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Snow was everywhere. As soon as Kou took a step outside, a piercing coldness hit him, and he could see light snow sprinkling from the sky. It didn't terrify him, of course, but he wondered if it would bring some misfortunes on the way. Already, he was torturing himself by standing outside with no jacket. He let himself linger for a split second before returning inside his home. Instantly, the aroma of something burning hit him faster than the coldness, causing him to rush to the kitchen.
Just as he expected, his older brother was standing over the stove, with wide eyes. His younger sister, Tiara, stood next to him, stifling a giggle at the mess. An exasperated sigh from Kou caused both of his siblings to look up, with Teru nervously smiling at him.
"There might have been an accident," Teru stated as if it wasn't already obvious.
Kou groaned, stepping into the kitchen. "Nii-chan!" He turned off the stove, which Teru had somehow failed to do as well, and glanced inside the pot. Sure enough, the dried kombu was burned to the point where it wasn't just slightly toasted but completely charred. "It was supposed to be at medium-low heat, not high!"
"That's what Tiara said, but Teru-oniichan didn't listen!" Tiara pouted.
"You said low heat," Teru deadpanned.
Kou ignored both of them, throwing out the burnt food and washing the pot. He might as well start over; at least they only messed up on the first step. He should have known it was a bad idea to let Teru in the kitchen, under any circumstances. He only had a reputation for burning water.
"Kou?"
He didn't feel like answering as he was too intent on retrieving more kombu from the pantry. When he came out, he could see both of his siblings' gaze fixated on him.
"What?"
"You don't have to make food today," Teru told him. "You can have a day off today."
"I'm pretty sure that I'm the only one who can make food here."
"Princess and I can just eat leftovers."
"I don't mind cooking; you know that, right?" Kou set the container of seaweed on the counter.
"Yeah, yeah, but a friend has called you and invited you to go out. I'm sure you would rather go out than just cook for us."
"Who?"
"Sousuke," Teru said, sounding out the name as if to emphasis it. He doesn't usually call the boy in question by his first name like Kou did, but it seems that he was only reading out what was on Kou's phone, which was carelessly left on the counter next to the stove.
Without another word, Kou left the kombu, rushing over to grab his phone. Indeed, he had missed calls from Sousuke. He slipped into the next room to call him back.
"Hello?" he said when Sousuke answered right away.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Sousuke's voice rang out louder than Kou expected, and he remembered to turn off the speaker. He could already see his siblings looking at him curiously, and Kou turned around to face away from them. "Ignoring my calls like that."
"I wasn't ignoring them!" Kou protested. "Teru-nii burned the food again, so I had to deal with that."
"Whatever, that doesn't matter. Are you free today? We should go out."
The blonde paused, glancing back at his siblings, who were working on washing the dishes. It would be a disaster if he left them alone; they might somehow burn the whole kitchen down! Still, he did want to see Sousuke; maybe see how he looks when snow falls on his pink hair. But the guilt of leaving his family was creeping into him.
"Uh, I'm not sure," Kou said slowly.
"How come? Is it so bad to spend a snowy day with someone as cute as me?"
Kou rolled his eyes and looked at his siblings once again. "I might need to ask..."
"What are you, ten? Don't you have free will or something like that?"
"Shut up, do you want me to cancel the plan?"
"Well, don't make me wait so long!"
Kou looked up to his siblings who were still standing idly in the kitchen. "Uh, is it okay if I go out with Sousuke today?" Kou asked the question, directed towards his older brother. "I can come back whatever time you need me to or-"
"Just go, Kou, you don't have to worry about us," Teru reassured him. "We might order some food anyway."
"Great," Kou sighed as he returned to the phone, talking to Sousuke once again. "Yeah, I can go out with you. What time?"
"Now, you moron. Meet me at the park near your house."
'I'll get ready then," he said, ending the call and rushing upstairs to his room. He decides to wear a puffy green jacket before changing into heavier pants. He wasn't sure if the cold would be unbearable, so he wrapped a scarf around his neck. Sealing his phone into his pocket, he rushed downstairs and scrambled to put on his shoes.
"Be back before dark, at least," Teru called out from the kitchen. "But if you can't, then tell me!"
"Okay!" Kou said, giving them one last smile and a wave, ultimately forgiving them for burning the food, before he opened the door and stepped out into the cold.
