gentle, almost on par with Nanako’s, and Kanji felt at ease relating the ace detective to some sort of cat.
Kanji tried to stay awake and guiltily watch Naoto sleep for as long as he could, however his exhaustion after spending the day with his Senpai had worn him out, and he soon drifted into unconsciousness.
-
“Urgh… Man, how late’d I stay up last night?” Kanji mumbled to himself as his eyes opened groggily. He froze, mid-yawn, as he saw what lay in front of him.
Naoto was still asleep however the detective had somehow managed to snuggle into Kanji, head equal to Kanji’s own chest. Nanako must’ve woken up a while ago, Kanji concluded.
As his arm was stuck under Naoto, Kanji couldn’t move much at all. The situation he was in was a tricky one, so he slowly and carefully looked over his shoulder to find that the rest of the team had woken up. Oh man, they’ve probably taken a bunch of freakin’ pictures, those assholes!
Kanji snapped out of his thoughts, noticing Naoto’s eyelids flicker, and tried to pretend to be asleep. He was well aware that he was trying to fool a professional detective, but he decided that being caught faking sleep would turn out much better than being caught watching them sleep.
The delinquent kept his eyes slightly open, listening to Naoto’s short, surprised squeak as they grasped the situation and feeling them tense up. They’re freakin’ exhausted. They can barely keep their damn eyes open. ‘Shouldn’t‘ve spent the whole day working then comin’ here and wearing themselves out. Stupid.
Kanji decided to ‘man up’ and open his eyes completely, locking his gaze with Naoto.
The teenagers were both red-faced and flustering around, too embarrassed to move.
“Uh, good mornin’.” Kanji eventually sat up and crossed his legs, watching Naoto jump to their feet, distancing themself from him, and giving him a death stare. It wasn’t very menacing, however, as Naoto’s face was bright red, and they were struggling to stay composed.
“K-Kanji-kun. What... Am I doing... Sleeping right next to you?”
“Don’t worry, I g-got reasonin’! It was Senpai who made me do it, I swear!”
“W-What did we...”
“Ah! Oh shit, no! Nothin’ like THAT! Just sleepin’ next to ya’, ‘is all.”
“Oh, I see...” A red-faced Naoto shook their head, thinking hard. They lifted their hand to shade their eyes, and sighed as they debated on what to say next.
“Naoto? You alright? I’m sorry. But we really need ta get goin’, they probably took lots of-“
“I... I can’t believe I’m saying this, but...”
“Huh?”
“Well... Last night, Nanako-chan took all of the blankets off of me, and... You provided sufficient warmth to stop me from being very cold, so I must’ve moved closer to you... I was awake at the time, and I-I think I felt at peace...”
“So you’re sayin’... Y-You actually... Liked...” Kanji tried to catch the detective’s eye but to no avail. They laughed sheepishly and glanced out of the window, enjoying the scene of the mountains rolling out before them.
“My grandfather always told me that I was a clingy person when it came to physical contact. Just like my father, he said.” Naoto finally gathered the courage to look Kanji in the eye, determination and anger flowing through them.
“As you stated before, the others most likely took various photographs of us. They cannot get away with this.”
“Now you’re talkin’! Let’s go find those little shits!”Kanji tried to think about what he was going to do to the others instead of the thought that he slept next to Naoto. And they liked it. They snuggled into him because they enjoyed his presence. The delinquent grunted and shook his head as he followed Naoto out of the room. Damnit, Kanji. You’re a real sap.
-
“Argh! Rise-san, you are making this troublesome! J-Just hand over the pho-“
“Over my dead body! Oof, Naoto-kun, that’s my cheek you just shoved your elbow into!”
“Damnit, Rise! We need to get rid of those pictures you took!”
Yu watched the little fight that his friends were having with a sense of peace, sipping his soda by the balcony of the Inn’s roof. Kanji and Naoto were climbing over Rise, whose hand was thrust away from them, holding her phone which contained the dreaded pictures.
Without warning, Rise sprung off of the wooden bench she was previously standing on with surprising force, landing behind it and watching in satisfaction as Kanji fell over Naoto, both teenagers banging their heads together in the process.
