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Rui had arrived early for practice today so he could set up his new invention. He had done extensive testing to make sure it was safe, but this was one of his more dangerous inventions.
Tsukasa will have to be strapped into a harness and go flying across the stage at a pretty high speed. His character is a bird who's the fastest flyer around, so it's up to Rui to convey just how fast he is. This stunt might be dangerous, but to make a good show…
Rui could feel sweat building up on his forehead as he waited for the others to arrive. He took a sip of his water, hoping that it would help, but as the minutes went by, nerves continued to churn in his stomach.
And it only got worse when he saw Tsukasa waving at him a few minutes later. They stood face to face. “I'm ready to test that invention of yours, Rui!”
Rui stared back at him, thankful that he didn't seem to be afraid. But Rui himself was very afraid of hurting him, and he knew Tsukasa would be able to tell that he was scared if he wasn't careful. “Yes, I'll get it set up.” Rui turned away from him, trying to hide his worried expression.
Tsukasa saw right through him anyway. “Hey, are you okay? Normally you'd have that evil grin on your face when testing an invention.”
“I'm just fine, Tsukasa-kun, don't worry.” Rui began walking away.
“No you're not.” The sternness in his voice made Rui stop in his tracks, but he couldn't bring himself to turn around and face him. Tsukasa then rested a gentle hand on his shoulder and spoke softly, completely contrasting the way he sounded just a second ago. “Rui, what's wrong? I'm your best friend, you can tell me anything.”
Right then, Rui wanted to pour out all his emotions and tell Tsukasa he loved him so much, and that there was nothing more scary than the thought of hurting him by accident. But no words came out, only the tears threatening to spill out of his eyes.
When Rui didn't answer, Tsukasa moved to stand in front of him and held both of his hands. “Rui, look at me.” Rui found it hard to make eye contact, but he forced himself to do it anyway. “Are you crying?”
Rui didn't need to say anything because he felt a tear go down his cheek, and there's no way Tsukasa wouldn't have seen it. He looked up at him with such concern and care in his eyes that it made Rui feel a little guilty for feeling this way.
Tsukasa led him to the dressing room and they both sat down on the couch. Rui didn't even notice, but Tsukasa had grabbed his water bottle for him. “Here, have a drink, then tell me what's the matter.” He handed it to him, then held his hand.
Rui slowly sipped his water and stared at their intertwined fingers. Tsukasa gave his hand a gentle squeeze, encouraging Rui to talk. He could feel his cheeks getting hot from the contact.
“I’m just…” As Rui started talking, Tsukasa pressed himself closer. He felt warm, and somehow, it gave Rui more confidence to tell him how he really felt. “I’m scared of hurting you. This invention is especially dangerous. If I hurt you, I’d never forgive myself, and if you're hurt, how will you achieve your dreams of being a star?”
More tears dripped down Rui's cheeks, but Tsukasa wiped them away with his thumbs before they could land on Rui's clothes. He blushed even more now that Tsukasa had just touched his face. “Rui, I know you'd never hurt me on purpose, I trust you completely.”
“But-”
“I promise you that no matter what happens, I'm not leaving you.” Tsukasa cut him off. It was like he already knew exactly what Rui was afraid of and how to reassure him.
“Do you mean that?” Rui looked at him hopefully.
“Every word.” Tsukasa replied as he hugged Rui from the side, briefly resting his head on his shoulder. “Now, let's get on with testing!”
Tsukasa stood up, about to walk away, but Rui didn't want this to end. He grabbed his hand before he could walk any further. “Wait. Can we stay here a little longer?”
Tsukasa's gaze softened. “Sure.” He sat back down and Rui lowered his head to lay in Tsukasa's lap right away. Tsukasa just sighed and shook his head, a smile forming on his lips. “You can be so cute, you know that?”
Rui could only hope that his blush wouldn't give away how much those words had affected him. “You think I'm cute, Tsukasa-kun?”
“Indeed I do!” Tsukasa exclaimed confidently, then he started stroking Rui's hair. “I think you should get some rest before Emu and Nene get here.”
Rui closed his eyes, more relaxed than ever. It was easy for him to fall asleep as he focused on the feeling of Tsukasa's fingers brushing through his hair. “Okay…”
…
Nene poked her head into the door of the dressing room to see an… interesting sight. Rui was laying in Tsukasa's lap, and both of them were asleep. How long have they been like that? She had to wonder.
She'd always suspected that Rui might've had a crush on Tsukasa, but now what she's seeing confirms it. They actually looked peaceful, so she decided to let them sleep just this once. They should consider themselves lucky that it wasn't Emu who found them, because she would be squealing about how cute they are if she saw this.
“Nene-chan, are they in the dressing room?” Emu appeared as if Nene's thoughts had summoned her.
“They're sleeping in there.” Nene quickly but carefully closed the door, hoping that Emu wouldn't see.
Nene’s plan didn't work though, because Emu simply opened the door for herself and gasped. “How cute!”
Rui groggily sat up at the noise and stretched, but he didn't notice her or Nene standing at the door, so they watched as he wrapped his arms around Tsukasa's waist and rested his head on his chest.
Nene sighed as he fell asleep again, she wasn't sure how he didn't notice them standing here. But like the wonderful childhood friend she is, she closed the door and convinced Emu to talk to her about show ideas instead of disturbing their sleep.
…
Rui half-opened his eyes, blinking as he adjusted to the light. He was holding something warm in his arms, he realized. But it was not just something, it was someone. Tsukasa.
Heat rushed to Rui's cheeks as he remembered moving himself into this position earlier. But what he didn't remember was the feeling of Tsukasa's hand on his waist. Tsukasa was actually holding him right now.