As he closed the door behind him, Tiara asked, in the most innocent tone possible, "Is Kou-oniichan going on a date?"
"You can say that, princess," Teru responded.
By the time Teru had said that, Kou already closed the door, but he still glared at them through the barrier. Then he drew a sharp breath, turning forward and making a beeline to the park. He hasn't been there for a while, except maybe to take Tiara once in a while. When Kou spots the snow-filled sandpit and the frosty slides, he looks around to search for Sousuke. He spotted him almost immediately, the boy in question wearing a orange-ish, brown-ish coat, with his signature scarf. Kou walked up to him, grabbed his shoulder, and made him turn to him.
"Hey," Kou said.
"About time," Sousuke retorted, making Kou scoff.
"I didn't even take that long," Kou pointed out. "Anyway, where do you wanna go?"
"I don't know, maybe at one of those local diners," Sousuke shrugged. "I haven't eaten lunch yet."
"I guess I'm paying, right?"
"Well, who else?" Sousuke grinned at him.
Kou pretended to look exasperated, but he mostly enjoyed the smile on Sousuke's face. It had a way of lighting up his whole face, making his pink eyes shine and the beauty mark under his eye stand out. He shook out of whatever weird trance he was in, clicking his tongue in irritation. "Whatever, then."
The two boys set out for the diner, breaking into chatter about mindless things, such as recent supernatural rumors and their New Year's resolutions. Once they entered the diner, Kou noticed it was relatively empty. Maybe more people were spending this snowy day at home than he thought. He briefly wondered how Teru and Tiara were doing and hoped they stayed out of the kitchen.
"Did you get anything for Christmas?" Sousuke asked him as they sat across from each other in the nearest booth. Christmas was already a few days ago, but due to their busy schedules, they haven't seen each other since before that day. They agreed not to give each other anything for Christmas since neither of them wanted much, but Kou knew he was talking about what their families gave them.
"I got a new apron from Tiara and some new shoes from Teru-nii," Kou answered.
"My mom got me some new frames for future pictures," Sousuke said. "They were Christmas-themed, though, so since it's basically seasonal, it's kinda useless."
"It's the thought that counts, Sousuke," Kou shook his head.
"Whatever, Minamoto-kun, you have low standards anyway," Sousuke stated.
"Hey!"
A waiter came, interrupting their conversations, and the two boys ordered. Because of the lack of customers, their drinks and food were delivered to them quicker than usual, and soon they were focused on eating, with Kou eating a tuna bowl and Sousuke eating a sandwich with fries. They were silent until Sousuke broke the silence by asking Kou, "Can I try some?"
"Sure," Kou said, picking up a combination of tuna and veggies with his chopsticks and sticking it out for Sousuke as if to feed it to him directly. Then he realized what he was doing, and his face flushed, putting down the chopsticks immediately. It was normal for them to share food, but usually, Sousuke would just grab it straight from his plate rather than have Kou feed it to him. Especially not with the same chopsticks he ate from.
"Crap, I-"
"Just give me some, already," Sousuke said impatiently, lifting Kou's hand and making him feed him directly. Sousuke quickly swallowed the serving, and he let go of Kou's hand, letting the boy set the chopsticks down.
Kou was so busy being flustered that he failed to notice that Sousuke's face was even redder.
Once they left the diner, they made plans to go to the mall closest to them. Neither of them planned to buy anything, as Kou spent most of his money on lunch and Sousuke always relied on Kou.
"We should go to the arcade," Sousuke suggested as they entered the busy mall.
"No way. I'm not spending any more money today," Kou said as he ventured further into the mall. It was way more crowded, with teenagers scattered in the shops and arcades. Without spending money, it does give them fewer things to do at the mall, but he was sure they could entertain themselves by admiring things from afar.
Sousuke pouted, grabbing Kou's arm to make him stop walking and look at him. "Oh, come on, at least buy, like, one shirt."
"I thought you said we didn't need to buy Christmas presents for each other," Kou pointed out. They both agreed they needed to save their money after all, to buy for their family instead.
"Okay, then the shirt could be for you! And I could borrow it some time- wait, no, never mind, your style completely sucks, I wouldn't want to share clothes with you-"
"Shut up, you gold digger!"
