Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"ABSOLUTELY NOT. I’m not getting myself roped into one of your crazy ideas again-…!" was maybe the 20th time Tsukasa said something above those lines that very month. Just as loudly as last time the words left his mouth… or maybe louder? Honestly the other group members couldn’t tell anymore.

As any other day, it was the wxs practice and there were some new inventions that needed to be proved safe for the performance.

"I’m sure you’ll be fine, Tsukasa-kun." chuckled Rui with his signature cat-like smile. And just as Tsukasa inhaled, to state another objection, purple-headed added, "A star like you should have no problem at all, trying this prop."

Nene rolled her eyes at that. Tsukasa was a stupid idiot to believe lies like that spouting out of directors mouth. He dives in the second he hears the word ‘star’.

At times like these Nene would usually leave for a break, because she couldn’t stand her childhood friend pining after their troupe leader, who in fact was eating up everything that Rui served him.

"Well, if you say it like that I possibly can’t refuse!" Tsukasa beamed, not realising for the yet
20th time this month, that Rui was simply roping him into his schemes.

‘So damn oblivious’ thought Nene to herself, she didn’t know for how much longer was she going to put up with it. At least it wasn’t her testing Rui’s crazy ideas – for once she was glad Blond was that oblivious.

Today Rui was testing Tsukasa’s limits on his brand-new invention for their show – a slide that made the character disappear on signal. But the thing was, this slide was super complicated and only one that understood it was the inventor himself (and Emu for some reason).

"At some point, you will need to catch onto the sides of the slide, so you can exit it the other way I added" purple-haired started explaining. "You just need to get the timing right."

The problem was the invention was super steep right before the end, and its purpose was to eject the person sliding down into the air. Which was the other part of the function that Rui had planned and wanted to test on Tsukasa.

☆☆☆☆

"You sure about it?" Tsukasa asked, now on top of the prop, right before sliding in. The fact that he got easily convinced to do what he’s asked did not stop him from worrying a bit.

The director sighed. "Do you not believe your director to had done his best job at this, Tsukasa-kun? Shiku-shiku." He feigned hurt. "…just look for the little pointer I had inserted right next to the secret passage." He said when there was no reaction to his theatrics.

Blond sighed, there was no going back anyways, he might as well just go for it now. And so he went.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!"

The ear-breaking sound was heard when Tsukasa went down the slide, probably not expecting how steep it would be or maybe missing just the thing Rui pointed out earlier.

Soon the troupe leader flashed through the other side, as it launched him into the air, still screaming his lungs out. Landing on the other side of the stage now rubbing his back, that kind of hurt from the impact of the fall.

"I guess you just need to stick the landing, fufu~" the director chuckled, enjoying this situation way too much. "Why don’t you try again? You will surely get it this time."

Without any hesitation, Tsukasa got up and with the fired-up expression went back up at the top of the invention.

Just for the same exact thing to happen, with another loud scream breaking through the air.

At first it was a problem for the troupe to deal with Tsukasa’s powerful voice on their practices. Some of the staff that worked at Pheonix Wonderland came running, because they thought someone got injured and hurried with a first-aid kid to Wonderland x Showtime stage where the scream was coming from. Only to find the group of high school students just standing there, with nobody hurt.

After some time, they realized it was Tsukasa Tenma screaming so loudly and stopped hurrying over eventually.

Unfazed, the troupe members watched Tsukasa go up and then screaming down it right after, failing to do the thing the director asking him to do.

Rui stopped him then. "Tsukasa-kun." He said softly, trying to get stars attention in his determined haze. "Perhaps I should adjust it a bit before you go down it again." Giving him a small smile.

At that, blond physically stopped. Something in him moved, he felt giddy. But the feeling was gone as soon as it appeared.

"Rui-kun! Rui-kun! Can I be the next one to try it? ☆ " Emu jumped excitedly around the pair, very amazed by their directors creation.

"Sure Emu, go ahead." Rui said amused, by her reaction. Then he looked at Tsukasa. "It’s fine, you will get it next time, I am sure of it. I think we should all take some rest and go home." He encouraged the blond, who was seemingly tired and rubbing his sore back from the falls he endured.

"Ugh… I am gonna need a massage after this." Tsukasa groaned, feeling his loins.

Rui perked up at that, only to be stopped by Nene as she gave him murderous look which was giving him a clear message of something along the lines ‘you can try that....’

