Work Text:
Even as he cracks open his book, Teru doesn’t expect to have much time to himself. It’s rare that he manages to finish all of his work and shake off his various admirers to get a moment to breathe.
He’s found an empty spot in the courtyard and sat down on the bench that should give him at least 7 minutes of respite. He’s only just flipped the page when he hears rustling that causes him to look up.
It’s a girl - which really isn’t all too surprising. She’s pretty, with long light brown hair and a blush that’s spreading across her cheeks as she nervously shuffles on her feet.
Teru gets up, knowing exactly where this is going and puts on his practiced sheepish expression. (He used to smile politely as he declined confessions but heard through whispers that it made him even more likeable. Looking apologetically sheepish helps mitigate that some.)
“Uh…um…”
He waits patiently as she gathers the courage.
“Minamoto-kun! I’ve liked you since our first year!” It’s a confession he’s heard time and time again.
“I’m sorry,” he says as he reaches up to scratch the back of his neck and braces himself to continue.
“I already have someone else that I like.”
It’s not a lie.
But it does make getting out of confessions easier. People seem to acknowledge the hardships that would come with Teru being in a relationship and readily agree to keep the secret close. It’s a good tactic, and more importantly - not a lie.
The student council room is empty save for Akane and himself.
They’re finishing up paperwork in companionable silence, the rest of the student council members having already taken off for the day. Teru’s fingers itch to do something other than type - maybe tie Akane up to the ceiling and watch as he sways to and fro in a feeble attempt to get down - but the faux redhead has been silently and diligently getting through his pile of papers. It’s managed to accumulate over the course of the week and as much as Teru would gloat that he can get it all done faster by himself, even he has to begrudgingly admit that two minds are better than one.
It’s calm and Akane had even taken off his glasses at some point, perching them on top of his head. Teru is an expert at ignoring the mokke, having seen things others can’t all around him growing up, but Akane has a little less practice. He mostly does well in his focus until one is sitting on a paper he needs and is promptly swatted off of the table.
A part of Teru is amused. Finally, someone else sees supernaturals as the pesky things they are.
As an act of kindness, Teru reaches over to grab a mokke by the ears when it goes to move Akane’s hand as he’s signing some form. He makes sure to keep his eyes trained on the project proposal in front of him but sneaks a quick glance to see if Akane had noticed. The clock keeper is arranging some papers in his hand, muttering softly under breath words Teru can’t quite decipher.
Good.
If Akane had noticed something, Teru already had an excuse on the tip of his tongue. Letting the mokke smudge the signature would mean they have to print the page again which would take ages between finding the file, figuring out which page it was, sending it to the printer, walking to the teacher’s lounge to retrieve it and heading back to the student council room to sign it again. Yes, too much work especially considering the small mountain they still had to go through. But Akane hadn’t said anything and Teru resolutely kept his mouth shut and saved the excuse for a different occasion.
You would have to waterboard this information out of him but for all intents and purposes - Akane is Teru’s first friend.
Teru had kept him close since the boy had entered Kamome Academy, sensing the supernatural energy from the start. But through hours in the student council room with just the two of them, Akane slowly let his terrible personality unfurl. Maybe it was meant to be off putting - and perhaps it was to others - but it absolutely enthralled Teru, seeing Akane make snarky remarks and scoff under his breath. Teru reciprocated by unleashing his own, equally terrible personality and using it solely to antagonize Akane. The redhead would use insults Teru’s never even heard of and Teru would hide a giggle behind his hand.
Akane didn’t like Teru, and that’s what Teru liked about him.
It was the first time someone wasn’t automatically attuned to his charm and it made it endlessly exciting for Teru. No one else had ever not liked him.
Akane’s phone chimes and Teru is brought out of his head by the sound. He quickly makes himself busy and only chances to glance at Akane after a few seconds.
The vice president is smiling at his phone as he types excitedly and it’s such a stark contrast to how he is with Teru there’s only one person he could be texting.
Right. There’s one more person that hadn’t fallen for Teru’s charm.
Teru resolutely turns his eyes back to his papers and pretends not to hear the subtle sounds of Akane texting Aoi. Something churns deep inside him but he pushes that away and determinedly grabs another paper to work on.
Aoi Akane - the most popular girl in the school - and the object of Teru’s affection.