Sousuke dramatically gasped. "Me? I would never! I'm too humble for that!"
"You're the least humble person I know," Kou deadpanned. "How can I be sure you didn't invite me out today just to spend my freaking money?"
"Because I could have easily asked anyone else?"
"No, you couldn't have, and you know that."
Sousuke had other friends, sure, but most of them were also Kou's friends, and at the same time, Kou could tell he wasn't as comfortable with them. Plus, with his cocky personality, he wasn't exactly popular in school. Kou wasn't even sure how he had the willpower to tolerate his presence.
"Fine, we don't have to spend money," Sousuke huffed as he continued walking once again with no clear destination in mind. Kou followed, catching up to him in no time.
Time passed as they walked around mindlessly, occasionally wistfully looking at clothing that was on sale. Thankfully, Sousuke didn't push Kou to buy anything for him, like he would have done on other days. Kou couldn't tell if this was a sign of maturity or a facade to make him feel guilty and buy something for him.
Which was not going to happen. He was not going to give in to Sousuke's requests. He needed to manage his money better. He was sure that without the pink-haired boy, he would have twice as much money. He was not going to cave in under any circumstances-
They stopped walking for the first time in a while, and Kou watched as Sousuke's gaze traveled to one of the desert shops near the food court. He wasn't exactly discreet as his eyes lingered on the sweets on display, specifically the flan pudding. Kou was determined to keep walking and let Sousuke snap out of his wistful daze on his own, but then he looked at Kou and dammit-
"I hate you," Kou mumbled as he grabbed Sousuke's wrist, making the boy squeak, and led them inside the shop.
"I didn't even say anything!"
"This is all I'm buying," Kou announced. "If you make me buy anything else, I will strangle you."
Sousuke opened his mouth before closing it, apparently sensing his own victory. Kou ignored the smug look on Sousuke's face as he ordered a cup of flan pudding and practically slapped the yen on the table. The woman at the counter frowned at him, but he ignored that, too. Once the flan pudding was sealed in a box and handed to Kou, he shoved it to Sousuke, then walked away as Sousuke quickly followed.
"I thought you said you weren't going to buy anything," Sousuke said innocently, but the grin on his face gave him away as he eagerly opened the sealing and devoured the pudding. "Was my charm so irresistible that you couldn't refuse me?"
"No, obviously! The money was just weighing me down."
"Sure, like you have that much."
Kou made a hand motion as if he was going to reach out to strangle him, but Sousuke managed to dodge his hand. In the process, the pudding almost slipped out of his hands, but he managed to clutch it in time. Soon enough, they went back into a steady silence, and Kou only listened to the sounds of Sousuke munching on his dessert.
"Do you want some?" Sousuke asked, holding out an empty cup. He laughed at the disbelief on Kou's face.
It was well into the afternoon when both of their feet ached, and they got bored with window shopping. They rested in the common area, watching the water fountain in front of them.
"Should we drop a coin?" Sousuke asked lazily.
"Who's we? I'm the only one who has coins on them right now," Kou pointed out.
"Maybe we should sign a contract in which your money is also mine."
"Unless we're getting married, that's not happening."
Sousuke's head whipped to look at him. "What?"
"What?"
They stared at each other for a few heartbeats before Sousuke broke the silence, in a taunt:
"Why would I get married to someone who wears lame-ass earrings like you?"
"Shut up!" Kou said weakly, looking away so Sousuke wouldn't see the blush on his face. "I would never marry someone so cocky and arrogant like you, anyway!"
"Well, no one's gonna date you anyway!"
"How can you be so sure about that?" Kou scoffed. "I'm not conceited like you, so that makes me one step closer to a relationship than you."
"Hey!" Sousuke scowled at him before turning away from him in a petty manner. Kou stifled a laugh.
"What, is that not true?"
The pink-haired boy shoved him, making Kou dangerously tilt to the side before shoving him back. Sousuke startled, almost stumbling out of his seat, and on impulse, Kou steadied him by grabbing his arm.
"Is it that easy to push you?" Kou teased.
"Of course not! I just didn't expect you to!"
"Sure," the blonde rolled his eyes as he got up. "Anyway, I'm getting tired of sitting here. Let's leave."
"But why? It was just getting fun," Sousuke complained, but he stood up as well.
"Fun?" Kou scoffed as they found their way out of the mall.
