Archive of Our Own

Souta and Nao had spent the last few days working on the banners and signs for the club's upcoming performance. Even if the school's culture festival was not for a number of weeks, their club had to prepare quite far in advance. Nao, being a bit of a perfectionist, had painstakingly and precisely drawn the outlines for Souta to paint. After finishing the last banner up, Souta handed it to Nao for inspection. He watched with a comfortable smile as Nao traced the outlines with his eyes, seemingly making sure that none of the paint had breached it.

“You’re such a perfectionist.”

“Nope, you’re just sloppy,” Nao retorted, almost before Souta had finished his sentence. He then paused, adding, “These look good, though. I think we’re done…”

Souta let out a half-hearted cheer, followed by a yawn. “Finally! Man, I’m tired…” he said. “Funny how it was Chiba and Imai who wanted me to help but they didn’t turn up once to help.”

“Huh?” Nao looked up towards Souta with a look of confusion for a split second. “Oh, right, yeah… weird…”

“Well, I’m glad we’re done now. Are you heading home?” Souta didn’t notice the slightly embarrassed look on Nao’s face as he started packing up his bag. 

“Do you want to…” Nao began, then paused. “Actually, nevermind.”

“Want toooo…?” Souta questioned, squinting his eyes at Nao.

“It’s fine. Are you ready to go?”

“Nope.” Souta folded his arms. “Not until you tell me what you were going to say.”

“Ugh, for god’s sake…” Nao complained quietly. “Fine. There’s…” His face scrunched up slightly as he spoke. “There’s this cafe, and I wanted to try their new seasonal drink. Do you want to go?”

“Now??” Souta leapt up out of his seat, planting both hands on the table in front of him. “I’ll go!”

“Alright, calm down,” Nao laughed. “It’s not too far from the station…” he trailed off as he slid open the door. Souta didn’t notice as he let out a small sigh, smiling as he watched Souta excitedly pack his bag away and tidy the room: putting the chairs back, straightening the desks, and wiping the surfaces with his hand to get rid of any dust. 

“Ready!!” He smiled as he grabbed Nao by both shoulders, jamming him through the half opened door.

Heading down towards the front gate, the two talked about their plans for the festival, Souta telling Nao that his class was doing a simple cafe but they hadn’t decided on a theme yet, and Nao telling Souta about his upcoming performance.

“Are you going to sing this time?” Souta said sarcastically, but already knowing Nao’s answer.

“I don’t even want to be on the stage,” Nao scoffed. “I asked if I could pre-record my guitar piece and was shot down instantly.”

“I don’t get you,” Souta sighed. “If I had a talent like yours I’d want everyone to know.”

“Hm… I just want to fade into the background.” They turned the corner towards a busy looking street lined with shops.

“Well you clearly didn’t do a very good job, I saw you clear as day,” Souta laughed.

“Yeah, yeah, you and only you.” Nao glanced up as he stopped on the pavement. “Oh, we’re here.”

The two of them made their way through the cafe door and were quickly seated at a table for two. After ordering their drinks, Nao a dark chocolate hojicha latte, and Souta a simple cream soda, they sat and continued talking about their plans for the festival. 

“I heard there’s going to be a football game where you can win prizes, I bet I—” Souta began, but was cut off as Nao became distracted by someone entering the cafe.

“Nao-kun!” a cheery voice called from behind Souta.

Nao wore an expression that barely concealed his annoyance as he looked past Souta towards the door. A blonde girl bounded past Souta and stood directly next to Nao. “I can’t believe you’re here too, are you here to try their new special?” she said with a smile, she seemed genuine but maybe a bit overexcited, Souta thought. 

“Oh, yeah, he ordered the dark cho—” Souta began, but was cut off. 

“The creme brulee flavor, right??”

“No, I got the dark chocolate flavour…” Nao looked over to Souta, who looked back to him with a slightly puzzled expression. “This is Arashi Rina,” he said, gesturing towards the girl, then pointed towards Souta. “And this is my friend Ueshima Souta.”

Arashi… I recognise that name.

“Nice to meet you— Ooh!” She suddenly became distracted as a waitress came over to the table with Souta and Nao’s drinks on a small tray. “Nao, yours looks so good, can I try it?” 

“Erm…” Nao hesitated, holding the cup in his hands. “Sorry, but I’d rather not…”

“Oh…” Arashi’s enthusiasm was quickly squashed. “Oh, no problem!! Sorry it was a bit rude of me to ask, it just looked really nice…”

“No, it’s alright.” Nao looked down into his drink, not saying another word.

Arashi turned as she was called from the doorway. “Oh, my friend is here. I better go, have a good evening you two!” And with that, she was gone.

After a few moments of silence, Souta finally spoke up. “She’s…” 

“Intense.” Nao let out a dry laugh. “Yeah. I know her because she has applied to the music club a couple of times, but I… I don’t know, I just don’t see her working well with us.”

Souta took a sip of his drink, wondering if Nao had anything else to say.

“Yeah, she’s nice, just a lot,” Nao finally added, shaking his head. “She ended up joining a different club, anyway.”

The air felt a little tense as the two of them took small sips of their drinks, Souta wracked his brain to try and think of a new topic of conversation after theirs had been derailed.

“This is pretty good,” Nao spoke up, easing the atmosphere. “Do you want to try it?”

Huh? 

Souta’s heart skipped a beat as he stared at Nao, trying not to look too stunned.

Nope. Stop it, heart. Not now. This is not a big deal.

“Sure!” Souta feigned a casual composure, but inside he was screaming. “Do you want to try mine?”

“I mean… I’ve tried a cream soda before, but sure,” Nao laughed, pushing his cup towards Souta.

It’s just a sip, it’s not a big deal. Souta could feel his hands shaking ever so slightly as he picked up the cup, bringing it to his mouth to take a small sip while making sure it wasn’t from the same side that Nao had.

“Oh, that’s actually really good!” Souta was actually a little surprised, he expected it to be a lot more bitter. It was bitter, but tolerable for someone with such a sweet tooth. Looking up just as Nao took a small sip from the straw, he slid the cup back over towards Nao.

“And this tastes exactly as expected.” Nao pushed Souta’s drink back towards him. “It’s so sweet, it reminds me of being a kid.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m a kid, I know.” Souta laughed sarcastically, grabbing his straw to take a sip of his drink.

Wait. The straw. 

He stared down at it. 

It stared back. 

What the fuck do I do now. 

“The performance is on at 7:15pm, by the way—” Nao took another sip of his drink. The drink Souta was painfully aware he had just taken a sip from. See, Nao is fine, it's no big deal. Souta was too busy freaking out to notice that Nao had a faint smile as he spoke.

Souta could feel himself spiraling, so he decided to just not think about it. He grabbed his straw, taking a big chug of his drink, almost choking on it.

“---But if you get there a little early you can listen to us practice, if you want to. The hall will be locked after 6:30 but I can let you in.”

“You’ve put a lot of thought into this!” Souta laughed expecting Nao to disagree.

“Well, yeah.” Nao swirled his cup around a few times. “You said I— we were good last time… So I thought you’d want to see us play again.”

“Oh…” Souta’s chest tightened. “I mean, of course I do.” 

The two of them got up after finishing their drinks and made their way to the door, thanking the waitress as they walked past. 

“Well, I’m this way.” Nao gestured behind him towards the bus stop that was just down the street.

“Alright.” Souta hesitated, unsure of what he hoped would happen next. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.” 

They stood in silence for a few seconds before Nao took a step back and turned, walking towards the bus stop. Souta stood and watched him for a moment before turning towards the train station to make his own way home. As he reached the corner, he looked back. Nao was already looking at him, he lifted his arm, giving Souta a small wave which Souta returned before rounding the corner.

The walk to the station felt surprisingly long, and Souta was desperate to get home so he could freak out in private.

*

Souta and Keisuke had settled into their usual lunch routine of Souta turning his chair around and eating his food on Keisuke’s desk. They had been sitting in complete silence, but it wasn’t uncomfortable in the slightest. After a few mouthfuls of his lunch Keisuke spoke up.

“Oh yeah, we got our test scores back. How did you do?” Keisuke asked as he prepared his next bite with his chopsticks.

“Yup.” Souta suddenly felt a little bashful. “My scores were actually a lot better this time around. What about you?”

“Congratulations, I wonder where all this motivation came from?” Keisuke smirked. “My scores are pretty good, too. I’m on track to ace my entrance exams.”

“Yeah, yeah, congrats.” Souta rolled his eyes at Keisuke’s cheesy line. “I wish that were me.” 

“You’re going in the right direction, just keep at it.” Keisuke took another bite, then grabbed a couple of the beansprouts at the top of Souta’s bento with his chopsticks. “I’m sure Iseya would be willing to help you, his score was really good this time around.”

“Huh? How do you know?” 

“Mm.. hm.” Keisuke had already taken another bite of his food, so was just loosely gesturing towards the door of the classroom.

“You checked the board?” Souta asked and Keisuke nodded in response. “Ahh…” 

It’s not that he didn’t expect Nao to do well in his tests — he was always studying or finishing homework every time Souta visited the club room — but Souta felt like he had less bragging rights now.

“Well, I’ll have to congratulate him!” Souta flashed Keisuke a cheeky smile. “Oh, and… congratulations on doing well, not sarcastically this time.”

It was the end of the day and after saying goodbye to Keisuke after soccer practice, Souta dashed up the stairs towards the club room. He made his entrance, opening the door with a bang as it hit the inside of the frame. He didn’t see anyone inside as he peered around so he waltzed in, placing his bag on the table in the middle of the room. The sky was lit in bold shades of pink, orange and red as the sun had begun to set, casting the room into ethereal blushed tones. Souta stood at the window and looked out across the entranceway of the school. A few groups of students made their way through the gate with their friends in tow, laughing, shouting and making plans for their evenings. Something about the sight made Souta feel nostalgic, like he had just realised how fleeting this time in his life was.