Of course, Rui felt bad for his childhood friend. He was pining after Tsukasa. Hard. But his star was just too damn oblivious and couldn’t get a single hint! Purple-haired boy was simply hopeless in this matter. And their friends had to watch him struggle with his crush’s dullness.

"FUUHAAA…!"

Emu went down the slide with excited yelp, doing few backflips as it threw her in the air landing on Tsukasa elegantly.

"Hahaha, Rui-kun! That was so wonderhoy!!☆" Her eyes sparkling as she stepped down from Tsukasa sprawled on the floor like a starfish (nothing he wasn’t used to).

"HUUUUUUUUUUH?!!!"

☆☆☆

"It’s getting really annoying, you know?" scoffed Nene her tone clearly annoyed, as her and Rui were on their way home. They went the same way since their houses were right next to each other. "I’m surprised you didn’t take him home as well." She rolled her eyes.

"But what can I do Nene?" director sighed with a smile on his face. "Our star is sure missing the hints I throw at him."

Songstress gave him a short glance, and her gaze softened for a bit. "I can’t disagree with that. Tsukasa is so stupid." She did pity Rui a bit, even though it was painful to watch those two idiots pining hard for one another. "He likes you… I guess he just doesn’t realise it one bit yet."

Rui chuckled at that. "Fufu~ I certainly hope that is the case." He looked to the side, feeling kind of awkward about this whole situation. He never told his childhood friend he has a crush on a the blond, he was just so painfully obvious she figured it out herself. He was convinced even Emu knew… Wait. He was convinced that everyone else knew beside Tsukasa. That’s how dense he really was.

They continued their way home in comfortable silence, they’ve both reached an understanding that this is the topic neither of them wants to talk about since Nene was clearly irritated only just by having to witness Rui’s hopeless pining after Tsukasa who didn't realize at all.

As they reached their houses, they bid each other goodbye and went inside.

Rui was pretty much worn out but still had work to do regarding the slide that Tsukasa tried to proof earlier.

He went to the garage and searched for its blueprint, trying to come up with a solution to make it easier for Tsukasa to reach his desired vision. He quietly studied the build, carefully looking at the slightest details on it, which he could change and not damage the invention.

After some time, his eyes started to feel heavy. Which was weird, sleeping before midnight was not one of his specialities. But sleepiness wasn’t anything he couldn’t deal with, he usually just pulled through anyway. He found himself dozing away about ten minutes later, Rui shook his head to wake his half-sleeping brain.

Maybe he is just tired from all the all-nighters he pulled of this week. So, director continued perfecting his invention to be safe enough to use.

Maybe lower the base? Or change over-all shape? There must be-

At that he passed out cold on the table.

 

☆☆☆

Rui woke up… No.

He didn’t.

Because the place he was in wasn’t certainly his garage where he was just before closing his eyes. Though it was weird how aware he was right away after opening them that he is not dreaming.

Now that he looked around, he found himself in an area he had never seen before. It was some sort of a theme park, wild colours flew everywhere, and the sky looked… unreal. Full of cotton candy-like clouds, colourful and very edible.

There were rivers and trees right next to the attractions, which looking at them, Rui really felt like he was in a fever dream, he had never seen those before, but…

They looked ingenious, he would like to make something like those in the future.

So caught up in the moment, he failed to notice there was someone else with him in this strange dream.

"OI! RUI!!"

The director jumped a little at that. He turned around.

"…Tsukasa-kun? What are you doing here?" He said kind of dumbfounded.

Wait… This is a dream, right? That means this Tsukasa is probably just a figment of his imagination. Yeah, that must be it.

And then, idea popped into his head. Should he act more obvious with him? It is not like it’s a real Tsukasa anyway.

"Do you see this?? It’s so amazing!" Tsukasa ignored his question and started looking and pointing around the dream land. "It’s like the SEKAI and Phoenix Wonderland mashed together!"

He stared at the purple-haired boy with sparkles in his eyes.

And without giving Rui a chance to answer, he spoke again. "C’mon Rui! We need to take a closer look." He took his hand and dragged him to the closest attraction.

"Hey, hold on." The director tugged at his hand, slowing him down.

"Huh? What is it?" Tsukasa looked at him, his look puzzled.