Teru doesn’t quite know when his crush started.
They’re not in the same year and most of their free time is spent being flocked by boys and girls alike. At most they catch glimpses of one another in the hallway. That’s where Teru is now, making his way to his next class when he sees her.
Well, them.
Akane Aoi and Aoi Akane are a well known duo, everyone throughout the school knowing about them being childhood neighbors and Akane’s countless confessions to Aoi. Despite all that, Teru knows they’re good friends, and seeing them chatting in the hallway is nothing to write home about.
And yet, Akane leans close to tell her something, letting out a soft laugh. Aoi rolls her eyes in response and it’s a small crack in her usual polite persona but of course Akane would be the one to get a side of her no one else sees.
Teru feels heat rise to his cheeks and hurriedly walks away before either can notice him.
There’s something ugly burning in his chest but Teru ignores it, smoothing his tie as he makes it inside his classroom. Teru knows what jealousy is because he’s not stupid but he doesn’t let himself dwell on the feeling. There’s countless supernatural beings waiting around to feed on the negative emotion and Teru refuses to give them an inch.
It’s dumb to be jealous of his friend, especially since Teru knows he can’t compete with him. They’ve been friends since they were children, meanwhile Aoi probably doesn’t even know that Teru has a younger sister. It feels almost hypocritical though because Teru can’t say he knows much about Aoi either.
He, more than anyone, should know that being the object of someone’s affection through something as surface level as looks is less than ideal. If anything, he thinks that’s something he and Aoi have common ground in and he feels as though they share a certain level of understanding because of it.
And it’s not like he can control who he has a crush on. It took him a while to decipher the green monster in his chest whenever he saw the Aois hanging out but ever since he put the pieces together it’s nearly impossible to ignore.
Teru Minamoto has a crush on Aoi Akane and there’s nothing he can do about it.
It’s a little past 2am when Teru can finally make his way home for the night.
I’m so tired.
One particular supernatural had given him a particularly hard time that left him with a small graze on his cheek. As much as he wanted to head straight home he knew that heating up whatever Kou had left for him would take up too much time for his sleep-addled brain and also had the possibility of waking up his younger brother.
Instead, he opted to visit the convenience store on his way back. It’s late enough that the streets are empty save for the figure heading for the store from in front of Teru. There’s no supernatural energy around which Teru is grateful for. As the figure approaches the convenience store, the lights from inside allow Teru to get a glimpse of there face and it’s-
“Akane-san?”
Aoi Akane looks up in surprise. “Minamoto-senpai?”
They enter the shop together and Teru doesn’t quite know what to do with himself so he lets her take the lead down the aisles and inspects the other shelf while she picks out her items.
“It’s a little unusual for the school’s most popular girl to be out so late,” he says before mentally berating himself. He hates it when people bring up his school popularity and yet here he was, doing the same thing.
Aoi just takes it in stride and lets out a small hum. “I could say the same for you. Are you out on a walk?”
“Coming home from a part time job, actually.” The excuse was well rehearsed for his late night endeavors. He turns to Aoi, “What about you?”
Her eyes are still trained on the display of snacks in front of her, hands skimming the packages but not really seeing them. “I just felt like it.”
She shakes her head and reaches to grab a hold of a package of chocolate sharks. She holds them in her hands and seems to readdress the question. “I was thinking I’d buy some snacks to eat with Nene-chan tomorrow!”
Her tone had taken on the same sweet melody it did when talking to others at school but Teru didn’t mention it.
“Do you like those?”
“I do. ♡”
The silence between them sat heavy, completely unlike the student council room when it was just-
“Well, I’ll get going then!” Aoi turns to leave and Teru scrambles for the first thing he can reach on the shelf.
“By the way, Akane-san.”
His voice is surprisingly steady but he holds the box up to cover half of his face for good measure. “What do you think of this?”
He reads the top of the box and sees he’s chosen some sushi candy mixing thing. He turns his gaze back to Aoi who’s expression remains blank, so he whips up some story about Tiara wanting to try them, sprinkling in his own insecurities that are a bit more truthful than he had intended before flashing a charming grin. “Let’s make it together! At a park or something after this!”