While deep in thought, Souta did not notice the door to the club room open and close as Nao entered. He remained oblivious as Nao wordlessly watched Souta from the other side of the desk.

“Hey,” he finally said, breaking the silence.

“Whoa!” Souta jolted at the sound of Nao’s voice, his heart racing in his chest after being pulled out of his daydream so suddenly. “You scared the shit out of me!”

Nao let out a small laugh as he rounded the table and took a seat on the other side of it, near to where Souta was standing. Taking a couple of steps back, Souta plonked down on the table, sitting about two feet away from Nao.

“What were you looking at?” Nao asked, turning to place his bag in front of his chair on the desk.

“Hmm…” Souta let out a relaxed breath. “Nothing, really. Just the students leaving.”

“Are you jealous of them since you’re stuck here studying with me?” Nao laughed, almost half-heartedly. 

“Nah.” Souta continued to look out of the window at the sky, the pink light illuminating him and Nao as they sat together. The sun felt warm on his skin. “I actually feel pretty good about it.”

Souta sat in silence next to Nao, taking in the beauty of the sky through the window. As he turned to Nao to ask about his exam results, he caught Nao’s eyes watching him. The breath caught in his throat, and his heart threatened to escape his ribcage for a split second. It only took a moment for Nao to look away, but Souta’s heart would not stop thumping. 

“Congratulations on your exam results, by the way.” Nao was looking down at his hands in his lap as he spoke.

“You— You saw?” A flush spread across Souta’s face as he watched Nao’s contemplative expression shift into a warm smile.

“Yup. You did really well.”

Souta could feel his brows rising in the centre. He blinked away the tears that had begun to form in the corner of his eyes. Nao’s compliment made him feel proud, like he could actually accomplish something.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcom—” 

“No, thank you,” Souta repeated, cutting Nao off mid sentence. “Thank you for teaching me and taking me seriously. I know I can be a bit of a pain to teach but you've always been patient with me.” 

“It’s not like it’s a big deal—” Nao cut himself off. Souta could see from the corner of his eye that Nao had turned to face him, but he couldn’t bring himself to look up. Who knows what kind of expression I have right now. The two of them sat in silence for a moment. 

“Really, it’s fine,” Nao finally managed. Souta looked over towards him, but Nao had shifted his gaze to the window once again. “You did the hard work.”

“I guess you’re right,” Souta said with a cheeky smile. 

“And you’re not that hard to teach. You are smart when you put your mind to it.”

Souta didn’t respond, anything he thought to say would have just ruined the moment. Why is this suddenly a ‘moment’?! I’ve lost my mind. Souta let out a sigh, standing up from the desk. “Speaking of, I should probably actually do my homework.”

Nao hummed in agreement, slipping off the desk and taking his seat across from Souta, and the two of them began their work.

*

Souta and Keisuke had decided to stay behind after school on this specific day to do some self study, Keisuke had insisted it was important for Souta to keep on top of his studies even when they had no homework. Booo. Souta also wanted an excuse to stick around after school to try and get Keisuke to agree more easily to his plans.

“Do you want to go to see a movie with me and Nao tonight?” Souta asked, slipping his books into his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. 

“What movie?”

“I dunno, whatever is on I guess. Please?” He put his hands together and bowed his head in front of Keisuke. I really don’t want to be alone with Nao right now..!

“Hmm… fine, fine, but something is seriously wrong with you right now.” Keisuke grabbed his bag from the side of his desk and the two started walking towards the exit. “You’ve been acting weird since karaoke.”

“Whaaaat, you’re imagining things.”

“And all of a sudden you’re on a first name basis?” Keisuke looked at Souta with a raised eyebrow and squinted eyes. “Suspicious.”

“Alright, stop it. It’s not that big of a deal, we just get on now so wha—” Souta stopped mid sentence after spotting Nao at the end of the hallway. He was waiting, back pressed against the wall, his arms folded and headphones on. As they reached him, Souta gave Nao a small wave, gesturing towards Keisuke. Nao pulled his headphones off, placing them around his neck. 

“I got Keisuke!” Souta smiled, not noticing Nao’s disgruntled expression as he looked towards Keisuke. The expression wasn’t long-lived, quickly becoming neutral as he greeted the two of them.

“Hey, what's up, Himura.”

“Keisuke is fine, can I call you Nao?”

“Yeah, of course.” Nao shifted his bag further onto his shoulder. “Shall we go?” 

Souta looked towards Keisuke as if to say See!! It’s not weird!! gesturing dramatically, but silently, with his hands as they followed Nao down the steps.

After Nao got the tickets, and Souta bought the snacks and drinks, the three of them made their way to the seats. Nao led the way followed by Keisuke and then Souta. Keisuke looked down at his own ticket then quickly snatched Souta’s ticket out of his hand as he followed closely behind.

“Huh, what are you–” Souta began, but stopped as he looked up to see Keisuke with a small smile, his pointer finger raised to his lips. 

“Sh!”

Souta looked down at his new ticket.

C-13.

Keisuke shuffled down the row leading to their seats. He looked at the number next to the seat he was standing in front of and gestured towards it.

“Ah, my ticket is C-12. Souta, let’s swap.”

“Huh??” Souta stood, looking down again at the ticket in his hand, back to Keisuke and then past him to Nao who held a confused expression as he watched.

“Sorry, I’m a bit of a stickler for that kind of thing. C’mon, swap.” Keisuke shuffled past Souta, plonking himself down in his seat, C-12. Souta, now standing in front of C-13, looked across to Nao who’s seat was C-14. Nao took his seat, then looked up to Souta who was still standing with a dumbfounded look on his face. The lights clicked off one by one, and the room fell into partial darkness. 

“What are you doing? Sit down.” Nao picked up a piece of popcorn, taking a bite. 

Souta suddenly felt nervous. This felt too much like a date. Then he heard Keisuke shuffle behind him. Oh yeah, nevermind.

After the movie had finished and the credits had begun rolling, Souta quickly excused himself to the toilet. The litre of soda he had drunk during the movie had been threatening him for the last ten minutes. After finishing up in the toilet, he stopped on the upper balcony at the entrance of the cinema, leaning over as he spotted Nao and Keisuke standing just below him. He was about to yell down, but heard Keisuke start talking.

“You and Souta seem to be getting on well, now.”

“I guess so,” Nao replied. “I don’t know why he’s made a habit of coming to see me, I think he just likes to study in peace in the club room…” 

“I think that’s thanks to you, as well, you know.” Keisuke let out a small laugh.

Keisuke! Shut up!

“Huh?” Nao turned towards Keisuke. Souta really wished he could see Nao’s face.

“He’s always struggled with studying, and he can be kinda hard to teach. But he seemed really proud when you told him he did well. He wouldn't shut up about it, actually...”

“Hm… did he really…?” 

Souta blushed as he heard Keisuke giving away his secrets, he couldn’t see either of their faces so it was hard to judge how Nao actually felt about that comment, but still. He stopped eavesdropping and hopped down the steps to meet back up with his two friends.

“Hey!” he yelled out just as he reached them.

“What took you so long?” Keisuke looked at Souta with a raised eyebrow and somewhat of a smirk, the kind of smirk that only Souta would recognise as an I told you so smirk. Souta returned a raised eyebrow, a slight hand gesture and a shake of his head which Keisuke would be able to read as told me what, punk!?

“Do you guys wanna go get food?” Nao turned to the two of them. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing, nothing.” Keisuke let out a chuckle as he returned the playful push that Souta had just given him. “I’m up for it, where do you want to go?”

The three of them decided on a simple family restaurant not too far from them. After ordering their meals, Nao excused himself to the bathroom.

“I don’t know why he couldn’t just go at the cinema like I did…” Souta couldn’t stop his eyes from following Nao as he made his way across the restaurant and out of sight. He turned to Keisuke, spotting that all too familiar look on his face. “What now?” he sighed.

“Hmm, nothing.” Keisuke had his chin resting on his open palm. 

“Yeah, whatever,” Souta mumbled, taking a sip of his drink. “I didn’t want to know, anyway.”

“You really want to know?” Keisuke retorted.

“Nope…” A moment passed. “Okay, fine, what.”

“Well, first let me ask you; did Nao ask us to come to the cinema tonight, or you?”

“Huh? Why does that matter, just tell me,” Souta complained. 

“You tell me, and I will!” Keisuke looked way too pleased with himself.

“Well, he asked me if I wanted to go, and I asked if you could come…” Souta swirled his drink with his straw, the ice cubes clinking against the inside of the glass as they moved. “So…?”

“Alright then.” Keisuke sat back in his seat, looking over Souta’s shoulder to the other side of the cafe. “Well, we’re out of time.” 

Souta didn’t have time to ask what he was talking about before Nao returned to his seat, pulling out the chair next to Souta. It wasn’t long before their food arrived and the three of them began tucking into their meals.

“That is the most ‘you’ meal I have ever seen.” Nao laughed, gesturing towards Souta’s plate. 

Souta looked down at his meal. On his plate was a small, but well stacked burger with cheese, a large helping of fries and a colourful side salad with cute kazarigiri made from different salad vegetables. Souta picked one up, a star made from a yellow bell pepper and looked at it. “I’m a man with high standards, what can I say?”

“Yeah, high standards, and that's a glorified kids meal.” Nao let out another small laugh through his nose, a smile appearing on his lips.

“At least I’m not eating like an old man!” Souta pointed directly at the bowl in front of Nao. “Who eats stew in the middle of summer?”

“It’s a hearty meal, at least I won’t die young, I’m going to live forever—” Nao paused, somehow taken aback by his own words. A small blush appeared on his cheeks, but Souta had no idea why. “Anyway, eat your stupid food.”

Keisuke laughed from the other side of the table, almost choking on his own food. “You guys are so dramatic.”

*

Another study session in the club room. Souta had his books splayed out in front of himself, taking up the majority of the table. He had decided since he was going to take studying more seriously, that he would try to study every subject he had that day for 30 minutes. It felt like his brain was melting just looking at the pile of textbooks in front of him.