At that, Rui didn’t answer, just intertwined their already joined hands, smiling at Tsukasa with his cat-like smile. "Anyway. We can go now."

Tsukasa paused for a second, maybe connecting the dots… maybe not.

It made Rui think, would him in real life notice? Or would he be oblivious like he always is? The director hoped he would catch on, it is his dream, isn’t it? Maybe, if he really tries, he makes the world bend, like you usually can when you realize you are in a dream. Was that what that was? A lucid dreaming? He pondered. That way it could probably work.

To his surprise, the blond paid no mind to his actions. He just blinked very slowly and then proceeded to go ahead to the closest thing to them.

"Look! It’s the teacups!" Tsukasa started climbing them, trying to reach the one on the top and with that he let go of Rui’s hand. "Rui! Hurry up!" He shouted, which wasn’t necessary, since the director was almost behind him, looking up at the blond climbing the teacup.

What could he say? The purple-haired boy was kind of disappointed he did not react at all. Guess Tsukasa didn’t change even though it is his dream.

He started climbing up after Tsukasa.

"How do you think it works?" The blond was already up there, looking around, wondering how to start it.

The director finally caught up to him and sat down, visibly exhausted.

As he was catching his breath, his stamina drained out, the cup started moving. Which almost made Tsukasa fall down, but he managed. Barely. He tripped and dropped down back first into the seat inside of the attraction.

"WAAHHH!!"

Rui giggled, watching Tsukasa fight for his life. "Fufu~ Be careful Tsukasa-kun."

"How was I supposed to know it will start moving??" star argued, his pride a little tainted. "I was looking for a button or something…"

Tsukasa-kun did look kinda cute defending himself like that.

"Huh…? What did you just say again?" The blond looked a little flushed, averting his eyes to the side. "I am not cute, I am handsome!! "

Eh? Guess he said that out loud on accident then. This dream was beginning to get very confusing.

"Hehe, sorry about that." Though he wasn’t sorry at all.

But that meant he was finally getting through… even if it was just a dream Tsukasa before him.

"Though…" He moved closer to Tsukasa, his hand landing on top of the blonds. He looked at him with eyes full of affection. "I do think you are handsome as well."

After saying that Tsukasa made an eye-contact with him, Rui could now see him processing the information the director has given him and starting to blush more visibly now.

"W-what do you mean…?"

Should he…? Rui was stunned for a second, he did not expect this outcome at all. Perhaps that Tsukasa will react something along the lines of: ‘Of course I am handsome, as expected of the future star!!’

But then, why would he waste such a good opportunity? And it isn’t even the real Tsukasa anyway, he can do what he wants, it’s his dream.

"I- Ehm…" This was a little harder than he imagined. "I really like you Tsukasa-kun, romantically. And I had for a long time now."

Tsukasa just stared at him, his mouth agape. It did look a little funny but now was not the time.

So, Rui didn’t just stop at a simple confession. "I like how you bring out the best in me and never scratch out my ideas no matter how crazy and reckless they are… Nobody has ever done that for me."

He took a deep breath.

"I like how you not only care for me but others, never leaving anyone behind. I like how energetic you are at absolutely anything."

Rui brought up his hand closer to Tsukasa’s face, brushing a stray hair out of his face. "It was easy for me to fall for you."

Silence filled the air between them as the blond looked at him, very unsure what to do with himself.

"I don’t… I don’t know what to say"

"That’s okay, you don’t have to answer right away." The director smiled and got closer, straight up into Tsukasa’s personal space. He was so close their noses were almost touching, and Tsukasa could feel his breath against his lips.

"…should I stop?" Rui whispered, as if speaking louder would make him wake up.

The blond didn’t answer at first. Another few seconds of silence passed by before he spoke up.

"No."

Not needing to be told twice, Rui slowly closed the paper-thin distance between them. Taking in the feeling of Tsukasa’s lips against his, their softness. At first, he was a little unsure, never had kissed anyone in his life before. Yet having Tsukasa right before him made things much easier.

After some moments of uncertainty he cupped the blonds’ cheeks, deepening the kiss. That made Tsukasa gasp in surprise, but he quickly got used to the feeling, putting his hands around Ruis neck.

Tsukasa tried to match his pace, moving his head to the side to give the director a better access. Rui responded with a supportive hum, moving one of his hands into his hair, brushing through his blond locks.