There’s a slight strain to Aoi’s smile now but it doesn’t deter Teru. His sleepy brain lets his mouth move without thinking much. “Wow. That’s a no.”
Teru has only let himself be so cheeky with one other person but something - probably the exhaustion - causes him to press on. “Akane-san, do you hate me?”
It comes out playfully and Teru’s not even quite sure himself of what response he wants. Aoi, to her credit, manages to add some pep in her expression, before declaring, not unkindly, “I don’t particularly like or dislike you.”
“So straightforward…” Well, not as much as a certain redhead who would proudly state his dislike for Teru. Undeterred he rummages through the shelves for something else, eyes trained on the sharks on the packaging. “What about this one! You can make sharks!”
He swears he sees Aoi’s eye twitch. “It’s not an issue of what kind it is.”
“Aww.” Teru pouts, looking at the instructions in the back of the box. He’s not quite sure what possesses him to say what comes next, too sleepy to think about any implications.
“Maybe tomorrow I can have fun playing with Aoi…”
He’s thought an awful lot about the vice president tonight. Teru thinks it makes sense since usually Akane and Aoi - the Aois as his brain dubs them sometimes - are attached at each other’s side. He doesn’t dwell on it too much.
He’s not sure if Aoi heard him or not, the thought being mumbled below his breath and it’s a few beats of silence before she speaks up. “Minamoto senpai…are you sleepy?”
Truthfully Teru’s body is constantly on the verge of passing out due to how little rest it gets, but he should’ve been home at least an hour ago and he feels a little sleep drunk.
“I’m fiiine.” He replies, trudging along the aisles to get the quick meal he came for. He’s only just grabbed a few things when he hears commotion at the front.
There’s a small incident with the cashier grabbing Aoi that Teru is quick to step in for, putting himself between the two. There’s enough terrible supernaturals in the world as it is, but he’s no stranger to finding humans who are just as terrible.
They walk out together into the night. Aoi is stronger than Teru gives her credit for because despite the situation she leads the way through the dark and Teru trails behind her. They walk in silence for a bit before Teru gets the courage to speak up.
“Akane-san, do you hate that sort of thing?”
He can’t look at her when he says it for reasons he can’t quite decipher, but he feels her glance up at him before staring at the ground. “I hate it…”
Teru hums in reply, his now awake mind working through the events of the evening. Somehow he can’t help but feel like he was much too nice to the scumbag cashier. If Akane had been there he would’ve probably pulled out the scary baseball bat with nails he always seems to have on him and beat him senseless.
Ah, he’s thinking about the vice president again. In an effort to shake the thought and distract himself he gets an idea.
“Akane-san,” he says, rummaging around inside one of the bags. “You owe me now~.”
Triumphantly he holds up the gummy shark candy box and grins at her. This time, she doesn’t even bother to hide the distaste in her expression, but resolutely sighs and turns to walk towards the park.
They find a table pretty quickly since no one else is around at that hour. Teru is terrible at making the candy - as expected - and Aoi’s cryptically neutral statements start morphing into something more akin to snarky jabs. They’re still not quite there yet, but the dead of night helps both of them with being a little more honest. Once he’s dropped Aoi off at home he finally has some time to unravel his thoughts.
Teru feels like he’s learned more about Aoi in one night than he has over the past few years. It’s pretty much the first time they’ve hung out together and although he feels satisfied that they’re reaching friendship level, he feels like something’s missing. Usually people feel butterflies and get sweaty palms when hanging out with their crush, right?
He thinks back to Akane for the millionth time that evening. Whenever the vice president so much as thinks about Aoi, he seems to be screaming, crying, throwing up and any other variation of exaggerated reaction.
Teru doesn’t really feel any of that.
He tries to recall instances of that night. The Aoi in his head grimaces as he breaks yet another shark from mixing too harshly and although he found it endearing it doesn’t really cause him to feel like smacking anyone with a baseball bat.
Maybe he shouldn’t base his crush reactions on Akane.
With a shake of his head he unlocks the door to the Minamoto house and makes his way to his bedroom. He got closer to Aoi tonight and that’s a good thing - getting closer to his crush.
He doesn’t dwell on it much because as soon as his head hits the pillow he’s out like a light.