“Souta?” After being in silence for the past fifteen minutes, the sudden noise made Souta jump slightly. That, and he still wasn’t totally used to Nao using his given name yet.

“Hm?” Souta replied, pretending to not have felt his heartbeat speeding up.

“Can you… come somewhere with me next Saturday?”

“Next Saturday?” Souta pretended to ponder, but he knew he was going to agree regardless. “Yeah, sure… Where?”

“I’ll tell you later.” Nao buried his head back into his books, continuing with his homework. “Oh, and Keisuke can’t come this time.”

Eek!

Nao didn’t bring it up again until the Saturday morning before they were supposed to be meeting; he had texted Souta to be ready by 10am and to meet outside a specific cafe. It was around a 20 minute bus ride from Souta’s house, but he didn’t mind.

Souta stood outside the cafe, checking his phone every two minutes just in case Nao had decided to cancel at the last minute. He swayed on his heels trying to quell the anxiety reaching up through his chest and into his throat.

“Ueshima-kun?” a strange voice called out to him. A young woman was standing in front of him, he didn’t recognise her but she felt familiar somehow.

“Yes..?” Souta replied. Am I supposed to know who this is? Her eyes are…

“Hi!” She smiled, holding her bag in front of her with both hands. “Sorry, sorry! I’m Emi, nice to meet you.”

Souta stood in shock for a moment before what she said had fully registered in his brain. “Emi? You’re… Nao’s sister?”

“Yup!” She continued to smile at him, bowing her head slightly. “Nao is waiting for us, shall we go?”

Waiting for us? I still don’t even know why I’m here…

The two set off, walking down the street and up towards a wooded area with a grand archway at the entrance. After a little while, Souta found the courage to speak up again.

“Erm… I don’t actually know what’s happening today…” he admitted, ruffling the back of his hair with an awkward smile.

“Nao didn’t tell you?” Emi looked to Souta with surprise, and Souta shook his head. “It’s… the anniversary of our Mum’s death.” 

Souta’s heart lurched in his chest, and his breath faltered momentarily. Huh? 

“I don’t think Nao has visited since I moved away for university.” Emi let out a dry laugh, but held a melancholic expression. “I feel awful for leaving, and for not coming back, but I can’t stand this place.” She paused for a moment, adding “Sorry, I hope this isn’t too much for you.” 

“Nao doesn’t tell me a lot about this kind of thing so it’s… interesting to hear about it.” Souta looked down, kicking a small rock on the edge of the path as he passed it. “He didn’t even really tell me about his mum, or what happened with you.”

“How did you find out about it?”

“He…” Souta suddenly felt embarrassed thinking about the day that Nao played him the song that Emi and his mum had performed, “Well, I guess he still hasn’t said much about you… but he showed me the song his— your mum made for him…”

Emi stopped momentarily, her eyebrows rose so high you could barely see them beneath her thick fringe. “He really showed you that?”

Souta paused, a little confused. “Huh? Is that…”

“That's… big, you must be pretty important to Nao.”

Souta could feel his cheeks flush, and his heart flutter just a tiny bit in his chest, a giddy smile appearing on his face despite the circumstances. Important, huh? 

They continued walking, the trees lining the cobbled path swaying gently in the afternoon breeze. Souta had never actually been into a graveyard before, he had only seen them while driving or walking past. It felt eerie, but peaceful. The rows upon rows of tall grey gravestones stacking further into the distance, the glare of the midday sun too bright for Souta to look too far ahead without having to cover his eyes. He didn’t notice as Nao popped out from behind a tall stone structure, and stared at the two of them with furrowed brows.

“You took so long to fetch him, Emi,” he muttered, glancing at Souta before quickly looking away.

“Hey, you could have gotten him yourself, so don’t complain too much!” Emi watched Nao with a smile, ruffling his hair slightly as she spoke. “You’ve gotten so big, I still can’t believe it.”

“I already told you…” Nao grumbled in response. “And you would know if you visited more often.”

“Aw, don’t say that, you’ll make me sad,” she said, then turned to face Souta. “Is he always this needy?” 

“Needy!?” Nao yelled, pushing Emi’s hand away from his head.

As Emi shushed Nao, Souta couldn’t help but smile watching the two of them interact. It was hard to imagine him being a little brother, but now I see them together it totally makes sense. He felt happy seeing a new side to Nao.

“And what are you smiling about?” Nao snapped at Souta, taking him out of his daydream.

“Hey, hey, don’t be mean to Ueshima-kun, he’s only here because you wanted him to be.”

“Yeah, whatever, I asked him before I knew you’d be coming back...” Nao grumbled. ”Anyway, It’s this way.”

Nao led the way down one of the many unassuming gravel paths that steered away from the main cobbles. The tall trees gave way to small decorative shrubberies and flower beds with yellow and orange flowers. Some graves had pots in front of them filled with beautiful flower arrangements, some brightly coloured and extravagant, others simple and understated with wildflowers and foliage filling the vases. Souta could feel the air becoming tense as they continued walking. Neither Nao nor Emi were speaking now, and Souta could see Nao’s expression shifting to be more and more uncomfortable the closer they got.

Suddenly Nao stopped in front of one of the stones. He looked down upon it with a grim expression, his hands gripping the bottom edge of his jacket as he stood.

“I’ve already talked to her, Nao. We’ll give you some space.” Emi ushered Souta a little bit further down the path, stopping them underneath a small tree.

“I only managed to get time away from work at the last minute so I could visit today. I guess it’s lucky that Nao has someone he would trust enough to bring here.” Emi glanced towards Souta. She had positioned them with the tree behind them, presumably to give Nao some extra privacy. “Sorry, this must be awkward for you.” 

“It’s alright.” Souta let out a small sigh. “I can’t say this is what I expected when Nao invited me out, though.”

“He probably didn’t want to put you off,” she let out a half-hearted laugh. “I mean, I’m sure you’d rather go to an arcade with him, but this is an important day for Nao.”

Souta couldn’t help but feel a little guilty about his expectations for the day, not that he really knew what to expect, but Emi was right. “Yeah, I’m glad he felt comfortable enough to ask me to come here. I hope he tells me more about how he’s feeling, though…”

“I’m sure he will, when he’s ready.” Emi plucked a fallen leaf out of Souta’s hair as she talked, fixing his collar with one final motion.

After a few moments, Nao made his way around the tree to greet them.

“Hey,” Nao mumbled. He didn’t look like he’d been crying, but the few sniffles he let out as he stood in front of them told another story. “Emi, do you have the flowers?”

“Yeah, I have them.” Emi dug around in her bag for a moment, then produced a small but impressive bouquet of purple and blue flowers. She handed them to Souta as she continued digging for something else in her bag.

“Daphne and iris…?” Souta said to himself as he flipped over the handwritten label. 

“Daphne flowers signify immortality among other things,” Nao said, his gaze fixed to the bouquet in Souta’s hand. “and irises are for courage.”

“Oh…” Souta looked down into the bouquet. “They are beautiful.”

Nao’s expression was a strange mix of longing and bitterness. His brows turned up ever so slightly in the middle, and his lips were pressed into a thin line. He looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

“Ah, here it is!” Emi pulled out a small polaroid camera from her bag. Nao’s expression shifted to a concerned one, and he began to protest but Emi cut him off. “No, no. I’m not taking a photo of you, don’t worry.” She gestured towards the grave. “Nao, put the flowers in the vase over there, I’m going to take a photo for my memory book.”

Nao carefully placed the flowers down, rearranging them slightly a few times, then he stepped back again. Emi took a photo, then another. She handed one to Nao with a smile. “You can have one, too, Nao.”

Nao looked like he was ready to cry, but he just about managed to suppress it. He simply nodded in response, tucking the photo into the inside pocket of his jacket.

“It’s getting cold, huh?” Emi gave Souta another comfortable smile. “I’ll give you a lift home, Ueshima-kun.”

Souta stepped out of the car after reaching the front gate of his house, he looked back towards the car to wave them off but Nao had rolled down his window. 

“Thank you for coming with me,” he said with a subdued sniffle. 

“And thank you for taking care of Nao!” Emi called from the driver's side, startling Nao.

“Wha— Shut up, Emi!!” Nao yelled back.

Souta laughed, giving them both a small wave. “No problem!”

Souta watched the little car speed off.  He smiled to himself, he felt accomplished.

“Souta!” A yell from the front door. “You told me you’d only be out for a few hours, it’s already dinner time!” his mum called.

“Yeah, yeah, sorry.” He couldn’t bring himself to stop watching as the car disappeared around the corner. “I’m coming.”

*

The summer months had flown by, and the warm weather was giving way to orange, yellow and red leaves along with a bitterness to the breeze. 

It was finally the day of Nao and his bandmates' performance, Souta had just finished his shift at the café his class had put on. The theme was supposed to be ‘The Jungle’, which basically just involved everyone wearing animal ears. Souta was a tiger.

I can’t believe it’s already 5pm… Souta had yet to explore the school festival after such a busy day, one of the classes down the hall had put on a taiyaki stand and Souta had headed straight there after finishing his shift. He heard a familiar voice coming from the taiyaki shop as he approached.

“Oh, hey Ueshima-kun!” Inoue was dressed in an apron and a bandana as she mixed the taiyaki batter. “Are you all finished with your shift at the cafe?”

“Huh? How did you know?”

“Keisuke told me…” she said with a slight smile. Her cheeks flushed a little as she continued, “Speaking of… is he finished as well?”

Damn. If I still had a crush on her like in my first year I would be so jealous right now.

“No, unfortunately not…” Souta let out a small laugh. “He ended up having to switch shifts with someone halfway through, so he’s still got an hour left.”

“Aw… that’s a shame.” She handed the bowl of batter over to her classmate who was cooking the taiyaki on the pan. 

“Since when did you get so close?” Oops. That was a little too direct. “I mean, not that it’s weird or anything, I just didn’t realise!”