Rui never wanted let go of this moment, unfortunately for him, his breath was running out. So eventually he had to pull away from the star.

Looking at Tsukasa almost made his heart stop. Still not fully comprehending the situation, his eyes were half-lidded, look in his eyes glassy. He was a bit flushed as well.

The director wanted to do nothing more than to kiss him again.

But he never got to.

Because Tsukasa started to scream so loudly it woke him up.

Chapter Text

Tsukasa woke up to his alarm ringing, yet he felt like he didn’t wake up at all… or like he never fell asleep to begin with?

Stumbling from the bed, still not fully waken up, the blond felt like he barely slept throughout the night. Working on autopilot he put on the school uniform and took his backpack from beside his bed.

Though he had this feeling like there was something important he was missing. Like it was already in his brain, but he just couldn't remember, like going into a room to grab something just to forget about the thing you were looking for.

With a loud yawn (obviously) he stretched and started heading down the stairs to get some breakfast.

"GOOD MORNING SAKI!!" He greeted his sister who was already in the kitchen making some food for them to eat before going to school.

"Morning, onii-chan." Saki beamed at him. "Did you sleep well?"

"Erm…" He scratched his neck. "I guess…? I feel tired even though I slept the entire night."

His sister frowned at that, worried for her brother. "Please, don’t push yourself too hard." She looked at the time and gave him an apologetic look. "I am sorry onii-chan, I have to go but let’s talk after school." And with that she hurried out of the house.

Saki went to the all-girl school, Miyamasuzaka Girls’ academy. It was a little further from their house than his school, so she had to head out earlier than her brother, so she wasn’t late to class.

Then finally, Tsukasa started thinking. There was something he was forgetting, he was certain about that, but what? Did he forget to do some chores before going to sleep yesterday? Or his homework?

*ping*

The sound from his phone made him jump a little. He picked it up to see who messaged him.

It was… Rui.

Something about the props or something, but that was besides a point…

His eyes widened as the scenes from the dream started flooding his mind. What the heck did he dream of? That was so embarrassing.

Tsukasa was this close from going full panic mode. Trying to calm himself down with the words like ‘it was your imagination, nothing else!’ did not help at all because all he could think of was Rui’s face close to his, his voice, his lips…

WAIT WHAT WAS HE THINKING?!? That is not at all what he should be doing!!

Though…

The way he looked at him in that cup felt so real, like it was the real Rui looking at him... But!! This was just a dream OBVIOUSLY! Tsukasa has heard about these situations before when you dream of someone, in... Ehem! romantic way and then when you wake up you like them a bit more than before...... That had to be it. At least Tsukasa was telling himself that.

Tsukasa wasn’t in love with his director! It was some stupid dream messing with his brain.

While trying to convince himself that he certainly does NOT have a very gay feeling for his friend, he failed to notice that he was running late.

He let out a loud scream, looking at the time and practically sprinting out of his house – as a hall monitor, he can’t possibly be late!!

☆☆☆

Tsukasa hurried to his class just a few seconds before the bell started ringing.

He was so in hurry he didn’t even manage to say hello to Rui or Nene, like they do every morning before school (Tsukasa was actually kind of glad) and then they go to their classroom together with Rui, since they are in the same class.

…the same class.

The blond was suddenly very aware of his surroundings. He knew exactly where Rui sat and couldn’t bring himself to think about anything else.

His thoughts backtracked to the dream he had.

It made him wonder, would it be so bad to have Rui as a boyfriend?

He flushed at the thought. But he realised he wasn’t opposed to the idea, he kind of… liked it.

What it would be like to hold his hand? To always be at a close proximity within each other? To kiss him…?

“Tenma? Are you listening at all?” Teacher broke him out of his thoughts.

Tsukasa mentally slapped himself. Was he seriously thinking… Ehm! Things about his classmate WHO WAS RIGHT THERE IN THE CLASS WITH HIM?!?

“Could you please share the reason why are you not paying attention with us, Tenma?”

It really wasn’t that serious, it was a dream after all, not a real thing! But it did sent Tsukasa into an inner turmoil. He felt himself getting redder by the second.

“I-I… I just spaced out, I am sorry.”

Lame excuse. But what could he say really? ‘I am sorry, I kissed my classmate in a dream and now I don’t know how to feel about it. Oh, and by the way he is sitting few rows behind me.’