Teru is glad no one was around when he had found Akane’s glasses - the ones Teru himself had charmed for him - on the floor. Going to the far shore and leaving Aoi behind (not without giving her the charmed bracelet first) was draining and Teru is pretty sure he only got through it because he was used to the grueling life of an exorcist.
Still, he knows to take advantage of breaks when he can so when the Severance allows for him to have his first day off in over a decade he doesn’t waste a second.
Dragging Akane is fun and it’s an added bonus that he can leave him to deal with Nene when the emotions catch up to her. Comforting people isn’t his strong suit - he’s sure it’s not Akane’s either but oh well. Too bad for him.
Once they’re back at the Minamoto house and everyone has been fed and accounted for, Teru explains the situation. Though he would never admit it, a part of him almost preens as Akane puts the pieces together. Exorcism is a job without thanks and Teru’s never been one to announce it from the rooftops like his brother.
Still, Akane doesn’t praise him or gush about how Teru’s been keeping the town safe for who knows how long. No, instead he stalks right up to Teru and is practically screaming at his face. And, because there’s nothing Teru loves more than to rile up Akane he makes a vague remark about making do with Akane’s conclusions.
It does the job and when Akane pulls out a notebook chock full of sticky notes and tabs, he calls a time out and gets up to make some tea for the three of them.
He’s only just stepped away from the table when Akane’s voice startles him to a stop.
“Still, I’m surprised. You agreed to help us much more willingly than I expected.” Akane gives him a cheeky grin. “You don’t have some kind of ulterior motive do you?”
Nene looks mildly uncomfortable at the jab, hissing out a soft, “Akane-kun…”
Teru mulls over his options for a response. It’d be rude to tie up Akane in front of Nene, but his mind offers a different solution.
“Well, the truth is…” He turns around and makes direct eye contact with Akane. One of psychological warfare’s best tactics? Brutal honesty.
“I like Akane-san.”
It’s the first time Teru has said his big secret out loud. He’s pretty sure there should be some relief to finally letting it in the open but instead it seems like the words tumble clumsily out of his mouth - right, yet somehow wrong.
He watches as Akane’s face goes deathly pale, making a noise as if the air has been punched right out of him. It distracts him enough that he barely catches sight of Nene next to Akane who bares a completely different expression - her hands are clasped below her chin and her eyes are bright as if having caught sight of something very exciting.
Teru suddenly feels too exposed and quickly turns around to head into the kitchen, tossing back a, “Just kidding.”
It falls a little flat as he’s too busy trying to regain his composure. He hears a couple sets of footsteps at his heels though, but he refuses to turn around.
Akane is stuttering up a storm, seemingly trying to gauge if Teru was joking or not. He sounds so genuinely perturbed Teru almost wants to turn around just to see what kind of expression he’s making to use for blackmail later. Meanwhile, the second set of footsteps seems to be shuffling from side to side as if unable to contain their energy. Teru hears a soft squeal and is vaguely reminded of Nene’s romance obsession.
On the one hand, it seems like she’s completely over whatever school girl crush she had on Teru. On the other hand, Teru almost regrets confessing about his crush in front of her lest she tries to play matchmaker.
Oh well, too late now. He’ll just have to make do.
Eventually, Teru managed to shake off Akane, and Kou had called Nene over so he was left with his own thoughts. Waiting for the tea to brew he mouths the words to himself.
I like Akane-san.
There’s something off about them, as if Teru isn’t quite being honest with himself. He doesn’t know how - he’d long since accepted his crush on Aoi. He thinks back to their late night run in and how he hadn’t felt his hands get clammy or have heat rising to his cheeks. He mulls over it but can’t quite seem to piece together anything coherent before the whistling of the kettle startles him out of his thoughts.
It’s driving him a little crazy but he has much more important things to focus on - namely getting Aoi back into their world as soon as possible.
Gathering up the mugs he makes his way back to the table where Akane is scribbling furiously into his notebook. Nene and Kou seem to be talking about something upstairs but working alongside Akane is nothing new. Shoving aside the unimportant things in his head - namely, his own feelings - he gives a quick rundown and gets started on planning.
The Severance has been fixed, Aoi is back and things are relatively normal once again.
Except Akane is at his house.
Technically this was the “new normal”, since Akane’s first visit to the Minamoto household had left Tiara absolutely enamored with him. He’d come over again when Teru had been sulking and seeing him cozy up to Aoi had left his stomach churning with an ugly feeling yet again.