“Oh, no it’s fine! He’s helped me study a few times recently, that's all. He shared his notes with me before the exams.” She flashed him a cheeky smile. “He’s really smart!”

“He is.” Souta returned the smile. “Oh, I’ll take two anko taiyaki, by the way!”

“Sure thing!” Souta handed Inoue two 100 yen coins, and she handed a note to the taiyaki chef. “I heard you and Iseya-kun have gotten closer, too.”

“Oh… I mean…” Souta trailed off. “I guess so.”

“Iseya-kun has seemed a lot more laid-back recently, I bet you have a lot to do with that,” Inoue said, wrapping the fresh taiyaki’s up with a paper bag and handing them to Souta. “Are you going to go to the concert his club is putting on?”

“Ah, yeah! Actually, I’m about to head over there now,” he said, checking his phone with one hand and grabbing the taiyaki with the other. “See you later!”

It somehow had gotten to 5:30pm and Souta still wanted to visit a few more places before he headed over to the hall where Nao and his friends were playing. Damn. The taiyaki are going to get cold… I should have got them later… oh well.

He visited a few more classrooms before heading to the hall where he was meeting Nao: A haunted house which was more of a haunted storage room, a football game where he won a small plushie, and a handmade comic book stall. It felt lonely to wander the halls alone, but every room was so bustling it also felt nice to have the freedom to go wherever he wanted. 

Souta checked his phone. 6:15pm. He made his way over towards the hall, going around to the side door that Nao had told him about and knocking on it.

After a few moments, the door opened slightly and Souta could see Chiba peering out through the gap. She quickly opened the door with her arms raised above her head. “Ueshima-kun! We were waiting for you!”

“Huh? It’s only six twe—” Before he could finish his sentence, Chiba had grabbed his arm and dragged him inside, slamming the door behind him.

He found himself in the storage area behind the main stage, the huge red curtains that separated the room from the main stage shifted as Imai peeked through to say hello. “Hey, Ueshima-kun! How’s it going? Are you having a good time at the festival?”

Souta gave her a nod and a “Yup!”, glancing around to try and see if he could spot Nao.

“‘You looking for Nao-kun? He’s just through here.” Imai walked over, grabbing Souta’s hand and tugging him through to a separate room where Nao was tuning his guitar. “Nao-kun, I fetched Souta for you!” And with a grin, she quietly closed the door behind Souta, leaving the two of them alone.

“Heeey,” Souta said, sidling towards Nao, who had just pulled out his phone to check the time.

Am I early? Did he not expect me to turn up? Am I getting in the way?!

“I can’t believe it’s 6:25 already…” Nao let out a nervous sigh. “I don’t feel ready yet.”

Oh, I guess he's just a little nervous. That made Souta feel a little better.

“You’re a pro, what could go wrong?” Souta pulled up a chair and sat down.

“Cute ears, by the way,” Nao said without looking up, continuing to pluck the strings one by one, tweaking the tuning keys as he went.

“Huh??” Souta reached up, feeling the small orange headband and fuzzy ears he had sat on his head. His face flushed a hot red. Have I been wearing these… the whole time? “Ugh, whatever.” He quickly whipped the ears off, shoving them in his bag and taking out the taiyakis. “I got these for us, I don’t know if you already had one, they’re from Inoue-chan’s class.”

“Hm?” Nao finally looked up from the guitar, eyeing the taiyaki in Souta’s hand. “Taiyaki? Thank you…”

“Sorry, they’re a little cold now…”

“It’s alright.” Nao took a small bite of the taiyaki, letting out a sigh. “I was getting kinda hungry actually, thanks.”

“No problem…” Souta watched Nao as he ate, unable to shift his gaze until Nao looked up and their eyes met. He then scrambled to unwrap his taiyaki and took a huge bite. “Are you nearly ready for your concert?”

“I still don’t want to go on stage,” Nao complained, taking another small bite before speaking again. “But yeah, we’re nearly ready.”

They sat in silence as they ate, Souta couldn’t help but steal glances at Nao. He took one final bite of his taiyaki, scrunching up the paper and throwing it back in his bag. Nao held his taiyaki in his mouth to free his hands up, twisting the tuning keys a few more times as he plucked a few strings. 

“What are you doing?” Souta laughed. “I can hold that for you.” Souta reached over slightly, gesturing for Nao to give him the taiyaki.

Nao stared for a second, then handed the taiyaki to him. “Thanks…”

The room fell into silence while Nao focused on his guitar, save a few twangs and strums as he made his adjustments. Souta watched the focus on Nao’s face furrowing his brows in the middle. He kept making small comments under his breath every time he moved onto the next string. It was almost mesmerising how passionate Nao clearly was about music, or his guitar at least. He really is good look— 

“The stage is ready!! Let’s go and practice, Nao-kun!”

Nao jumped slightly at the noise, then without a word looked down and strummed his guitar a couple more times. “Sure, I’m ready.” He stood up, grabbing the taiyaki from Souta’s hand and finishing it in two final bites before gesturing for Souta to follow them.

The practice went by in a flash, they played four songs in total, all but one Souta didn’t recognise: Love of my life by Queen. I think I have heard him listen to this one before in the club room, it’s slow but it’s catchy.

It wasn't long until the musical equipment was fully set up. Souta was helping the other volunteers lay out a few rows of chairs opposite the stage, brush the stage floor and put up the banners on the back wall. Nao, Chiba and Imai had gone back behind the stage to make the final touches to their performance, and to change outfits. 

After completing his tasks, Souta felt lost in what to do next. Remembering the performance Nao’s club had put on last year, Souta wondered if he would feel any different watching them perform now he and Nao were friends. 

I should go and find Keisuke.

After joining back up with Keisuke and Inoue, who had just happened to bump into each other when Keisuke finished their shift — at least that's what Inoue claimed — the three of them headed to the main hall. They shuffled their way through the crowd and found a cosy spot.

“Hey Ueshima-kun!” A familiar voice called out from the row behind them. It was Tamura and a few of her friends.

“Oh, hi Tamura-chan!” Souta said with a smile. “Have you had a good day?”

“The best!” Tamura gave him a wide smile accompanied with a peace sign.

Before Souta even had a moment to think, the lights on the stage flicked on, one by one lighting the two girls at the front of the stage, along with a volunteer from a different club to play drums. Nao wasn’t visible, but Souta knew to look for him at the back of the stage.

Sure enough, Souta spotted him at the back, barely visible past the blinding spotlights.

He turned to Keisuke and Inoue. “Look, you can totally see him!” Souta said, pointing Nao out at the back of the stage.

Keisuke squinted, trying his best to spot Nao behind the lights. “I don't know how you spotted him the first time, I can barely see him!”

“I can kinda see him, you have good eyes, Ueshima-kun!” Inoue smiled.

Suddenly, the blare of feedback from the microphone stunned everyone in the crowd.

“Oops! Sorry about that!!” Imai yelled out. “We're the music club, and we have a few songs to play for you!” 

The crowd cheered with as much passion as it could muster, and the band began playing their first song.

Even though Souta didn't fully know most of the songs, something about the fact that Nao had picked the set list made them feel familiar to him. Nao had his head leaned down, concentrating on his guitar for the first few songs, but when the last song came on, he looked out into the crowd. Surely there's no way Nao can see through those lights, Souta thought, but the idea that Nao could see him standing in the crowd made his heartbeat quicken.

“They're really good!!” Inoue yelled to Souta with a big smile, and Souta nodded.

“They really are.”

After the performance Souta told Inoue and Keisuke to go on without him so he could wait for Nao, telling himself it was to give them some space. It wasn’t long before the door on the side of the building swung open and Imai and Chiba stepped out, wafting themselves with fans.

“It’s SO hot in there!” Imai puffed, billowing her shirt up and down to get some air to her skin. 

“I’m gonna go get some icecream, you guys coming?” Chiba called behind her to Imai and Nao, but Imai pointed directly to Souta without responding.

“Ueshima-kun! What did you think of our show?!”

Souta suddenly felt lost for words as he and Nao’s eyes connected. “Erm…”

“Earth to Ueshima-kun…” Imai waved her hand in front of Souta’s face. 

“Yes! Sorry! It was really good, you guys are amazing.”

“Yeah, yeah, we know,” Chiba said with a smug smile. “Anyway, we will leave Nao to you, unless you want to get ice cream with me and Imai?”

Souta looked towards Nao waiting for his answer. “I’m just gonna get some water, first,” Nao said, gesturing for Souta to follow him. The two pairs said their goodbyes and went in opposite directions.

“You were really good.” Souta nudged Nao as they walked. “All of you were.” 

“Thanks…” Nao paused for a moment. “Was that Inoue you were with?”

“Huh?” Inoue was the last thing on his mind at this moment, so the comment surprised him. “Oh, yeah… do you know her?”

“Vaguely.” Nao looked up towards the sky, the sun had set by this point and the stars were bright. 

Why does this feel so tense all of a sudden? Souta felt a pang of anxiety in his chest. Wait, is he jealous? Does he have a thing for—

“The stars look nice tonight.” 

Souta followed Nao’s gaze up to the sky. The dark blue with scatterings of twinkling lights stretched far into the distance, and the horizon shone with a faint purple glow where the sun had breached it. Souta once again felt lost for words. He desperately wanted to ask Nao why he had asked about Inoue. Did he know her? Why was that the first thing on his mind after the concert ended? Does he like her…? Ouch. Souta’s heart throbbed in his chest at the thought. This isn’t good. 

The pair walked into the main building, and Nao grabbed two bottles of water from a vending machine, handing one to Souta as they continued. They still hadn’t really spoken, the only thing that was circling Souta’s mind was the idea that Nao had a massive crush on Inoue, and how much that sucked. Even though he only had one tiny shred of evidence to prove it.

“Do you want to meet back up with Keisuke… and Inoue-chan?”

“I'm alright,” Nao said curtly. “But you can if you want to.”