“Aww, look at you two!” Rise cooed, watching Kanji and Naoto blush furiously and try and regain their senses. Yu considered what was going through the idol’s mind. You’ve made them mad enough already!
“Rise, you are so done for!” Kanji growled, slamming his fist into his palm.
“No, wait; just hear me out, o-okay? Just... Settle down... And actually look at the best shot I got with Nanako-chan in there!”
After some reasoning with Yu, Kanji and Naoto peered at Rise’s phone, managing not to wring her neck.
“Ah... Um...”
The photo was taken at the perfect moment. The morning light filtered in through the window, giving the scene a peaceful feel. Kanji and Naoto were at just the right angle; their foreheads were brushing together, light smiles on their faces with Nanako snoring gently in between them. Kanji’s arm was wrapped around the two, while Naoto clung to Nanako with one arm, the other slung over the other end of the mattress.
“Uhh... Rise... That photo’s... Actually pretty alright... We’re cute. Ah! Oh, I-I mean...“ Kanji broke the short silence that had fallen upon the group, flustering and avoiding Naoto’s eye.
“Hehe, I know, right? My phone camera’s really great! Oh, and check this one out! This is after Nanako-chan woke up!” Rise flicked to the next image.
It was about the same, however without Nanako present the two teens had moved in closer towards each other. The lighting was even better in the second shot, and Kanji had to begrudgingly acknowledge Rise’s photography skills.
“Come on, you guys are really great together! Please, just give it a shot?” Rise whined. Much to Kanji’s dismay, the entire group had arrived while he was gawking at the photo, and they were now looking at him expectantly.
“I…Uh…” The delinquent looked at Naoto and abruptly gripped their arm.
“K-Kanji-kun! What are you-” Naoto had been silent up until that point, trying to calm themself down however they let a squeak of surprise escape as Kanji began to pull them away.
Kanji was set on getting Naoto to the front of the Inn as quickly as possible. As he flew through the lobby, Naoto gave up resisting and ran alongside their classmate.
“What was that all about?” The detective hissed, standing on the curb huffing while glaring Kanji down.
“I... I need to tell you somethin’ important, alright?” Kanji briefly looked up to the rooftop – his quick assumption was right, they were out of view and earshot of the group.
“Well? You could have simply told me that instead of-“
“N-Naoto, I like you.”
Kanji looked down at the small person before him, willing his face not to go red and watching for their reaction. They still looked dumbfounded, and the delinquent thought it best to keep talking before he clammed up from embarrassment.
“I like you a lot.”
“Kanji-kun... What do you- Oh...” Naoto murmured, deep in thought.
“Y-Yeah. In that way.” Scratching the back of his head, he sighed, awaiting a response.
“Well... No-one’s ever admitted to having a crush on me in person. It’s all through letters...”
“N-No, Naoto, this ain’t a crush. Whatever it is, it’s bigger. Crushes last maybe, a couple months, yeah? It’s been almost two years since I met you, and... I’ve liked you t-the whole time.” Kanji would never consider saying any of these things on a normal day, and he briefly wondered why he was blurting this all out today.
“I believe the word you are after is... ‘Love’.” Naoto’s train of thought switched into practical thinking, like it usually did under stress.
“Yeah, that’s better... I guess... I love you, Naoto, and I’d really like to take ya’ out sometime. L-Like, a date! Yeah, that’s the word...”
A silence hung between the two, Kanji fidgeting nervously and Naoto looking up at him, eyes sparking with something that Kanji couldn’t identify. Excitement, maybe. No, that’s a bit hopeful, Kanji thought.
The detective was quite astounded. They had been trying to focus solely on their work and schooling as of late, however there were several occasions when they flopped back on their tiny sofa in their tiny apartment and considered this entire ‘relationship’ concept.
Naoto believed it to be daunting, but when they thought back to the fuzzy memories of their parents holding each other they thought it might be an aspect of their life worth exploring. Although they convinced themself to be perfectly content living in their apartment on their own, Naoto did get lonely quite often, and these times of isolation made their heart ache.