Butterflies fluttered in Rui's stomach, and he hugged Tsukasa tighter, burying his face into his sweater. He took a breath in, enjoying the sweet scent of his favorite star. Unfortunately for Rui though, he didn't actually check if Tsukasa was still sleeping. “You comfortable?”
Rui jumped and quickly lifted his head up. How awkward to be caught smelling your best friend. “You… you did make a nice pillow.” He tried not to sound or act flustered, but he was pretty sure he failed miserably. “How long have you been awake?”
“Not that long. You looked so relaxed, I didn't want to wake you.” Tsukasa combed his fingers through Rui's hair once again, so Rui slowly put his head back down on his chest. “I wish I could let you sleep on me all day, but we're already really late. There's no way Emu and Nene aren't outside waiting for us.”
Tsukasa stood up and extended a hand to Rui. He took it, standing up as well. He was sad that the cuddling was over, but he was grateful that Tsukasa had even let him do it in the first place. There was nothing more comforting than being by his side. “Thank you, Tsukasa-kun.” Rui whispered.
“For what?”
“Helping me relax.”
“Well, it was no problem.” Tsukasa slid his arms around Rui's waist to give him a hug. “I'm always here for you.”
Holding Tsukasa close like this made Rui feel warm and fuzzy inside. He doesn't think he's ever had this strong of a connection with anyone before. There's no one else in this world he'd rather spend his time with, even if it's just cuddling in the silence. Is this… what love feels like…? Yeah, it definitely is. Rui was sure of that now.
He wanted nothing more than for this moment to last forever, so when Tsukasa tried to break their hug, Rui held him tighter, refusing to let go. “Rui! Let go! We have practice!” Tsukasa tried to pry Rui's arms off. “Please, Rui!” He struggled to hold back laughter.
“I'll let you go if you agree to stay with me after practice.” After their time together, Rui felt like he needed to do something. It'll be difficult to admit his feelings, and he doesn't know if Tsukasa will reciprocate, but… he needs to tell him how much he loves him.
“Deal.” Tsukasa agreed with a smile. Rui let go of him and they both made their way outside to meet Emu and Nene.
“What in the world took so long?!” Emu ran over to Tsukasa.
“Rui’s invention needed extra testing.” Tsukasa lied. “Apologies for the wait, but it's all good now! Get ready to witness something spectacular, Emu!”
“I can't wait!” Emu jumped around excitedly. “You must've done so much testing that you both fell asleep!”
Tsukasa's cheeks turned red. “Y-Yeah, exactly!”
…
Practice had gone exceptionally well. There were no errors with Rui's invention, and Tsukasa didn't get hurt in any way. They made a lot of progress towards perfecting their next show, and Rui was quite happy with the outcome today. But even so, his hands still shook with nerves.
“Rui, are you ready to go home?” Nene came up to him.
“I was actually planning to stay a little later with Tsukasa-kun.”
She lowered her voice. “Are you gonna tell him how you feel?”
Rui's eyes widened. He had never told Nene about his crush on Tsukasa. It was rather embarrassing to know that she could tell so easily, but he supposes there's no point in denying it. “I want to…”
“Good. I don't want you to bottle up your feelings forever.” She turned around and started heading home by herself. “Good luck, Rui.”
“Thanks.” He smiled back at her, and just a moment later, Tsukasa was already standing at his side.
“Rui! It's just the two of us now!” He announced, putting his arm around Rui's shoulders for a moment. “What did you need me to stay for?”
So many thoughts were racing through Rui's mind. Could it be worth taking the risk? Would he lose him if he got rejected? Tsukasa-kun said he wouldn't leave me no matter what, and I fully trust his words, so there's nothing to be worried about. He tried to convince himself that everything would be fine. “There's something I wanted to tell you.”
“Like I already said today, you can tell me anything!”
“It’s just… I… um…” Rui was struggling to find the right words, and Tsukasa's gaze grew more and more concerned the longer he struggled. Rui took a deep breath in. “I like you.”
“You like me?” Tsukasa tilted his head. “In a friendship way, or…”
“I mean it in the romantic way.” Rui mumbled.
Tsukasa's eyes widened and blood rushed to his cheeks. The silence between them stretched out for what seemed like several minutes as he stared at Rui in complete shock. But finally, he took a step forward and rested his hands on Rui's shoulders. “I feel the same way.” He whispered, looking up at him.
“Really?” A wave of relief and pure happiness washed over Rui as he glanced down at Tsukasa's lips. He wanted to kiss him so badly.
“Yes, really.” Tsukasa leaned in closer, and Rui knew that this was the moment. His heart started beating out of his chest the moment he felt the warmth of Tsukasa's soft lips on his. With shaky hands, he held Tsukasa's waist, pulling him closer until there was no space between them. Rui was pretty sure Tsukasa liked that though, because he could feel him smile against the kiss.
At last, they pulled away, slightly out of breath. Tsukasa buried his face into Rui's neck. It was the most embarrassed Rui's ever seen him act, which he found rather adorable. “You okay, Tsukasa-kun?”
He immediately removed his head. “Better than ever! Don't worry about me, Rui!” He looked like he was trying not to appear flustered, but the bright red on his cheeks completely gave him away.
Rui chuckled. “Your face is all red.”
“Shut up, yours is too.” He turned his head away. “But… that kiss was… really nice.”
Rui took a step towards him. He brushed Tsukasa's bangs out of the way to plant a kiss on his forehead. There was still one last question on Rui's mind. “Tsukasa-kun?”
“Yeah?”
“Can we be more than friends?”
“I would like that.”
“Then… are we boyfriends now?”
Tsukasa let out a soft laugh. “I think so.”