“No, I'm okay.” Souta took a swig of his water, realising just how thirsty he was after his long day. The fact that Nao wasn't excited to hang out with Inoue made Souta a little happy, even if he felt silly that it even made him happy. “Are you heading home soon?”

“Hmm… yeah…” Nao looked gloomy at the realisation. 

“Do you want to come to my house?” The words slipped out before Souta had a chance to stop them. He stood in his own stunned silence for a moment, hoping the ground would swallow him up for suggesting something so stup—

“Sure.” 

Sure… “Really??” Souta spluttered, his shocked reaction probably very obvious to Nao.

“Yeah.” Nao nodded, Souta suddenly felt under-prepared. 

*

Souta quickly tapped out a text message to his mother.

Souta☘︎: “Hi mum, can I please bring a friend to stay over tonight?”

Mum♡: “Of course, Souta. A little more warning next time though please!!”

Souta☘︎: “Thanks mum!!!”

Yes! I probably should have asked before I invited him over… oh well!

Souta didn't know exactly why, but Nao didn't like taking the train. He had gathered a few hints from comments Nao had made, and how he always took the bus even though the train was quicker. He now had to figure out how to take the bus back to his house. Luckily for him, Nao already knew most of the bus routes, so finding their stop wasn't too difficult.

“You can borrow some pajamas of mine, you're only a little taller than me so it should be fine— oh, and we have spare toothbrushes so don't worry!” Souta could feel himself rambling on, but couldn't stop himself. “Oh and my mum has put some stuff in the fridge for us to reheat when we get home if you're hungry— are you hungry?” He took a breath. “Totally fine if not, though. Do you want to watch a movie?”

Souta didn't notice that Nao was watching with a comfortable smile as he rambled on. Cutting in with a “Yep” and a “Thanks” when needed, and finally ending on a “I think I'd fall asleep if you put a movie on, so we can do that another time.”

Another time?! Souta felt giddy at the thought, and all of his anxiety about Nao potentially having a crush on Inoue went out of the window, until he just thought about it again just now. 

Souta was, however, feeling brave.

“I think… Inoue-chan has a crush on Keisuke.” Souta said, looking closely at Nao's expression as he spoke. 

“Yeah?” Nao said without any hesitation, then paused, adding, “Is that a good thing?”

“Well, yeah! I mean, I'm all for it. Keisuke's a great guy.”

“Oh, that's good then.” Nao wore a very faint smile as he spoke. “This is our bus, come on.”

The two of them rode the bus in silence. Nao watched the buildings pass by out of the window, and Souta stared down the middle of the bus questioning how he even got into this position. The bus journey didn’t take long, and before Souta even had time to prepare they had stepped off the bus and started the five minute walk to his house.

“I’m hoooome,” he shouted as he entered through the front door.

“Souta!!” an excited voice called from the living room, followed by thundering steps as Riku sprinted towards the genkan. He stopped just as he swung around the doorframe, staring at Nao, then shifting his gaze to Souta. “Who’s that?”

“Riku, don’t be rude,” Souta’s mother called from the kitchen. She peered through the doorway to greet the two of them. “Come on in! I have some leftovers in the fridge if you’re hungry! Oh, and keep the volume down, Riku and Iori are going to bed soon!”

“Okay, thanks mum!” Souta said, quickly gesturing for Nao to follow him upstairs.

Even in Souta’s room you could hear the chaos unfolding downstairs as his siblings intently protested having to go to bed.

“Sorry about that…” Souta unrolled the futon onto the floor, grabbing a blanket and pillow from inside his wardrobe. “I’ll take the futon, you can sleep in the bed— the sheets are clean! I changed them yesterday…” 

Nao watched Souta as he set up his makeshift bed on the floor, “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I changed them myself I prom—”

“I mean about me taking the bed,” Nao interrupted with an amused smile. “I don’t mind sleeping on the floor.” 

“Oh! Yeah, it’s fine, I kinda like sleeping on a futon, it reminds me of being a kid.”

“Sure…” Nao glanced around at the room, taking in his surroundings. “Your room is…”

Souta held up his hand to Nao. “Stop, don’t make fun of me…” 

“I’m not, I’m not,” Nao said with a smile. “It’s very ‘you’, that’s all.”

“Hmm, sure.” Souta looked around at his room covered with posters, peeling stickers and glow-in-the-dark stars.

Looking up, Nao spotted the stars on the ceiling. “I always wanted glow-in-the-dark stars when I was a kid.”

“I have loads… you can take some with you if you want,” Souta said with a laugh, but Nao looked at him with genuine excitement.

“Really??”

“Yeah, of course.” Souta’s heart leapt into his throat. Even he gets excited about silly stuff like that? Cute.

“I can still hear your siblings," Nao let out a laugh. “Do they always kick up such a fuss at bed time?”

“I think it’s because I got back so late,” Souta sighed. “They’re usually in bed by now.”

A knock on the door, followed by a small voice. “Riku wants to say goodnight,” Iori called from the hallway.

Souta got up and opened the door slightly, looking out into the hall. “Goodnight Iori, goodnight Riku.” Iori had already retreated into her room and was poking her head into the hallway to watch.

“Goodnight Souta!” Riku said with a smile, “Goodnight Souta’s friend!”

Souta turned to Nao with an expectant smile, waiting for his response. “Goodnight…?” Nao said with a bewildered look on his face, making Souta laugh out loud as he said his final goodnights to his siblings and parents before closing the door.

“I guess we better go to bed soon, it’s getting kinda late.” Souta sighed, plonking himself down on the futon.

“Yeah, I guess we should, I’m pretty tired.” 

After getting ready for bed, Souta flicked the lights off and the room was dimly lit in green from the glow-in-the-dark stars. Souta tucked himself into the covers, trying his best to stop thinking about the fact his crush was literally in his bed right now.

“Today was fun,” Nao said, staring at the ceiling- assumedly at the glow-in-the-dark-stars that were dotted across the ceiling. “Thanks for coming to the show.”

“Yeah, of course! You were even better than last year.”

Nao turned slightly to face Souta, then back to the ceiling. “Thanks…” 

“Ahh… I’m falling asleep… we should probably go to sleep.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Nao let out a small laugh. “Goodnight, Souta.”

Urk. Souta really wished that Nao just saying his name didn’t have such an effect on his heart, it couldn’t be good for his health.

“Goodnight!”

After settling down to sleep, Souta had his eyes tightly shut in hopes that it would help him fall asleep, even though his heart was still overreacting. After what felt like an eternity, he heard Nao shift on the bed above, but Souta didn't open his eyes. After a moment there was another shuffle of bed sheets, a little closer this time. Suddenly, something touched his hair, moving it out of his face slightly. It took every cell in Souta's body to not flinch at the movement, the thought of letting Nao know he was awake right now felt like a terrible idea. Eventually Nao turned back over with a sigh.

Souta could feel every cell in his body vibrating.

Huh? Did that actually just happen?

*

Another day in the club room, which was now more like a study room since the school festival had been and gone. Souta looked down at the pile of textbooks with post-it notes and index stickers poking out of all sides of them and let out a heavy sigh. He stretched his arms out in front of himself and slid his head down to reach the table with a soft thunk.

“You look like a cat, Ueshima-kun,” Chiba snickered as she opened the door and saw him slumped face down on the table. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeahhhh…” Souta let out a heavy sigh and melted a little more into the table. “I just have so much work to do.”

“I feel ya.” Imai gave an overdramatic sigh as she slid into the room next to Chiba, tying her jumper around her waist.

“Do you guys go everywhere together..?” Souta questioned, looking between the two of them.

“Yeah, and what about it??” Chiba barked, then a sly smile spread across her face. “But you can't complain, you've been stuck to Nao-kun like glue recently. You guys besties now or what?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Souta let out an irritated sigh, he was always accused of being too close to Nao and it was starting to bug him. Why does everyone care so much?

“Don’t forget Nao invited him out a few weekends ago!” Imai added. “He didn’t say why, though.”

“What did you think it was, a date??” Chiba nudged Souta with her elbow, letting out a snort-laugh after seeing his flushed expression.

“What— Why would I think that?” Souta said, frowning. 

“You did, didn’t you?” Imai poked Souta’s arm.

“Huh?? No— What— What are you—” he stammered, whipping his head around to make sure Nao hadn’t suddenly reappeared. 

“Uwahhh no wayyy!” Chiba scream-whispered, covering her mouth with her hands.

“Wait, no!!” Souta pleaded, waving his hands in front of himself. There was no point trying to hide it, his face fully red at this point and his overreaction had seemingly given them all the ammo they needed. Whether they had actually thought that he thought it was a date didn’t matter, they both seemed to just enjoy teasing him.

“Okay, okay, that's enough,” Chiba laughed. “We’re just joking, your reactions are hilarious.”

The door slid open with a clack, and in walked Nao who was just removing his headphones. He took one look at the three of them, and with a sigh he put his headphones back on. He took his seat and pulled out his textbooks to start working without saying a word. 

Souta glared at Chiba and Imai, then shifted his focus back to the books in front of him, trying his best to stop his heart from thumping in his chest. He blinked a few times, staring down at the page in front of him.

What the hell just happened?!

*

“Since you’ve decided to abandon me at the bottom ranks of the class, you owe me,” Takeo complained as he stood in front of Souta’s desk. “You’ve been studying with Iseya, haven’t you?”

“Huh?” Souta stared up at him. Why does everyone know that I study with Nao? “I mean… Yeah? I still have a lot to catch up on, though, it’s not like he does everything for me.”

“Traitor.” Takeo stared down at Souta, not breaking eye contact.

“Takeo…” Keisuke interrupted. “If you want to study together, just ask.”

“I’m not asking him!” Takeo pointed accusatorily at Souta.

“What! I’m not studying with him either, Keisuke! Not after he called me a traitor.” Souta leaned back in his chair, folding his arms.

“Souta,” Keisuke commanded, making Souta instantly lose all will to deny him. “Do you want to study together?”

“... Yes,” Souta finally managed after a moment of contemplation.