There were several occasions in which the detective had felt certain emotions towards Kanji, yet they compressed these feelings and accepted the truth that Kanji wouldn’t like them back. After all, he did act rather... Odd around them. Yet here we are...
“I-I suppose we can try it out...” Naoto managed to catch Kanji’s eye and flash him a small smile. He nodded quickly and a huge grin spread across his face.
“R-Right, sure thing. When are ya’ free?”
“Let’s see...”
They both ended up deciding that tonight was the best night, despite how soon it was. Kanji admitted he’d take Naoto somewhere nice, however as they walked through the inn to collect their things, he was stumped on ideas.
“Kanji-kun. Does... Does this mean we’re officially, um, “going out”, a-as in the term that Rise-san constantly uses?” Naoto smiled sheepishly at their new ‘boyfriend’.
“Well, yeah, I guess so...”
“Alright then.”
Detective and delinquent kept silent as they collected their bags and walked out onto the roof once more. They said their goodbyes and left the inn, not before each of them gave Yu a large hug. As they split to get ready in their own homes, they were both panicking.
Naoto was thinking about what to wear, whether to shove themself into that elegant dress that Rise gave them several months ago or to just go in their usual, masculine attire. They ultimately decided to go with the latter, since they believed it would make things more comfortable for everyone involved. However, Naoto still didn’t understand if Kanji liked them as a man, or a woman, or something else entirely. Deal with that later, Shirogane. For now, you have a date to attend.
Kanji sighed through his nose. The best he could do on such short notice was to order takeout and invite his ‘date’ to his place. It was pretty crummy, he thought, but compared to going to the bustling, loud Aiya, his place was a lot better. Ma’s outta town, too, so we got the whole house to ourselves. He decided to slap on a tank top and some rugged black jeans, declaring himself ready.
-
“Kanji-kun, your house is quite welcoming.” Naoto walked in, following Kanji and allowing him to give them a brief tour. “It’s quite large as well.”
“Nah, not really. It’s kinda small, actually.”
“In comparison with my apartment, it is large.”
“Ah, ‘kay.” Kanji scratched the back of his neck, trying but failing to think of something to say.
Dinner was eaten quietly soon after, and on Naoto’s last bite, they turned to Kanji and cleared their throat.
“Say, Kanji-kun...”
“Yeah?”
“What... What is it, exactly, that you like about me? I mean, I cannot imagine anyone liking someone such as myself, even through knowing me so well. A short, arrogant detective who can’t decide on whether to be a man or a woman, even after literally facing themselves.” Naoto turned their gaze to the table below, unable to look Kanji in the eye.
“Naoto... Is that how you really feel?” Kanji murmured, dumbstruck. He cleared his thoat loudly, causing them to face him. “L-Look here, alright? I’ll tell you what I think of you,” He gulped, hesitating to continue but quickly realizing how vital it was that he said exactly what he thought.
“I think that you are so freakin’ awesome, like, all your outfits and the way you stand and the way you play with your hair when ya tryin’ ta do maths. I don’t give a shit if you wanna be a guy, a girl, both, none or a mix of the two, I’ll still love ya! Whatever you’re cool with and whatever you feel like being, just do it. Fuck everyone else’s opinion! Y-You’re the most amazing, beautiful and smart person I know, and I really love you a lot!!”
Naoto absorbed everything that Kanji had said with a gaping mouth, barely feeling his tight grip on their shoulder.
“A-And... Sometimes, I really wish you would accept other’s help. Friends help each other out! You can’t just sit here and think you can live all by yourself because it don’t work like that. People gotta make relationships, and keep them. If someone busts their ass over you, thank 'em for it, damnit! If you keep pushin’ everybody away, you’ll start to fall apart again. You got that?”
It took Naoto a moment to reply. “Y-Yes, I understand...”
“G-Good. Then I’m done.” Kanji sighed, looking to the empy plate below him. He was surprised at himself for mentioning the things he did, but felt glad for getting it all off his chest.