For once, they didn't make plans for where to go next. For a while, the two boys just walked around, careful not to stray too far from where they lived, but also without much thought. Kou wonders whether he should go home to his siblings now, in case something drastic happens on this snowy day. He shakes off that thought, not letting his mind wander anywhere from this moment with Sousuke. Plus, he doesn't always see Sousuke with snow on his pink hair with his nose equally as bright. When he found himself staring for far too long, he debated whether to slap himself or Sousuke as he quickly looked away before the arrogant boy could notice. He was sure Sousuke would only gloat about it if he ever noticed the way Kou gets flustered around him.
Soon enough, they were near numerous local stores, with Christmas lights and various decorations. A miniature Santa greeted them at a particular shop, and Sousuke pointed out how he was cuter than the statue. Kou only rolled his eyes, knowing he would never openly agree.
When they were tired of walking once again, they stopped in front of a random shop Kou had never been in, and Sousuke gave Kou a pointed look.
"No, we are not going inside," Kou said before he could speak.
"Come on, just to take a look! I've never been here anyway."
"I'm pretty sure it's new, but that doesn't matter," Kou said firmly. Despite that, he looked inside the store curiously, instantly deducing that it was another dessert shop. It looked warm in there, and there weren't many people, and Kou knew it wouldn't hurt to go inside just for a split second. Still, he also knew that at the end, Sousuke would just make him buy another cup of flan pudding, and he couldn't let that happen twice in one day.
"You're so..." Sousuke sighed, his voice trailed off. He looked up, and a teasing glint returned to his pink eyes. "Look, a mistletoe! Are you going to kiss me, Minamoto-kun, oh no-"
Kou was pretty sure he was joking. In fact, he was one hundred percent sure he was just joking. He often made jokes like that, sometimes slightly more crude. It wasn't Sousuke's way of flirting with him, at least, that's what he thinks. He just sometimes liked making jokes that made Kou's face go hot. And maybe in other circumstances, Kou would have just ignored him once again or snapped back. He wasn't sure how it happened, whether it was the weight of the coldness in the atmosphere, practically beckoning Kou to do something drastic, or their proximity in the first place, or how Kou was tired of pretending he didn't want to-.
Then it happened.
Kou grabbed Sousuke's shoulders, cutting him off, and in a flurry, brought him closer to him. Before Sousuke could process his sudden movement, Kou smashed their lips together in chaotic disharmony, making the other boy gasp. Kou could barely feel anything for a split second before the weight of what he had just done crashed down on him.
He just kissed his best friend. He's kissing his best friend.
Slowly, all of his senses returned to him. Sousuke's lips were cold against his, obviously since it was freezing out here, but the warmth of his mouth made up for it. Kou could taste the remnants of the flan pudding Sousuke had eaten earlier. He supposed that he got to taste that pudding, anyway. His hands gripped the pink-haired boy's scarf.
Sousuke didn't reciprocate the kiss, but he didn't shove him off of him as Kou expected. He just stood very still, his body frozen in place against Kou's. Maybe he was in a state of shock.
When Kou had every logical thought return to him, he realized this was probably the dumbest thing he had ever done in his whole life. He pulled back, opening his eyes, which he didn't realize he closed in the first place. His hands were still on Sousuke's scarf, and when pink eyes looked back at him, they stared at each other, both equally stunned by Kou's impulsive move. Kou could see the redness pooling up on Sousuke's face, which was probably mirrored on his own face.
"What was that?" Sousuke managed to ask, his words losing their usual teasing hilt, but his voice slightly rose at the end of the words.
"How am I supposed to know?" Kou breathed out, but Sousuke's words snapped him out of his foggy daze. Kou's hands dropped from his shoulders, and he practically jumped backwards to put distance between himself and Sousuke. He didn't trust himself to be near this stupid guy anymore. He wondered if he could conjure up some excuse, like a weird romantic supernatural possessed him at that moment. Who even still had mistletoes around? Christmas was long gone. "You're the one who told me to do that!"
"What?" Sousuke screeched. "I- I didn't think you would have ever done that! I thought you were too much of a wimp to-"
"Hey!"
"What made you-"
"I don't know! Shut up!" Kou ran a hand through his face, wishing he could just shove the blush off. "You're so confusing."
"Me?"
