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A cold, winter evening. It’s dark, with the sidewalks and pathways being dimly lit by faint streetlamps. Snow falls to the dirty ground, creating a soft, white sheet over the dirt and grass.
A pair of young boys slowly walk along the icy pavement, their hands intertwined, keeping close to one another. The shorter boy exhales, watching how the warmth from his breath turns into a little puff of air, fading into the wind.
It absolutely fascinates him, so he decides to try it again, but it doesn’t work as well this time. He huffs and frowns, disappointed at his failed attempt.
So instead, he stops walking, and glances up at the night sky. The dark-haired one tilts their head in confusion, so they look up, too. It’s beautiful. The stars are shimmering, glowing, and complimenting the never ending hollowness that the pitch-black sky is.
The two gasp in unison, amazed at the sight. They’ve never seen the sky so clear and wonderful like this before, so it’s no surprise they’re shocked to see something so pretty with their own eyes.
“It’s lovely, isn’t it, Tobi?” The taller boy asks, referring to the view in front of them.
He turns to face his beloved, with his cheeks a soft red. It’s difficult to tell whether he’s blushing, or simply just cold. Perhaps it’s a mix of both?
Tobi holds his other hand out, letting snowflakes land and melt on his rough, hard skin. It’s freezing, but the feeling of seeing the little crystals quickly disappear the moment they touch his hand is somewhat entertaining.
“Yeah,” he replies with a smile, nodding his head up and down. “It really is, huh?”
There’s something about this moment that feels… Right. There probably isn’t one correct way to explain it, though, maybe it doesn’t need to be explained at all.
Sunao gives the other’s arm a gentle tug, wordlessly conveying his desire to continue walking. His silent question is met by a chuckle, before the couple begin their late-night stroll once more.
As they approach some traffic lights at a crossing, Tobi notices a frail, old woman waiting there, likely on her way home.
Maybe she needs help getting over there? The road is really slippery, so…
He lets go of Sunao’s hand, and dashes off without a single word of warning. They pout upon witnessing him run away, but they know it’s for good reason.
They follow him, being careful as to not slip on the frozen ground. Sunao stumbles and almost trips on a small rock, but manages to keep their balance. “Gah! W-Wait, where are you going?!”
The blonde-haired boy stops once he reaches the crossing. He looks to his boyfriend, and then to the old lady, and back to the other again.
Sunao then realises Tobi’s idea. He wishes to assist the stranger with getting to the other side of the road. They smile faintly and nod, beginning to skip over to where Tobi is standing.
He clicks his tongue, glancing left and right.
I guess I have no choice but to ask her myself, huh? I swear, if I screw this up, I’m going to punch myself in the gut later…
So he takes a deep breath, and prepares himself to talk. “Hey, uh, miss..? Do ya need help? It’s kinda icy, and I wouldn’t want someone like you getting injured… So… Um…”
She blinks for a moment, then turns to face him.
“Ah, if you wouldn’t mind. I’d greatly appreciate it.”
“Sure, it’s fine.” He says, extending his left hand out. “Sunao, do you wanna help, too?”
“Mhm,” they hum, letting the woman hold their right hand. “It’s really kind of you to do this, you know?” They grin as the three start making their way across the gritty road.
Tobi groans at their little comment, embarrassment washing over him. “Shut up… It’s not like I could just pass by and ignore someone in need…”
Sunao giggles, acknowledging that Tobi wants to be kind and helpful towards others, but won’t ever admit it. It appears that Tobi doesn’t admit a lot of things.
Geez… Giggling at my own embarrassment? Ah, well, actually… It’s been the other way around a few times, so I suppose this is payback…
The moment his feet reach the other side, he lets go of the lady’s hand. He pulls a moody face, and refuses to look at either her or Sunao.
“Thank you,” the stranger bows, showing her gratitude. “It’s nice to know that there are still people who care these days.”
“Tobi’s the nicest person I know, really…” Sunao laughs sheepishly, bowing in return.
“You two look rather cute together.”
“Wha— Uh? Haha, what?” The blonde-haired boy stammers, becoming flustered at the statement.
“My apologies, did I get the wrong idea?”
“N-No, you didn’t…”
“I see. Well, I hope you both have a good evening.” She bows once more, and turns around to begin heading home.
It’s that obvious… I didn’t realise… Ah, but…
He thinks of the various times he’d hung out with his lover in public. They’d been to a mall together, the beach, a concert, a cafe, and so many more places.
Nobody had said anything about the two up until today, though…
The silence is heavy, and incredibly awkward. A chilling breeze blows gently, making Tobi shiver. He’s still pouty and grumpy…
I really gotta be more subtle…
I don’t exactly want to be, though…
“Tobi?”
“You are pretty cute…” Tobi blurts out. It’s quite clear that he feels a bit sluggish after that whole interaction.
The typically emotionless Tobi Otogiri? Acting like this? Anyone would think it’s strange to hear him saying such loving words, or doing acts of kindness.
“Huh?”
“Nothing, just,” he coughs, and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Forget about it…”
I’m so pathetic…
I… I don’t know what I want to do… Or where to go…
He inhales sharply, leaning forwards in a slouch. The blush on his face is still present, warm and bright on his cold, pale face.
I gotta lighten up the mood somehow…
“D’you wanna get any pictures to put on that one site?” The shorter boy says, prodding at the other’s shoulder.
Sunao blinks rapidly as he processes Tobi’s words. “Oh? Ahh, I haven’t posted in a while, actually… Yeah, that’s a nice idea.”
“Can we at least get some photos of me and you? Not to post, but… for us… and us only…? I-If that makes any sense…”
Why am I acting so awkward?
I… have that fuzzy feeling in my chest again…
“Um.. Alright…” They mumble, removing their phone from their coat pocket. While they input the password, Tobi fiddles with the zipper on his jacket, likely due to nervousness.
It’s not like Sunao thinks it’s a bad idea to have photos of themself and Tobi, they’re just a tad bit confused.
The dark-haired one starts to snap pictures of any little interesting thing they can find. Whether it be a street sign, icicles, or little fairy lights dangling along a fence.
Then, they shyly take a few photos together with Tobi, smiling weakly as they do so. With a gentle sigh, Sunao passes the phone to their lover, letting him look at the images.
These are really cute, actually…
And suddenly, he gets an idea…
“Can we take another? With that timer thing, if you know what I’m on about.” He asks, giving the device back to them.
“I don’t see why not…”
So they find a place to put their phone (which is dry and untouched by the slushy snow), letting it lean against an empty can on a small brick wall.
Sunao prepares to just do their typical double-peace-sign pose, but the blonde stays still, watching the timer go from number to number…
The moment it hits zero, Tobi pulls Sunao down, pressing a kiss directly to their lips. It’s safe to say that it definitely startles the taller boy. However, they don’t mind it in the slightest.
Mm… If they don’t send this to me later, I’ll have to remind them…
Tobi feels like sparks are dashing all around him and Sunao, cracking and flashing with colour. He doesn’t want to pull away, but he knows that if he won’t, someone will see them, see the two like this, their love on display for everyone to see.
He disconnects their mouths, a guilty grin creeping onto his face. It seems that Sunao is absolutely mesmerised, their eyes wide and entranced. They choose not to say a word, silently skipping over to retrieve their phone(and very pathetically, shoves it back into the coat pocket).
The shorter boy reaches out to hold his boyfriend’s hand, and rubs his thumb softly on the scarred skin.
“Let’s go home,” Tobi whispers, glancing up at the other.
Sunao giggles, still blushy and embarrassed from that sudden kiss.
“Together.” They add.
“Yeah. Together…”