He must’ve made a pretty good impression because Tiara keeps asking for him and that’s how a vague routine of Akane coming over once a week was established. Teru usually only caught the tail ends of his visits since he’d have to head out for his shifts.
(There was a mortifying ordeal once when Teru realized he’d have to pass by Akane in the yukata he typically donned when going on shift. He could usually patrol with his casual clothes when he was by himself but the older exorcists he worked alongside were a bit traditionalist. He wasn’t embarrassed per say, but still he went through the trouble of shoving the yukata into his bag as well as he could and wearing the biggest jacket he owned.
He’d nearly made it to the door, calling out a “Bye Tiara! Bye Kou!” along the way when Kou poked his head out from the kitchen.
Scrutinizing Tere’s outfit, he wrinkled his nose in confusion, “Nii-chan, you’re going out like that?”
Teru let a look of betrayal pass over his face but the comment was enough for Akane to walk into the kitchen with Tiara following closely behind.
“What’s wrong with what he’s wearing?” Akane asks, setting his mug down into the sink and helping Tiara with hers. He looks the exorcist up and down and Teru feels a heat rising to his cheeks that he can’t quite attribute to the warm jacket he’s wearing. Akane finally settles for giving him a mildly annoyed expression, complete with furrowed brows. “Also, it’s rude not to say goodbye to your guests, you know.”
In an effort to get out of there as soon as possible Teru turns the doorknob and proclaims, a bit too loudly, “Goodbye Aoi-kun!”
He’s only taken a couple steps away from the door when he doubles back around as quickly as he can and runs into the kitchen to look pointedly at Kou. “And there’s absolutely nothing strange about what I’m wearing!”
Running out once again he hears Akane cackling from inside the house and it’s only once it fades away as he gets further does Teru take the yukata out and lay it over his clothes.
He briefly wonders how Akane might’ve reacted to seeing him in it but that train of thought is interrupted with a hand on his shoulder as the other exorcists on shift gather around him.)
Today, however, Teru was able to finish up early enough that the sun still hadn’t quite set fully. He makes his way in as quietly as possible, out of habit from usually coming home so late.
Tiara is nearly knocked out, laying comfortably across Akane’s lap. The redhead doesn’t seem to mind from where he’s leaned over the table pointing at something on a worksheet as Kou listens with rapt attention. The scene warms something in Teru’s heart and he wishes he were afforded more time to partake in moments like these.
He sets his things down and it’s enough noise to catch the attention of both boys. Kou quickly gets up to greet him and Akane offers a wave, unable to move with the weight on top of him.
Teru takes pity on him and quickly crosses the room to gather up the princess in his arms. He has to lean down a bit and gets close enough to Akane that he can catch faint dark circles under his eyes. There’s a small downturn to his lips - as there usually is when Teru’s around - and Teru almost wants to say something to make it go away.
He’s distracted by Tiara stirring and makes quick work of standing back up to take her to bed. Kou makes a move to heat up some food for Teru but is stopped as Akane places a hand on his shoulder. Teru hears him say something about Kou finishing up his worksheet so he can rest and catches a glimpse of Akane heading into the kitchen as Teru heads upstairs.
After tucking Tiara in, he heads downstairs again and sees Kou diligently working on his maths. He ruffles his hair lightly to not distract him much before making his way to the kitchen. In the short amount of time Akane had managed to heat up some dinner for Teru and sat across from the plate with a steaming mug of tea in his hands.
The Minamotos had learned to take care of themselves in the absence of adult figures in their lives, yet Akane had fit himself into their routine, smoothly taking over caring for the younger two. And - Teru thought as he sat down and took the chopsticks in his hand - taking care of Teru too.
“If you get up before finishing every single grain of rice on that plate I will stab you with your own sword.”
Akane is pointing at Teru’s plate and he says it so seriously that Teru only diligently nods and starts eating.
He can tell Akane had helped with dinner because the rice is a bit crispier than Kou makes it. Teru had come to know that Akane likes eating the crispy bits of rice that get stuck to the bottom of the pan and it’s one of the many bits of useless information he’d picked up from Akane coming over.