"Yes, you, do you think I'm talking to myself?"
"Maybe, because you're psycho enough to do that sometimes."
"No, I don't!" Kou snapped. And because he was irritated and frustrated with his own feelings, he lowered himself down, grabbed a bunch of snow with his bare hands, bundled it into a small ball, and hurled it at Sousuke's stupid orange-brown-ish jacket.
"Hey!" Sousuke instantly fired back with a bigger snowball, which smacked Kou right in the chest. The blonde glanced down at the snow lingering on his jacket, and Sousuke prepared another snowball with his gloved hands. Noticing this, Kou kneeled to grab more snow, his palms stinging as he threw it at Sousuke, while the other boy threw his own snowball at him. From there, mayhem occurred, shoving the kiss they had to the back of Kou's mind.
Kou inched away from the shops to gather up more snow to make an efficient projectile, but his fingers were starting to go numb. He couldn't believe he was dumb enough to rush out of the house without gloves, even when he remembered to wear a scarf.
When the snowball Kou crafted managed to miss Sousuke by a landslide, the pink-haired boy started laughing, making the irritation in Kou dissipate. Soon, they were both breathlessly laughing, their snow fight a hazy blur as it went on.
As the sun started to set, Kou could barely feel his hands, and he momentarily stopped, just to wince at their blueness. Instead of taking this chance to throw more snowball at Kou while he was defenseless, Sousuke paused as well. Before Kou knew it, Sousuke was right in front of him and he was taking off one of his gloves.
"What the hell are you doing?" Kou frowned. "It's too cold, idiot."
"You're the idiot here! Who goes out in the snow without gloves?" Sousuke jeered. "No wonder you get Cs on your tests."
"I don't have that many Cs!" Kou argued. "And you're not exactly a genius either."
"Whatever, Minamoto-kun, I think we both know who's the more logical person here."
"No, I don't think-" Kou's voice was cut off by the action of Sousuke shoving one of his gloves over Kou's hand. "Uh, what are you doing?"
"This fight isn't going to last very long if your hands freeze, dumbass," Sousuke stated. His hands lingered on Kou's hand before slowly letting go.
"I didn't know you could be nice."
"I'm the nicest person ever."
"Yeah, right."
"I'll prove it," Sousuke said before he grabbed the sides of Kou's face and pressed his mouth against his, lighter than Kou had done it. Kou's mouth opened in surprise because there was really no excuse for this kiss. They weren't under the mistletoe anymore, and Kou was certain that Sousuke wasn't possessed... at least, he hoped not. Kou could only guess that he did it because he wanted to.
Kou managed to kiss him back, but their mouths were clumsy against each other, given that it was both of their first kiss (well, second, now). Before Kou could really relax, he felt something cold hit his back.
Sousuke fucking backstabbed him with snow. After giving him one of his gloves and a soft kiss, he just had to attack him once again.
Kou stilled, and Sousuke giggled against his mouth. Then the pink-haired boy took a few steps back before it turned into a run when Kou started chasing him with a bunch of snow in his one gloved hand.
The second round of their snowball fight caused time to slip away from them, and soon the sun was completely gone. Without the presence of sunlight, it managed to become even colder, with the boys shivering too much to even chase after each other. When Kou noticed how much time had passed, his heart sank. He told Teru he would be back before dark or at least inform him if plans change. He could have stayed a little longer if he'd wanted to, but he was afraid that he would return to a destroyed house.
"I have to go," Kou told Sousuke while he was preparing to launch another snowball at him.
"What, backing out of the fight now?" Sousuke teased.
"I mean, I have to make sure my siblings are fine," Kou explained.
"Can I come with you?" Sousuke asked. "Or does your brother still not like me?" His tone was casual, but Kou could see the shudder that went through him.
"It's not like Teru-nii doesn't like you; he just thinks you're a little arrogant sometimes," Kou shrugged. "He finds you amusing, though."
"He probably finds it funny when I flinch around him," Sousuke muttered.
"It is funny."
"Shut up! You have no right laughing with that lame-ass-traffic-safety-earring."
"For one day, can you leave my earring alone?"
"Whatever, can I go home with you then?" Sousuke narrowed his eyes at him.
"Sure, I guess, but won't your mom miss you?"
"She'll be fine," Sousuke said dismissively.