“Takeo.” Keisuke turned his attention. “Do you want to study together?”

“...Yes.” 

“Souta, ask Nao if he wants to, as well. I’ll ask Inoue-chan.”

Now that that’s decided…

After organising a time and a place, the six of them, including Saya who decided to tag along, made their way to a family restaurant. Takeo had suggested a karaoke bar, but was shot down instantly… for obvious reasons. 

Souta took his seat first, shuffling across the booth and nestling himself in the corner. Nao followed closely, taking a seat next to Souta and grabbing his textbooks and workbooks from his bag.

“So what did you guys want to study?” Keisuke asked, stacking up his books next to himself on the table.

“Everything,” Takeo sighed, then added, “But biology is my worst at the moment, though…”

“Me too,” Saya complained, flipping her textbook open. 

“Okay, I can help you guys with that first, if you want.” Keisuke grabbed a textbook from halfway down the pile and opened it to a page somewhere near the end of the book. “This is what we studied last lesson, let me see your homework…”

So reliable… 

“I’ll join you guys…” Inoue chimed in, her motivations clear as day to Souta, but Keisuke clearly didn’t catch on. 

The three of them gathered around Keisuke's textbook as if it were a holy scripture as he explained the basics, then got them to answer each question by themselves while he worked on his own homework.

Nao and Souta were left to their own devices. Nao tapped Souta’s knee with his own, gesturing down at the textbooks in front of them. “Maths or Chemistry?”

“Huh?” Souta couldn’t concentrate as the warmth from Nao’s leg reached him. Their knees remained touching, as if magnetised together. “Oh erm. Chemistry, I think.” Souta didn’t want to move in fear that Nao would realise his mistake and move away. It felt comforting for him to be so close.

“Alright, let’s see your homework and I can see what you need help with.” Nao leaned over the table, grazing his elbow dangerously close to Souta as he reached across to grab Souta’s textbook and flipped it to the correct page. 

The space between them grew slightly smaller as they chatted quietly. Nao would explain a question, and Souta would quickly work out the answer, then present it to Nao.

“No, look at this part of the equation,” Nao said, gesturing to the textbook in front of Souta. “You need to make sure the molecular formula is the same in both examples—”

Souta looked to Nao with an exasperated expression, pressing his pencil into his temple as he cocked his head to the side. Nao smiled, letting out a small laugh, his leg pushing slightly closer to Souta as he reached over and flipped to the previous page of the textbook. 

Souta barely registered the contact as his brain was filled with images of hydrogen atoms and carbon atoms dancing around and mocking him. After a few moments, the warmth had spread to his thigh, sending a shiver from the bottom of his spine all the way to the top. He’s so close. He held his pencil tightly in his hand, nervously tapping his foot without thinking about the fact that the leg it was attached to was basically glued to Nao’s.

“You okay there?” Nao tilted his head to look at Souta, whose heart nearly burst out of his chest when he saw the expression on his face. A comfortable smile spread its way across Nao’s lips as Souta began to fumble with his pencil, bringing his antsy knee to a halt with the palm of his hand as he pressed down on it.

“Yup! All good!!” Souta said through half-gritted teeth. Is he doing this on purpose? Souta looked over to the group across from them, he had almost forgotten they were there. He caught Keisuke’s eye, who was looking directly at him with a knowing half-smile with raised eyebrows.

Souta shook his head slightly, raising a single eyebrow and clenching his jaw, which read as an aggressive “What?!” in their secret language.

Keisuke’s face remained unchained, he just responded with a small, almost unnoticeable shrug as if to say:. “Oh, nothing. Nothing at all.”

The study session went by quicker than Souta hoped, although he did manage to get all of his chemistry and maths homework done by some miracle. 

“I feel so refreshed knowing I don’t have any homework over the weekend!” Takeo grunted, stretching over the back of his chair with both arms raised in the air. 

“Me too!” Saya joined, packing up her textbooks. “This was really helpful, thanks for letting me join you, guys!”

“Yeah, thanks Keisuke.” Inoue smiled at Keisuke, then stuttered, adding,. “And everyone was super helpful! I’m glad we finished everything!”

The six of them got up and made their way to the door. They each took turns to say their goodbyes and go their separate ways. Keisuke had quickly excused himself, leaving just Nao and Souta remaining. Sneaky bastard.

“I’ll see you next week, then.” Nao turned to Souta, slipping his hands in his pockets.

“Yeah, I guess you will…” Souta gazed down the street where he would soon be walking to get to the train station. “Oh, you said something about watching a movie together sometime… Did you want to do that soon?”

“Oh, yeah, sure.” Nao blinked at Souta a few times. “Next Friday, maybe? You can come to my house this time.”

“Sounds good!” Souta flashed him a cheeky smile. “Anyway, my train is pretty soon so I should go. See you on Monday!”

“Yeah, see you Monday…”

*

“Hey, ready to go?” Souta called through the door to Nao who was sitting at a table doing some homework. 

“One second, just let me finish this…” Nao continued to write, his headphones playing a quiet tune as they hung around his neck.

“What are you listening to?” Souta asked, pulling out a chair and taking a seat next to Nao.

“Hm..?” Nao continued to stare at the page as he wrote one final word, then looked up to Souta. “Oh, It’s one of my favourite bands— they held a concert here last year on Christmas, but I ended up not being able to go…” Nao finished writing and closed the book. “I’m sure they’ll come back again.”

“Hopefully!” Souta flashed Nao a smile. “I’ll go with you if they do!”

Nao smiled in return. “Thanks. Shall we go?”

It was a Friday, and tonight was the night that Souta had been looking forward to all week. Him and Nao had finally managed to plan their movie night: They had each picked a movie they wanted to watch, and Souta had packed his bag with snacks. This time they planned to go to Nao’s house since it would be quieter than Souta’s.

After putting their bags down and grabbing a couple of drinks, Souta and Nao made their way to the living room. Souta felt nervous, the idea of being alone with Nao suddenly made his heart race, even though they’d had this night planned for a while.

As Souta sat, he grabbed his bag and began rooting through it. He grabbed a DVD and slammed it down on the table in front of him.

“I present to you; Donner Jones: Adventures in deep space…!” he declared, proudly presenting his choice of movie.

“Oooh.” Nao picked up the DVD and observed it, flipping it to the back and then the front again. “It’s very you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“Nothing, nothing.” Nao laughed. He picked out his choice of movie from a shelf near the TV and placed it on the table beside Souta’s. “This is my choice.”

“Akio and Shiro…?” Souta asked, picking up the slightly tattered looking DVD case, it looked like it had been well loved. It wasn’t a movie he had heard of, and it looked quite old.

“Yeah. I used to watch it a lot as a kid— I haven’t seen it in a while.”

“Hey, the dog looks like Dogonaut!” Souta grinned, pointing at the fluffy white dog on the front cover.

“Yeah, it does.” Nao smiled. “It’s about a boy and his dog who fall into a well, and end up in another world.”

“Ooo…” Souta read the back of the DVD. “This looks pretty good… I think we should watch this one first.”

After making themselves comfortable on the sofa, Nao clicked play and the jaunty nostalgia-inducing theme song began playing. The movie introduced the main character, Akio, a boy who lived in a small village with his mum and two sisters, and his dog Shiro. Souta could feel Nao’s presence on the sofa next to him, even without looking. He could almost feel the heat radiating from his leg that was almost, almost touching Souta’s.

“I used to watch this with my mum a lot, it was one of her favourites as a kid too,” Nao spoke up after being in silence for quite a while, and Souta automatically spun around to look at him. Nao was already facing him, a relaxed smile on his face. A smile that made Souta’s breath catch ever so slightly in his throat, forcing him to swallow it down. “I always wanted a dog like Shiro.”

“Yeah?” Souta had to force the word out, he was almost paralyzed as he looked over towards Nao. 

“Yeah.” Nao looked back towards the screen. “This is the first time I’ve watched this movie since my mum moved away, actually.”

“We don’t have to watch it if it’s…”

“No, it’s fine.” Nao leaned his head against the backrest of the sofa, tilting his head slightly towards Souta as he spoke. “I have good memories of this movie, and I thought you’d like it. I wanted to share it with you.”

You really know how to get me right in the heartstrings, Nao. 

“Well, okay. If you’re sure.”

Nao hummed in response, gesturing towards the screen. “This part is good.”

The two sat in near silence for the rest of the movie, Nao occasionally chimed in with fun facts or memories from his childhood. Before they realised, the sun had slowly begun to set, casting the room into a dusky orange. As the credits began to roll, Souta stretched his arms into the air with a groan and a yawn. He turned to Nao, ready to ask if he wanted to put the next movie on. Instead he watched Nao as he sat, his peaceful breaths swaying his shoulders up and down as he slept, his head lolled to the side, half buried in the sofa cushion. 

What the hell. Souta let out a small laugh, resting his head on the back of the sofa as he watched Nao sleep. This isn’t creepy, right?

The orange glow of the setting sun being cast through the window had made its way around the room to lie on the back wall. Souta let out another yawn, his eyelids suddenly felt heavy. I should probably get home before I actually fall asleep.

Souta was suddenly jolted awake. His body felt heavy and groggy as he tried to remember what had happened.

Shit, did I fall asleep? 

Just as the drowsy fog in Souta’s mind began to clear, he felt a warm heavy weight shift against his shoulder with a gentle huff. Souta suddenly froze in place, realising the crisis he had landed himself in. Not only had he fallen asleep at Nao’s house, Nao was asleep. On him. The room was lit only by the light from the TV as it stopped on the outro screen of the movie.

He knew that one wrong move would make this slightly awkward situation even more awkward. Not only did he want to bask in this moment for as long as he could, he also wanted to avoid the uncomfortable conversation when Nao woke up. Souta just remained still for as long as he possibly could before he felt Nao shift again, lifting his head slightly as he rubbed his eye with his hand. 

“Huh?” Nao propped himself up slightly, looking up towards Souta as he did.