The boy in question was scrolling through something on his phone as he sipped his tea. He was wearing a hoodie that was a little worn down and made him look so soft, alongside his fluffy hair likely caused by Tiara trying out new hairstyles on him.
If you had told Teru a few months ago that he would be hanging out with Akane outside of the confines of Kamome Academy he would’ve looked at you like you were crazy. Yet here Akane is, and something about the thought makes a warm feeling flutter through Teru’s chest.
They hear Kou get up and make his way upstairs and a few seconds later Akane sets his phone down and starts telling Teru about some random manga he’d been reading. Teru hums and gives appropriate reactions, only offering his own bits of commentary once he’s eaten a decent amount of his dinner.
The conversation flows easily and at one point Teru goes to cross his legs and accidentally knocks into one of Akane’s underneath the table. Uncaring, Akane pulls his leg in a little as he continues talking but Teru can barely hear him over the sound of rushing in his ears.
Akane looks at him expectantly so Teru quickly clears his head and tunes back in. It’s the most civil they’ve ever been but unlike Aoi’s neutral comments from their late night park hangout ages ago, when Teru pokes fun at Akane, he is quick to hit Teru with a retort of “I don’t like you one bit” which Teru only responds to with a cheeky grin.
Teru doesn’t even recall the words that just came out of his mouth as Akane tips his head back to let out a loud laugh. It’s nice - a nice laugh. If Teru would let himself be so cliche he might say it sounds like bells jingling. He’s glad when he shoves the last spoonful of rice into his mouth because the chopsticks had started getting hard to hold with how sweaty his palms were becoming.
The rest of the evening passes by in a blur and once Akane's on the way home Teru retreats to his room.
He lies on his bed, using the lobster plush he’d won at the claw machine on his day off as a pillow as he presses a hand to his cheek. It feels warm to the touch and Teru thinks back to Akane who had leaned in close to whisper something to Teru before he turned to leave.
He doesn’t even remember what he had been told, breath hitching and too busy trying to get his heartbeat under control.
Teru can’t recall when he’d started being so flustered around Akane. The sweaty palms and blush dusting his cheeks have become almost expected at this point but Teru usually has more important things going on to pay them much mind. Every moment with Akane has him feeling warm and gooey inside and it’s so different from the ugly churning that he could’ve sworn he felt before.
He thinks back to his run in with Aoi that night at the convenience store. It had been nice talking to her but their conversation had fallen a little flat, her expression grim as if she’d rather be anywhere else. Since the Severance they’re definitely more polite with one another - more friends than acquaintances now - but still Teru has to admit he doesn’t really feel…much of anything with her around.
His mind shifts to the day they’d brought fireworks over and how Akane had reached over to grab Aoi’s hand. The memory brings back that green envy and twists around in his stomach.
Okay, so he definitely still has a crush on Aoi. It just doesn’t show up when she’s by herself around him?
Ugh, this whole crush thing is confusing. Teru would be much better off finding some sort of love expert to help him assess the situation and-
He shoots up so fast he nearly falls off the bed. Reaching blindly for his phone he quickly shoots a text before promptly knocking out.
Are you free tomorrow after school?
He meets up with Nene at a diner and it’s not until they’re sat down with equally ridiculous milkshakes in front of them that the regret begins to set in.
Teru has a crush on Aoi, simple as that.
And yet, Teru’s tired of trying to decipher his own feelings that are so tangled they just leave him more confused than before. He’s still trying to figure out how to broach the topic when Nene clears her throat and moves her drink aside.
“So,” she looks up and makes direct eye contact with Teru. “You’re here for my love advice.”
Teru feels himself gulp and he splutters as he goes to ask how she knows when her serious demeanor falls. She clasps her hands below her chin and grins up at Teru. “I’m right, aren’t I? You asked for me to talk about romance?”
In an effort to save any ounce of dignity he has left, Teru crosses his arms and turns away. “No, it’s for a- a friend. Of mine. Who’s going through love trouble. And I came to you because you know more about this kind of stuff and can help me. I mean- help me help my friend, who’s having the trouble.”
Internally, Teru facepalms. He can count on exactly two fingers who he considers a friend and one of them is his brother. Aoi still leans more towards acquaintance and despite the current circumstance Nene stands even farther from “friends” than even that.