"Alright then."
They sat on the pathway to the Minamoto residence, all conversation dying between them. Now that the silence settled, Kou only had time to ruminate on what happened. With the chaos of their snowball fights, Kou could put thoughts of their kisses aside, but now it was all he could think about. He wanted to die of embarrassment from how suddenly he kissed Sousuke, but he couldn't exactly do that with the boy in question right next to him. They kissed twice. What did that mean? Was it normal for two friends to do that? Does this mean he was... a homosexual? He had liked girls before, but he had never really kissed any. Was the only reason they even kissed in the first place to test it out, since neither of them had any romantic experience? Or did it mean there was something more in their friendship?
The silence quickly turned heavy, and Kou wondered if Sousuke had a similar turmoil in his own head. He looked at the boy directly, trying to search for any signs of agitation on his face. His face was completely unreadable.
Sousuke catches Kou looking at him. "What? Why are you looking at me like a creep?"
"No, what?" Kou quickly said, before awkward silence filled the space between them, and he knew he had to say something quick. Just anything to get his mind off what happened between them. "So.. no camera today?
"No, I didn't want to risk it with the snow," Sousuke responded, accepting the subject change.
"I'm sure people took pictures in the snow before. You could have taken really beautiful shoots today, don't you think?"
"I guess so," Sousuke mumbled, not quite meeting Kou's eyes. "But whatever. I can choose whenever I want to take pictures. Don't tell me what to do."
"I wasn't! It was just a suggestion."
"A stupid suggestion," Sousuke commented.
"You know what, forget I said anything at all."
When they arrived in front of the house Kou lived in, the blonde was relieved. He couldn't stand the weirdly awkward silence between them, which was only there for one reason. There was less snow on the front porch, which must have meant Teru had shoveled it out at some point. Usually, Kou would have done it, but he was glad he had less work this year.
Kou knocked on the front door, and he could sense the way Sousuke nervously shifted beside him. Teru opened the door immediately, smiling at the sight of his younger brother, before his eyes narrowed at the pink-haired boy next to him.
"Uh, Nii-chan, would you mind if Sousuke stay for dinner?" Kou asked hesitantly. He wasn't sure why he was so nervous. Teru was never against Kou having friends over. Except he wasn't really sure if Sousuke was just a friend anymore.
"Of course not," Teru said cheerily, looking at Sousuke, who shivered at his gaze. An innocent expression was plastered on his face as he said, directed towards Sousuke, "Mitsuba-kun, you wouldn't mind burnt chicken, right?"
"Uh, I mean-"
"We're not eating that," Kou groaned. "Just order pizza."
"Pizza!" Tiara cheered as she ran into the room, heading straight to Kou. Kou picked up his younger sister, giving her a little swirl before putting her down.
"I guess so," Teru said, resigning to his sibling's requests. He pulled out his phone.
"We'll be in my room," Kou announced. "Tell me when the pizza is here!" He grabbed Sousuke's wrist and led him upstairs. He closed the door of his bedroom behind him and turned around to Sousuke, already getting comfortable in his bed. Kou rolled his eyes at the sight before sitting across from him.
"I'm glad I don't have any siblings," Sousuke said, breaking the silence. "There was no way my mom could have made anyone cuter than me."
"I guess so," Kou said absentmindedly
Sousuke shot him a strange look.
They were drawn into another silence, and Kou immediately regretted taking Sousuke to his room. They should have stayed downstairs and cleaned the kitchen or played with Tiara, or something like that. Now that they were alone in his room, Kou might do something stupid again. Maybe he should just blame it on the snow for being so damn cold.
"Your room is a mess," Sousuke stated.
"No, it's not. It's just the bed," Kou shrugged.
"No. What is that by the desk over there?"
"It's literally just one empty dish. It's no big deal."
"Just admit that you're not a neat person, Minamoto-kun."
"I'll admit that I'm not focused on this conversation at all," Kou said, his words coming out in a rush. Oh no, he could almost feel the urge in him building up to do something that would make him feel extremely embarrassed later. He should just walk away. Just get off this bed and go downstairs. The pizza wasn't here yet, but it didn't matter. He just had to do something, anything to get out-.
"Then what are you focused on?"
"How annoying you are," Kou answered.