No, absolutely not was he going to admit that out loud, it’s a mess in his head as it is, not sure if he could voice his troubles at all.

The rest of the class was a blur, the blond stayed unfocused, his mind running wild. He failed to notice the bell ringing, still deep in thought.

Thats why he almost jumped out of his desk when he heard Rui talk.

“Hey Tsukasa-kun, are you-“

Now Tsukasa really did jump out of his seat. He needed to avoid this interaction as if his life depended on it (it did).

“NEEDTOUSEABATHROOMTALKTOYOULATER!” (Need to use a bathroom, talk to you later)

He yelled out as quickly as he could, running out of the classroom to the toilets. He couldn’t face him right now, especially when all he can think of were the directors’ lips.

But at the same time Tsukasa knew he can’t avoid him forever. The Wondersho practice was afterschool, no way is he skipping that!

What should he do then? How will he face Rui or is avoiding him the strategy he will go with for today?

But he then realised that by doing this, it just could so happen that Rui will think he doesn’t want to be his friend anymore, that he has lost interest in his ideas, Rui seemed to be very insecure about people abandoning him because of his past and Tsukasa did not want him to feel that way ever again.

He needs to absorb the events of his recent dream and after that it would be just like old times!

Locking himself inside of the stall he tried to calm down. Should he talk about it to someone? To Emu or Nene? Still, he was unsure if he would be able to tell them about his troubles with a straight face. Maybe if he was subtle about it? Yes, surely he can try to do that!

That day he ate his lunch in that very stall, it was shameful, but he couldn’t let anyone see him in this state.

It must have been sad scene to look at, but Tsukasa felt more confident after.

Or not.

His heart started beating like crazy when he returned to class, trying his best not to be seen. However just as he entered the classroom he was confronted by a worried face of his director.

“Tsukasa-kun, where have you been? Is everything alright?”

Yes, that was it, he is officially having a heart attack.

He opened his mouth just to close it again. He was pretty sure his face was resembling a tomato.

Luckily, he was saved by the bell signalling that the next period was about to start.

“Sorry! I’ve got to go!”

He excused himself heading to his seat, which is what he would do if he wasn’t snatched by his arm and dragged away.

“HEY!! LET ME GO!!! WE HAVE A CLASS TO BE IN!!”

Somehow nobody thought that was weird. It was just Tsukasa screaming, something that happened daily.

Both of them were now on the roof, the fact that the blond was skipping class was the least of his worries. He was now, on the roof with the person he was trying to avoid the most the entire day with no escape route.

Tsukasa was doomed.

He waited for the confrontation, the question that Rui asked him already twice today, that he will try to find out what is wrong.

But it never came.

Instead, the director hugged him.

This was even worse that what he expected. His heart was about to burst out of his chest and his face turned red. He could only hope that Rui wouldn’t notice.

After few moments he recovered from the shock of the sudden action of his director, he slowly lifted his hands and hugged him back. It was strangely soothing. It felt so warm and fuzzy in Rui’s embrace, Tsukasa couldn’t get enough.

Then, after a while of silence Rui spoke up.

“Is this about the prop the other day?”

“…huh, what?” Tsukasa answered, confused.

Rui let go of him to give him some space “The slide. I fixed it so it’s not going to be so difficult, I am sure you will get the hang of it. It was all my fault for making it too hard to do.”

Oh.

So, this was what he meant. He really thought that Tsukasa is disappointed in himself because of the prop.

Which helped him a lot really, he can now just pretend it was because of this and not certain someone standing in front of him.

"I- I am sorry Rui."

That was all he said, all he managed to say while looking into his eyes without getting butterflies in his stomach. Tsukasa turned his head in embarrassment. Him acting like that made Rui worry. A lot.

He mentally slapped himself, this was all his fault. He should be a good friend to Rui, not think about pointless things, he didn’t want to destroy their friendship because of his stupid imagination.

He was selfish, never thought how might the other person feel, he never considered that Rui might not like the idea of them being so close.

Thinking about it now, he never questioned if Rui felt the same way, because in the dream he did. But that never meant the real one would have these kinds of feelings towards Tsukasa.

"Don’t apologize, it is not your fault at all."

The blond decided he will not ruin his friendship with Rui based on a silly dream he had about him. For the sake of his friend, he will try to forget about it.

"Thank you, this means a lot."

This time, his eye stayed on Rui’s not looking away. He decided to make this right and put his feelings to the side.