Too close.

“Err, I guess we fell asleep.” Souta laughed awkwardly, maneuvering himself just far enough away from Nao to hopefully hide his very audible heartbeat. “Sorry, I don’t know how that happened! I guess I should probably go home now…”

“Well, it doesn’t matter how late you stay.” Something about Nao’s voice sounded sad, pleading almost. It felt a little too honest. “Nobody’s home, anyway.” 

Souta didn’t have the strength to say anything, not after such a genuine display. “Okay.”

Nao slumped his head back down onto Souta’s shoulder, making him jolt in his seat. He let out a comfortable, sleepy sigh. Did he fall asleep again? Souta let out a sigh of his own, his heart was thumping way too loudly for him to fall asleep again, and it was quite nice to have Nao so close. Closing his eyes, Souta leaned his head softly. Feeling Nao’s hair brush gently against the side of his face as he leaned into him. Even though his heart was racing, he felt oddly relaxed, like this was the most natural thing in the world.

I can’t just be normal around him. Souta’s heart ached, he couldn’t even explain exactly why, it just did. He wanted so desperately to wrap his arms around Nao and hold him, to be held, to be wanted like he wanted Nao. He took a heavy breath in through his nose, sighing it out in hopes it would suppress the dull burning in his chest.

“You okay?” Nao’s sudden words made Souta jump slightly, lifting his head away from Nao’s.

“Woah, sorry, I didn’t know you were awake.”

“Barely…” Nao didn’t move, still leaning his temple heavily on Souta’s shoulder, if anything he had melted further into the sofa than before. “You didn’t answer my question.” His sleepy voice momentarily drowned out the repetitive ticking of the clock on the wall behind them.

“Oh… yeah, I’m okay.”

“Hm…” Nao hummed. “If you’re sure.”

Knowing that Nao was awake now made Souta feel… less relaxed. He didn’t understand why Nao hadn’t moved away, but maybe Nao was wondering the same thing. “Don’t you want to go to bed? I don’t mind.” Souta let out a small laugh.

“I’m comfortable here,” Nao stated, then paused for a moment. He propped himself up with his arm and looked towards Souta. “Hm… I am pretty tired, maybe we should call it a night?” He slowly maneuvered himself off the sofa, grabbing the empty cups and packets from the table as he made his way to the kitchen.

“Yeah, maybe, I'm kinda tired as well.” 

Souta slumped back onto the sofa, gazing towards the ceiling as he listened to Nao shuffle around in the kitchen. The mix of emotions welling up inside Souta felt uncontrollable. ARGH! This feels so awkward! Did I make it weird? Was that weird?! 

Souta packed up his things from the table and grabbed his jacket. The nights had gotten colder recently but the walk shouldn’t be too long. Kneeling by the front door to put his shoes on he glanced up as Nao re-appeared from the kitchen.

“Sorry.” 

“Huh?” Souta stared up at Nao. “...What for?”

Nao didn’t reply straight away, he looked like he was choosing his words carefully. “Just… If I was being weird. I guess I was half asleep.”

“Huh? You didn’t— I wasn’t—” 

“It’s fine." Nao shifted his gaze away from Souta as he spoke.

“Nao, really, I wasn’t…” 

“It’s okay… I believe you.” He looked back at Souta this time. “Get home safe.”

*

Souta couldn’t stop thinking about the Friday before as he trudged his way through the school gates, functioning on just over five hours of sleep. He and Nao had been talking as usual over text, but Souta couldn’t help but wonder how he would react when they saw each other in person. 

After failing to push the thought out of his mind for the past two days, it definitely didn’t help when he spotted Nao waiting for him just inside the school gates. 

“Hey,” Nao called out, slipping his headphones off as he reached into his bag. “You left your DVD at my house, I figured it’d be easier to give it to you now in case I don’t see you later.” 

“Oh, yeah, thanks!” Souta felt tense. He reached out and grabbed the DVD, quickly stuffing it into his bag. “I’m hanging out with Keisuke later so that was good timing.”

“Oh, yeah… No problem.”

“Anyway, I’ll see you later! Thanks again!” Souta grabbed his chance to run away without it looking too weird. Now he just needed to ask Keisuke to hang out later.

“I can’t, I’m studying with Inoue-chan.” 

“Keisuke whyyyyyy…” Souta complained, shuffling the last few grains of rice around after finishing his bento.

“Sorry, she asked me last week to help with a project, I can’t bail on her.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” He sighed. “I know you’re right, but I’m still mad.”

“Why are you so desperate, anyway?”

“No reason.” Souta turned to the window, avoiding Keisuke’s eyes.

Keisuke paused, watching Souta from across the table. “Souta…”

Souta continued to stare out the window. “What.”

“Souta.” 

Souta sighed, finally turning his attention to Keisuke. “It’s nothing, I’m just…”

“Is it about Nao?” Keisuke asked, resting his chin on his palm.

Souta looked at Keisuke with a grimace. I actually hate that he can read my mind.

“It is, isn’t it. What happened?”

“Happened?!” Souta blurted out, a flush appearing on his cheeks. “Noth–Nothing happened!”

Keisuke watched Souta with an amused smile. “Yeah, sure. What happened?”

“Keisukeeee…” Souta grumbled, resting his forehead on the table in front of him. “I don’t know what to do…”

Keisuke sat in silence. Souta guessed he still had that smug smile on his face even though he couldn’t actually see it.

“I can’t help you unless you tell me what happened…”

“... I can’t talk about it here.”

“Woah.”

Souta sprung up from the table, his face now as red as a tomato. “No!! No. Not like that. He just…” Souta whipped his head around to make sure the room was empty before continuing. “I don’t want him to hear me… But you’re busy tonight, so can we talk about it tomorrow after school?”

“Sure.” Keisuke smiled at him. Always so reliable.

“Thanks, Keisuke…” Souta looked up at Keisuke again, this time he really was wearing that smug smile that Souta had imagined. “It’s not like that.”

*

Souta felt anxious, it was finally time to let Keisuke in on his secret. The fact he liked Nao. They decided to go to the same local family restaurant that they studied at recently as it was close by. Souta had gathered all of his courage, squirming in his seat as Keisuke sat across from him. I just need to come out and say it!

“Oh. Yeah…” 

“What’s with that reaction? How did you already—”

“Souta, we’ve been friends for… forever, I can tell when you like someone.”

Souta frowned at Keisuke, sulking at the accusation. “Not true… Was it really so obvious?”

Keisuke leaned back in his chair, pondering the question. “I wouldn’t say obvious… I just know you. You have been hanging out with him a lot.”

He’s not wrong. I’ve always thought that he could read my mind, so that would explain—

“I can’t read your mind, Souta—”

HUH??

“—so you should just tell me what’s happened with Nao, or I won’t be able to help.”

Oh. Phew.

“It’s not like anything happened…” Souta mumbled. “At least, I don’t think so. I just don’t know how to act around him, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

“Have you told him…?”

Souta was mid-sip, the question almost making him choke on his drink. “What, no way!”

“I think you’re worrying too much,” Keisuke said matter-of-factly. “I’m sure it’ll all work out fine.” Keisuke had that all too familiar, all too knowing smile on his face, but somehow it made Souta feel more confident.

“Yeah, maybe.”

*

Somehow admitting his feelings for Nao to Keisuke made it feel all too real. After that conversation, every time Souta saw Nao it felt like his heart leapt into his throat. 

Yet here he was, waiting for Souta outside his classroom at the end of the day.

“Chiba and Imai asked me to help them study tonight. Do you want to join us?”

“Ooh…” Souta pondered for a moment. “Replacing me with Chiba and Imai already, are you?

“I mean… I like spending time with you more, anyway.” Nao leaned back on the wall behind him. “I guess I just like you more. Probably more than you like me,” he quietly added, like he wasn’t sure if he wanted Souta to hear or not. 

“Ahh! Hahaha!” Souta’s head was spinning. He has no idea how that sounds, does he?? “I am pretty great, aren’t I?”

Nao just watched him with a vacant stare, then blinked, shaking his head slightly. “Yeah, I’d say so.” He let out a half-hearted laugh. 

“I totally would, but I promised my mum that I would—” Quick, think…! “—help her make dinner tonight! I will next time, though!” Souta flashed him a smile.

“Yeah, no problem.” Nao’s expression was nearly impossible to read, but Souta could tell there was a hint of sadness. A twinge of guilt coursed through him momentarily, but he quickly shook it off. I feel bad, but I can’t be around him right now.

“Sorry, I’ll catch you later though!” And with that, Souta turned and quickly made his way down the hall.

*

Even though Souta was still trying his best to avoid Nao, he really did study better in the club room, so that’s where he was headed. He opened the door and peered inside, making sure the room was empty before entering and quickly closing the door behind him. He took his seat, placing his textbooks on the table in front of him and peeking over to the seat that Nao would usually be sat at.

Souta sighed, it did feel lonely without him here.

Tick, tick, tick. The clock on the wall behind him taunting him every second as he sat in the empty club room. It reminded him of his own shortcomings, mostly of the fact that if he wasn’t such a coward he could be enjoying his time with Nao right now instead of sitting alone.

Just as the thought entered his mind, Souta heard footsteps approach the clubroom and stop just outside the door. Souta watched, silently, his pen held loosely in his hand after pausing mid-sentence. 

A sigh could be heard on the other side before the door slid open, revealing Nao stood in the entrance. Souta stared up at him, the anxiety of seeing Nao being quickly replaced by the joy of seeing Nao. 

He stood looking at Souta for a while before stepping through. 

“Hi.” 

“Hi…” Souta replied. His pen was still hanging loosely from his fingertips as he stared, stunned. His mouth hung open ever so slightly.

Nao pulled up the chair opposite; his usual seat. He glanced up at Souta, who just realised that his mouth was still hanging open. He closed it with a gulp, his eyes still fixed on Nao.

“What are you working on?”

“Oh, erm… The English homework.” Souta’s mouth felt dry, his tongue almost sticking to the roof of his mouth as he spoke.