Sousuke narrowed his eyes at him, his mouth open, ready to hurl taunts at him, before Kou leaned in and kissed that open mouth. It was unnerving the way Sousuke quickly recovered from his shock this time and kissed him back. His hands grabbed Kou's shoulders to bring him closer as Kou's own hands fell to the bedpost Sousuke was leaning against.
He couldn't taste much of that pudding from earlier, only a certain coldness to Sousuke's mouth. He didn't mind it at all. It only made Kou kiss him harder, and he could feel Sousuke's teeth against his lips.
Against the pressure of his mouth, Sousuke leaned back slightly just to say, "Wow, Minamoto-kun, I never knew you could be so perverted." His tone was teasing, but Kou didn't miss the flushed look on his face. He honestly liked it a little too much.
"I'm not," he said hoarsely.
"Really? But it's like you only called me to your bedroom to do unspeakable things to me and-"
"Shut up; you're probably a pervert for thinking that way!"
"Me? I'm way too-"
"Shut up and go back to kissing me!"
"Stop interrupting me!" Sousuke scowled before pausing. "But okay, I guess."
Once his mouth was on Kou's once again, Kou could barely feel any of his senses. He wondered if they were both equally bad at this, but they just didn't know it since they didn't have prior experience. He supposed it didn't really matter.
They kissed for so long that Kou couldn't feel anything except for Sousuke. He was only snapped out of this haze when he heard a sound in the hallway. He froze against Sousuke, who was still obliviously kissing him, his arms around his neck.
Then the door opened.
Kou tried to jump away from Sousuke, but he underestimated how weak his knees had gotten. Teru got a split-second view of Kou on top of Sousuke, with their lips touching, before Kou felt every nerve in his body go alert. The feeling in his legs returned, and he got off of Sousuke as quickly as possible. Sousuke had a horrified expression on his face, matching Kou's, with wide eyes and an open, wet mouth.
The expression on Teru's face was so blank that it was painful for Kou to look at him. He didn't even look that surprised. He nodded slowly, as if he understood everything before saying, "Kou, pizza's here."
"Oh, okay," Kou said, and he hated how hoarse his voice was. His mouth felt so weird now, and he quickly wiped the remaining saliva that lingered on his lips.
Teru had that same innocent expression on his face as he took a slow step out of the room. Before he left, he said in a monotonous tone, "Make sure to leave the door open from now on," and he walked away.
Kou didn't know whether to strangle his brother, Sousuke, or himself.
Without looking at Sousuke, he got up from the bed and ventured downstairs. He didn't wait for him to follow him. What were they even supposed to do now?
The dinner that followed was the most awkward family dinner Kou ever had to partake in, even more awkward than when he had arguments with Teru (which was rare). No one had anything to say, and Kou never let his eyes wander from his pizza. The heavy silence was only interrupted by Tiara's comments, but that brief relief never lasts long. The one time Kou looked up, it was to his brother, death-glaring Sousuke. Maybe he did have a reason to be scared of his brother after all.
After cleaning up and washing the dishes, Teru said, "You should walk Sousuke home now. It's getting pretty late."
"Uh, okay," Kou said immediately. Once they put on their coats, they headed out in the cold, their shoes crunching on the snow. The sun was long gone, and Kou tried to focus on the chill in the air. They walked wordlessly to the pathway to Sousuke's house, the directions which both of them had memorized.
Sousuke was the first to break the silence, "I told you your brother was scary."
"He's not scary," Kou said, which was probably a lie, depending on who you ask. "He can just be a little protective sometimes."
Sousuke narrowed his eyes at him, and their eyes met for a split second. Kou was the first to look away. He couldn't stand the uncertainty about where they stood in their relationship. Most of the time, he was an impulsive person, so he might as well exhibit that, once again.
"We should talk about the kiss," Kou blurted out. He couldn't see Sousuke's reaction, but he continued talking anyway. "I don't- I mean- I'm wondering if this means-"
"I think I'm gay for you!"
"That's what I was going to ask- wait, what?" He looked at Sousuke, his face burning even though it was freezing cold outside. The words were so abrupt that Kou was half-convinced he imagined them.
That was until Sousuke dared to run away. Kou instantly snapped out of his shocked daze, rushing to catch up with him. "Hey, where are you going?!"
"Home!"