Rui gave his such a sweet smile that his heart couldn’t help it and started beating a little faster than before.

"Fufu~ It’s nothing." He replied with a little chuckle. "C’mon let’s go to the practice."

Tsukasa nodded, still kind of focused on how Rui smiled at him and turning to the door to the roof.

But then it hit him.

"HEY!! You are making me skip class!!!"

Chapter Text

Practice was fine… per say. It helped Tsukasa a lot that Rui himself confronted him and the awkwardness wasn’t exactly gone, but now the star could differentiate real Rui from real Rui.

Which actually helped him with his inner panic. It was just a dream.

At least that was what he told himself. He still couldn’t stop his heart from beating fast whenever Rui got close or calm the butterflies in his stomach when they were at close proximity or even touching.

He needs an advice. That was pretty clear to him. But the question was, from who?

Nene is too close to Rui, they live next to each other and she might not even take him seriously or she will just see straight through him and tell Rui. Which was honestly the worst case scenario.

Is Emu the safest choice? He even considered telling Saki, but the thought of struggling as an older sibling wasn’t appealing to Tsukasa at all.

Emu isn’t the one who would take ones feeling lightly. He still doesn’t want to mention any names so it should be fine.

Determined, he approached Emu after practice.

“Hey, got a minute?” He said, instantly regretting his life choices.

“Tsukasa-kun! ☆ What is it?”

Taking better look at him, she frowned. “Is everything alright? You seem troubled.”

She got him spot on. It did catch Tsukasa off guard, was he really that obvious?

“Erm… I need an advice on something.” He averted his eyes, couldn’t bring himself to look at the pink-haired girl out pf embarrassment. “I- I had this dream about my friend and now I am conflicted about our relationship.”

He felt himself getting redder by the minute, gosh this was so stupid. But he couldn’t backdown now.

“Conflicted… how?” Emu tilted her head in question, puzzled.

Uncharacteristically quiet, the blond continued. “Like I might have seen him in a more-than-a-friend way.”

Missing the slip of the tongue he finally looked Emu in the eye. The cat was out of the bag.

“Oh.” Her eyes lighted up, she clearly knew exactly what and who this is about. But decided to not tease Tsukasa about it.

“Do you think they like you back?”

“I have no idea! But… I don’t think so.” He answered, his tone getting even quieter.

Emu thought about it for a bit, it was obvious that Rui liked Tsukasa, he was head over heals for him, everyone could easily see that but the star.

It was important that Tsukasa realised it too.

“I got it!” Emu suddenly jumped startling Tsukasa. “Try giving them subtle hints. You know, to find out if they like you back or not.”

“You think so?”

“Yes! ☆ Cheer up Tsukasa-kun!”

☆ ☆ ☆

Well that was easier said than done. On the way home Tsukasa tried to think of anything that could help him with his current situation.

Would he be even able to do it? To flirt with Rui?

His head spinned, no way he will be able to do that. He doesn’t even know how!

This was a bad idea.

Should he search up some tips and tricks? He has never romantically pursued anyone before, he had no idea how to go about it.

And that was exactly what he did as he got home.

He ran upstairs to his room, sitting behind a computer.

Searching up ‘How to flirt´ made him embarrassed but it had to be done

He clicked on the first headline he saw and read the contents.

The first one said to smile at them. That he could do, it isn’t even that hard so far! He can imagine himself smiling at Rui, furthermore he is the reason behind his smile more times than not.

Moving on, he stumbled upon another advice. When starting the conversation, give them a compliment.

They didn’t specify what kind of compliment but Tsukasa had mastered the art of it way before. He does that a lot to his sister after all.

Piece of cake he thought, so far so good he told himself as he read on.

‘Subtle touches to let them know you are interested.’

That made Tsukasa think, Rui sure does this a lot…

He should definitely take some notes from him! He is good at this sort of stuff so the blond can surely use it to his own benefit.

As he was scrolling through his phone he was starting to get really sleepy.

Which was weird. Something similar happened to him just yesterday, because he almost fell asleep brushing his teeth. Today, his routine got delayed because of… his research.

He didn’t even have the time to think about it because after few seconds after fighting the sleepiness he fell face first into his mattress snoring. Just to wake up few minutes later.

…

Or not.

Tsukasa found himself back in the dream he had just yesterday.