“I see…”

“I’m nearly finished, though,” Souta added, tapping his pen on the paper in front of him.

“That’s good…”

“Yeah…” This feels so awkward, I hate it.

Nao sat with his bag at his side, no textbooks in front of him. He had his elbow leaned on the table, with his chin resting on his palm as he stared out of the window. Souta scribbled down the final few sentences on the page and closed the book. 

“Done!”

“Are you heading home?” Nao asked, still not looking at Souta.

“Soon, yeah, but I can hang out for a bit.” Souta stood up, clearing his books off the table and into his bag before perching on the edge of the table. It wasn’t long before Nao stood up, joining him on the edge of the table as they stared out of the window.

Nao sat painfully close. Their hands almost touched as he loosely held the edge of the table, kicking his legs off the side. The scene felt familiar, but this time it felt… different. The same orange glow lit the walls even though it was only early afternoon. Nao and Souta sat together, just like they had that time in early summer, but the air was cold now, the evenings arrived at 4pm instead of 7pm and Souta and Nao had officially been friends for six months.

It feels like I’ve known him forever. The thought made Souta feel warm inside, but also anxious. He had already come to terms with his feelings for Nao, but the longer he knew him, the more entangled he became, the more he knew he could come undone if things were to go wrong. He hated that thought, the thought of losing Nao, but also the thought of burdening an unaware Nao with the weight of his heart and emotions.

“This reminds me of that time at the start of summer,” Nao said, letting out a comfortable sigh. “That time you said you were jealous of the students leaving earlier than you— and yet you’re still stuck here with me, studying.” Nao leant his head to the side to look at Souta, a small smile on his lips.

“I wasn’t jealous,” Souta said without thinking.

“Hm?” 

“I was happy to be there with you, I told you that back then.”

“Oh… yeah.” 

“It’s gotten a lot colder since then, huh?” Souta flashed Nao a cheeky smile. “It makes me feel kinda nostalgic. We haven’t even known each other for that long but it really feels like…” He paused, the tugging feeling in his chest reminding him that he was oversharing.

“Feels like…?” Nao said, urging him to continue.

“Hm? Oh. Erm…” Souta ruffled the back of his hair awkwardly. “Just that— it feels like I’ve known you for a lot longer.”

“Oh yeah?” 

“Yeah…” The tugging feeling grew stronger, causing Souta to clear his throat. “Anyway, erm… I don’t have any more homework to catch up on today, so I don’t know how long I’ll stay.”

“Oh… Yeah, of course.” Nao lifted his hand away from the table, draping it over his lap. “I only have a few things so I probably won’t be very long. You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”

“No I don’t mind… I mean, I don’t need to stay I guess…” Souta’s heart felt heavy, he knew that bugging Nao like this would annoy him. He wanted Nao to want him to stay, but he knew that was asking too much.

“If you don’t want to stay, don’t.” Nao’s brows furrowed slightly.

“No, I’m just saying if you want me to leave I—” 

“What? That’s not what I said at all. I don’t own this room, you can use it if you want to.” Nao let out a sharp breath, pensively staring out of the window. “Maybe I should just go.” Nao stood up from the table, rounding the edge of it and grabbing his bag.

“Huh? Why are you getting mad, I never said I—”

“Mad?” Nao cut in, a deeper frown appearing between his brows as he spoke. “Why would I care? If you’re trying to avoid me then just—” 

“Avoid you?” Souta blurted out, returning the glare as he stood up from the table himself. He was confused where this argument had even stemmed from. “When did I say I was avoiding you? I just said I don’t have much homework to do.”

“You don’t need to tell me, it’s obvious. You’ve seemed uncomfortable with me ever since…” Nao stopped himself as he stared down towards the center of the table, avoiding Souta’s gaze. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about…” A pang of guilt hit Souta’s chest. I have been avoiding him, but it’s not… He didn’t even know how to begin to explain everything, he didn’t want Nao to feel lonely but also didn’t want to actually face his feelings head on, out loud. It's not like he could tell Nao that he liked him, not yet anyway.

“I didn’t… I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. Even I don’t know why I told you about how I feel, but you don’t need to say anything.” Nao sighed, looking over towards Souta who just had a blank expression on his face. Nao frowned for a moment before adding, “What’s with that expression? You were avoiding me, you basically told me you don’t like me the same way, or are you being purposefully…”

Purposefully…? Souta couldn’t find the words, even as he could feel the cogs and wheels in his brain ground to a halt, it felt like his brain would start leaking out of his nose if he didn’t say something soon. A simple “huh?” is all he could muster, his bewilderment clearly very apparent on his face, as Nao’s expression in return was a mix of confusion and embarrassment.

“You… I… Didn’t you…” Nao was clearly trying to keep his composure as he stumbled over his words, but was failing miserably. “Did you not realise that’s what I meant!?”

Everything in Souta’s mind came screeching to a halt, it felt like his head was filled with cotton wool, or sheep, or something else fuzzy and stupid.

“You like… me?” Souta’s mouth hung open at the end of the sentence, like he was the personification of a question mark. 

“I kinda thought you… figured it out already,” Nao muttered.

“You,” Souta said, pointing towards Nao, “like me?” this time he gestured to himself, maintaining his confused expression and adding in a wave of his hand. “Why?”

“What do you mean, why?” Nao scoffed. “What kind of stupid question is that?”

“That is not a stupid question, have you seen yourself?”

“Seen— What are you talking about?” A hot flush had found its way across Nao’s cheeks. 

The only reason Souta wasn’t red as a tomato at the current moment was because his brain hadn’t quite caught up with the conversation he was actually having right now, in real time. 

“Yeah, not only are you one of the best looking guys in this school— or actually just in general— you have good grades, you’re talented, you’re passionate, you’re charming—” Souta listed the points as he counted on his fingers, stopping after a few moments as his brain finally caught up with what his mouth was saying. “A-anyway, I just don’t see that happening. I don’t get it.”

“I don’t care what you ‘see happening’,” Nao said with dramatic air quotes. “I do like you, so if you have an issue with that then—”

“I do not have an issue with that.”

Nao paused, his hands still raised in the air slightly from his previous air quotes. Now it was his turn to wear the dumbfounded expression, it must have been contagious. “Huh?”

Souta stared blankly back at Nao, who stared blankly at him. “So… why… why do you like me?” Souta suddenly felt flustered asking the question now he knew he might get a genuine answer.

“Do you really want me to answer that?” Souta nodded in response. Nao still wore a slight frown, but this time it was accompanied by an embarrassed flush. “You’re… You’re hard-working, to start with, I didn’t ev—”

“I’m no—” Souta tried to cut in, but Nao’s glare told him to stop talking or else.

“You’re kind and caring… you always put others before yourself even if it hurts you in the process… and I…” Nao scrunched his face up slightly from embarrassment. “I guess I wanted to… protect you from that.” 

Looking up at Souta again, Nao’s frown deepened slightly. “Don’t look at me like that, this is already embarrassing enough. Anyway, is that enough for you?”

“Not really…” Souta said earnestly, hoping his expression wasn’t too honest as his mind whirred with everything he possibly could have missed that led to this moment. 

“Are you really asking for more compliments right now?” Nao folded his arms.

“I just don’t…” Souta could feel himself getting choked up as he spoke. “I don’t see how anyone could feel like that… about me.”

“You’re being ridiculous… Tamura confessed to you, did you not believe her?”

“Well, I mean… she didn’t know me, you do.”

“Yeah, I do,” Nao stated as if he were proud of the fact. “And I know I said you didn’t need to say anything or reply but… I feel like this conversation is going nowhere.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t ‘huh’ me.” Nao pushed through with a frown. “Do you like me or not?”

“Do I— Of course.” Why is he being so daring right now?

“Okay.” Nao still stood with his arms folded, as if protecting himself from an unknown enemy. “Good.”

Souta was lost on what to do. What comes after a confession? Are we dating now? I can’t just ask him that, surely I have to—

“So…” Nao cut through the silence. “Do you want to… go… on a date or something?”

“Or something??” Souta laughed, the remainder of the nerves that had built up in his body were slowly dissipating. “Yeah, sure, I’d love to.”

“Good.”

Another moment of silence, but it didn’t feel uncomfortable. Souta took a few steps towards Nao, holding his hand out slightly by his side as an invitation. Nao stood in front of him, still with his arms folded close to his chest. It didn’t take long before he unfurled himself from his protective bubble, and extended his own hand to meet Souta’s. 

Their fingertips touched at first, sending a wave of tingling heat through Souta’s body. Taking the opportunity, Souta threaded his fingers between Nao’s, grabbing hold of his hand fully and tugging him in slightly closer.

“This feels weird, huh?” Souta said, flashing Nao a cheeky smile as they stood hand-in-hand. 

“You’re making it weird.” Nao’s hand felt tense in Souta’s, but he still returned the gesture, shifting his fingers slightly to find a comfortable grip.

“Imagine if Chiba and Imai walked in right now?” Souta’s smile got even wider as he noticed Nao pulling his hand away with a bothered look on his face. 

Suddenly they both heard a few voices approaching the room. Souta flinched, quickly turning towards the door and hiding both of their hands behind his back, but not letting go. After a few moments, the voices continued past the door, disappearing down the hallway. 

“That scared the shit out of me,” Souta laughed, turning back towards Nao as he joined with a laugh of his own. 

Souta’s smile dropped into a look of wonderment as he caught Nao’s gaze who was watching him with a wide, genuine smile. A smile that creased the outer corners of his eyes and commanded his entire expression. It almost took his breath away. His heart thumped in his ears, his throat, his chest; he could even feel it in the palm of his hand as he held Nao’s tightly. 

Wait, is that my heartbeat or his?

“I really like you,” Souta blurted out, his mind only had space for the image of Nao in this current moment, nothing else mattered. The room was gilded with streams of golden light that cascaded through the windows, washing the two of them in warmth.

“Me too.”