"You're not going home if I have anything to do with it!" Kou yelled after him, his feet picking up to chase him. They ran in circles for a while before Kou managed to catch up to him, grabbing his wrist and making him turn to him. Sousuke could barely meet his eyes. "Explain, now."
"What is there to explain?" Sousuke said, pettily. "Are you too dumb to understand?"
"No- I mean- maybe sometimes people can't process a confession, y'know that, right? And I never even got confessed to in the first place, and you didn't even let me respond."
"I don't want to hear your response, Lame-Ass-Safety-Traffic-Earring!"
"Okay, first of all, leave my earring alone, and second of all, why?"
Sousuke didn't respond. Kou grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "So?"
"Because I didn't think..." Sousuke's voice trailed off, his eyes downcast. Kou was taken aback by his solemnity. All he heard from the pink-haired boy was taunts and crude jokes. But for once, there was something different in his tone.
"Think what? That I didn't like you back?"
"Well, I always thought you were straight," Sousuke muttered. "And I'll die the day I ever let myself get rejected by anyone, least of all you."
"Straight? Why?"
Sousuke scoffed. "Don't think I didn't notice the way you blushed around Daikon-senpai."
"Daikon...?" Kou blinked, trying to remember who exactly he was referring to, since he always had nicknames for pretty much everyone, but then he remembered a flimsy crush he had in the beginning of the year. He still cared about her, though. "Hey, that's not really nice..."
"Look at you defending her," Sousuke said bitterly.
"Okay, but that doesn't mean- wait-" Kou paused, grabbing Sousuke's face so he could look at him for once. "Are you jealous?"
"Me? Jealous? No way. I don't care about whatever you do," Sousuke said quickly. "You can drown in this snow for all I care."
"How can someone drown in snow?" Kou said, finding himself getting increasingly frustrated with his conversation. He drew a deep breath and tried to steer them back on topic. "Sousuke, just because I liked one girl before doesn't mean I'm completely straight. Have you ever heard of, well, I don't know, liking two genders?" Kou never really thought profoundly about it, but he guessed he was bisexual. With that revelation, he found it easier to admit that he really did have a crush on his best friend, for maybe longer than he realized.
"What are you even trying to say?"
"If what you were trying to say earlier was that you liked me, then yeah, I like you back."
Sousuke stilled in his hands.
"You can't be that surprised," Kou rolled his eyes. "Why do you think I kissed you in the first place?"
"Maybe just to get some practice, I don't know!"
"I wouldn't do that to you, and you know that," Kou got the courage to carefully brush his finger against the sides of Sousuke's face. "I really like you, you moron."
"Yuck," Sousuke wrinkled his nose, but Kou noticed the way he relaxed into his touch. "Whatever then."
"Then what?"
"Then I actually do also like you like that," Sousuke sighed. "Even though you have horrible style and wear lame-ass earrings and you barely think before doing stupid things-"
"Okay, whatever, don't make me regret confessing to you."
Sousuke grinned at him, and Kou pinched his face, making his smile disappear. "Hey!"
"Sorry, I think I had a little cuteness aggression there."
"Hah! You really do think I'm cute! Well, I'm not surprised because I am way cuter than you-"
"Well, now it's just aggression," Kou said, and he lunged at Sousuke, making him take a few steps back before it morphed into a run.
They set off into another round of chasing until Sousuke yelled, "Hey, that's abusive boyfriend behavior!"
Both of them froze simultaneously. Kou blinked, processing Sousuke's words.
"Did- Did I misunderstand the whole thing?" Sousuke said hesitantly. Kou never saw him look this nervous. It was endearing to see him less arrogant than usual.
"No, you idiot."
Since Sousuke had stopped running, Kou took the opportunity to catch up to him and grabbed his arms, pulling him in for a quick kiss. It was over before it really began, and Sousuke stared at him with wide eyes and parted lips. Kou carefully peeled off the singular glove over his hand, giving it back to Sousuke. He felt all warmth escape from his hand.
"Let me walk you home now," Kou told him.
Sousuke nodded, clutching the glove in his one gloved hand and using his bare hand to grab Kou's hand. Kou was startled by this action, but Sousuke started to lead him away from the open area they were in.
The two boys walked, hand in hand, all the way to Sousuke's house, both aware that this snowy day had signaled the start of something new in their relationship.