Naoto appeared smaller than ever, shrinking down and staring at the empty plate in front of them. They managed to say after a lot of thought, “Thank you, Kanji. Uh, I mean, Kanji-kun!” they spluttered, getting flustered again.
“’S fine. Call me Kanji, please-” Kanji’s pleads were cut off by a small hand grabbing his collar and pulling it down to Naoto’s face. The bursts of emotion that Kanji felt rush though his body a heartbeat after they pushed their lips onto his own were intense, hugely overwhelming and above all, the best fucking feeling the young man had ever experienced. Many thoughts moved around in his mind, the most powerful being holy shit this is fucking awesome i never want it to stop.
After several seconds that felt like hours, Naoto pulled away, embarrassment flowing through their face. Kanji blinked several times before zoning back into reality.
“Was... Did I fall asleep...?”
“N-no, Kanji, you’ll find that was not a dream. That was reality...” Naoto smiled and pressed their head into Kanji’s chest, curling into him and sighing peacefully. “I... I believe I love you too.”
This ain’t like Naoto at all... This is absolutely freakin’ surreal. The one person I’ve loved for this entire time just kissed me, and now they’re...
“Naoto? If you wanna sleep, use my bed.” Kanji managed to mutter as Naoto got increasingly comfortable, sliding onto his lap and resting their head near the pit of his arm.
Kanji didn’t dare to move until he could hear a gentle snore coming from Naoto. He scooped them up and breathed out of his nose as he lay them down on the sofa.
“Here ya’ go. I’ll find some blankets...” The delinquent muttered to himself, leaving the room and returning with a duvet and a pillow. He tried to make sure Naoto was comfortable, and sprinted towards his own room. Man, Ma’s gonna be home soon... Shit, Naoto, don’t wake up!
Flopping down on his own bed, Kanji thought about everything that had occurred on that day. A lot had happened, just in the last few hours. He was... Actually going out with the person he loved... And they kissed him?! Holy shit! He laughed to himself. This entire day has to be a dream, a really messed-up dream that he would wake in the morning to and would most likely break something in his frustration.
Kanji grinned and tried to remember the last time he had a dream this detailed. What horrible tricks was his mind trying to play on him this time? This is too damn real for a dream, though!
Before he could reach over to his arm and pinch himself, he almost cursed at the top of his voice. Naoto had snuck into Kanji's room during his daze and was looking up at him expectantly.
“Hello.” They said casually.
“Uh, I put you on the couch! Why’re you in ‘ere?!” Kanji grunted.
“Well, i-it is incredibly cold out there. Please let me stay.”
“Argh! A’ight. Only if you really wanna, though.”
“Okay. May I change into something more appropriate for sleeping?”
Kanji reddened at the thoughts running through his brain, but nodded slowly. Naoto had brought their own sleepwear, their excuse being, “Rise-san said that I always need to bring items of clothing to a boy’s house! She does not know about us yet though. B-Boys in general...”
As Naoto re-entered the room, Kanji tried to dismiss how adorable they looked in their sky-blue buttoned shirt, with matching pants. Kanji shuffled towards the other side of the bed to allow Naoto to slip in beside him.
The teenagers eventually both made themselves comfortable under the covers, attempting to get some sleep. Kanji was close to dozing off when he heard Naoto’s tiny voice.
“Kanji.”
“Mm... Yeah?”
“You said before that you didn’t care if I was a man or a woman...”
“I s-sure did.”
“Well, you see, everyone wants me to be one or the other. My grandfather looked down at me and I know deep down that he would have preferred if I were born a male. Then there’s Rise-san, who is constantly pestering me about dresses and actually wearing some of the clothes she gives me.” Naoto gripped Kanji’s chest as she continued in a trembling voice.
“You’re... The first to like me for who I really am... And for that, I am deeply grateful. T-Thank you so much, Kanji. Thank you...”
Kanji felt the dampness of tears on his shirt as he said, “N-No worries! I’m here for you, no matter what.”
A delicate peck on the forehead from Kanji was all the teenagers needed, and they quickly fell asleep in each other’s arms.