Did the dreamy wonderland took over his mind that much? It was truly mesmerising, Tsukasa admitted that much, but his dreams never repeated themselves. He had to take advantage of it!

He must see every little corner of this beautiful place.

Looking around, wondering what he’s going to see first a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

Huh?

He turned around to see none other than the director himself.

And with that the blond immediately forgets his plan. Only thing he could bring himself to do was to look into Rui’s eyes.

Were they always so beautiful?

“Ehm.. Tsukasa-kun?” Rui cleared his throat, trying to get the stars attention, which was… well already on him, but only thing Tsukasa did was just stare at him.

“Oh! I am sorry! Hello Rui!!” The blond jumped, only now realising his actions or more like the lack of them.

“It’s fine, no need to apologise.” He looked around. “Were you about to explore this place?”

“Yeah! Since we didn’t have time to see more the… ehm! First time.”

His face got slightly more red, remembering the events of yesterday.

Rui giggled. “No need to be shy Tsukasa-kun.” There was this glint in his eye he couldn’t quite point out.

Tsukasa didn’t answer him, instead it was as if something clicked in his head.

He remembered what Emu told him.

‘Try giving them subtle hints.’

Maybe he could practice on the dream Rui before doing the real deal! Yeah what a genius idea, he patted himself on the shoulder in his mind.

And thats exactly what the blond did.

He grabbed director’s hand, dragging him in the direction of the place that seemed most interesting to him.

“C’mon let’s go explore this place!”

The sky shone, full of stars each brighter than the other. Night glowing just like a day would. Little beams of light with glitter-like essence descended upon a small pergola where the two of them sat.

The blond had his head resting on the directors shoulder, trying to take in the view but only being able to focus on one thing only.

Mesmerised by the purple-haired boy he decided to get even closer to him.

Radically.

Tsukasa doesn’t even know what came over him in that moment when he suddenly got up and sat straight into directors lap.

Which wasn’t what Rui expected at all, the blond never acts like that. Never initiates anything.

It was so comfortable in directors lap. Tsukasa felt warm, not like the embarrassed kind, it was more of a gut feeling, that the person beside him completed the empty space in his heart that he never knew existed.

And with that comfortable warmth, Tsukasa felt bolder by a minute, more confident in his actions than ever. Like it was always like this between them.

And then, it was him who connected their lips first.

Shifting in Ruis lap trying to find more comfortable position he cupped the boy face bringing him closer to his own face.

It was like a magnet was pulling him closer, this undeniable desire that grew deep within him.

And eventually he felt Ruis lips on his, soft just like last time they kissed.

Carefully, he explored the waters, gently moving his lips against the ones of the other.

Eventually, he felt more and more confident by a minute. Getting bolder, he deepened the kiss, moving his hands into the purple locks.

Rui… It was not exactly like he didn’t reciprocate at all. Oh, yes he did. Tsukasa felt his hands on his hips, directors thumbs slowly massaging the shin bellow them. The action making Tsukasa sigh into the kiss.

When the blond pulled away to breathe he noticed just how red had the purple-haired boy had become.

Diving back to his lips, he gave him a small peck this time “…I like you, Rui.” He whispered quietly, closing the gap yet again.

Rui finally waking up from the trance he was in for the past few minutes, stoped him, his hands still on his hips.

“I- You what?” His voice trembling a little.

“Huh?”

Tsukasa, still out of it, his main goal to just kiss the director stupid, did not understand what Rui meant at all.

“You like me…?”

Rui stared at him in disbelief. Flustered from head to toe, his heart beating out of his chest. He wished to never wake up from this dream.

“Yes, thats what I said.” Tsukasa tried to brush him off, getting back to the activity at hand. Only if Ruis hands on him weren’t stopping him in his plan

“Will you tell me after I wake up?”

Not comprehending the situation tsukasa simply said. “yes, of course.” Only to take directors arms and putting them over his shoulders, getting free of his grip, kissing him again, more passionately this time.

Because honestly, why should he be holding back? This is his dream, he might as well practice for the real life scenario.

This time Rui didn’t hesitate and just as he was about to do the same as the blond, Tsukasa turned into a fog and dissolved before his own eyes.

He woke up wishing it was real. That it was the real Tsukasa kissing him, confessing, caressing.

But it was nothing but a dream after all, no matter what he wished for with all his heart.