Nene, however, takes it in stride and nods sagely, poking her straw at her drink, “Ah yes, a friend.”
Teru must be silent for too long because Nene makes a go on motion with her hand as she sips her milkshake.
“Well, my friend, uh…” Teru should’ve put more thought into this cover story.
He must look panicked enough because Nene chimes in, “Let’s call him Pineapple.”
“Pineapple, right.” He nods and doesn’t bother questioning where that nickname came from as tries to figure out his next words. “Pineapple has a crush on this girl-”
“Mm, Blueberry?” Nene chimes in.
Nodding, Teru continues. “Yes, Pineapple has a crush on Blueberry. And he knows this because whenever she’s with..um- uh…”
Nene seems to think for a minute before offering up, “Orange?”
What’s with all the fruit? Teru thinks briefly before getting back on track.
“Right. When Blueberry and Orange hang out, it makes Pineapple feel jealous. Like, stomach-ache-level annoyed.”
He’s probably offering up too many details but Nene is listening attentively. Now that he’s started he can’t seem to get the words out fast enough.
“Okay so, this guy - Pineapple. He…recently hung out with Blueberry , just the two of them. And it was…nice. Kind of. Like, it was fine! Normal. Polite. But also kind of...flat? Not bad, just...not what Pineapple expected, maybe. Anyway— not the point. The next time he saw Orange and Blueberry hang out it still made him jealous which makes sense because he has a crush on Blueberry.
Then later, Pineapple and Orange were alone together, which, by the way, they usually don’t hang out alone, because they kind of hate each other? But not really. Like—it’s complicated. They fight, but it’s kind of just how they talk, y'know like hey’re mean to each other but they’re also friends, kinda? Or at least Pineapple thinks so. And when they were hanging out, it was—ugh. It was fun. Like, weirdly fun. And warm. And...nice. Nicer than hanging out with Blueberry had been. But he’s still jealous when Orange and Blueberry hang out.
It’s just—Pineapple doesn’t really know how to act around Blueberry anymore. It’s hard to talk to her. Like there’s this pressure to perform or be more charming or something, and it just comes out stiff. But with Orange, it’s like— ugh. He’s annoying and smug and doesn’t know when to shut up but—he’s easy to be around. Also sometimes Pineapple gets, like, sweaty palms and heart palpitations when Orange is standing too close. Not that that means anything. Because Pineapple still likes Blueberry. Obviously.”
He face plants onto the table, exhausted of all the fruit nicknames and trying to explain his predicament.
“It’s all very confusing,” is what he says, the sound muffled from where he’s facing the table.
Nene pats him on the head apologetically and has the grace to give Teru some time to gather himself.
“Minamoto-senpai,” she starts. Teru looks up at her. “Have you- Has Pineapple considered, maybe he’s jealous of Blueberry and not for her when Orange is around?”
Teru blinks once. Twice.
“You think I’m in love with Aoi-kun?” is what manages to intelligently come out of his mouth.
Nene lets out a squeal before making quick work of finishing up her milkshake. Setting it down with a satisfying sigh and wiping the whip cream off her lip she pushes it to the side and leans forward in her seat.
“Now, we’re talking.”
Teru leaves that interaction with his head spinning. It’s still in his head as he’s on patrol that evening and it leads to too many close calls with supernaturals. He thinks about it as Kou serves him dinner. He thinks about it while in class. He thinks about it when it’s just him and Akane in the student council room. He thinks about it when he runs into Aoi at the convenience store again. He thinks about it when he passes by the Aois chattering in the hallway. He thinks about it as Akane plays with Tiara and helps Kou with his homework before turning to Teru with a devilish grin.
That night, as he lies in bed, Teru tries the words one more time.
“I like Akane-kun.” he whispers to himself.
The words don’t feel wrong this time.
The school’s most popular boy and girl are standing side by side when Teru speaks up.
“Akane-san.”
The girl in question startles but Teru presses on. “I don’t like you either.”
It might sound rude to anyone passing by, but Teru’s voice sounds distant in his own ears so he can hardly bring himself to care. His eyes are trained ahead of him and when Aoi follows his line of sight she sees a blur of red with distinctive glasses. She brings a hand up to her lips as she lets out a soft giggle.
“I’m glad ♡”