Chapter Text
"Perfect work today, everyone. That was much better than before." Rui gives the troupe small claps as the actors get themselves out of character.
"Good work today!" Their leader, Tsukasa, yells with his hands on his hips.
The girls, Emu and Nene, share their own praises and take a moment to drink some water.
After a few minutes of rest, they pack their things and begin their journeys home. Well, except for Rui. He stays back later than the other three so he can make sure all of his handmade props were put away properly and in peak condition for the next day. Sure, the others have offered to lend him a hand, but his argument was always "I made them, it's my responsibility to look after them".
That, and he quite enjoyed the alone time after a hard days work.
As he was wiping off one of his precious creations, he hears hurried footsteps approaching him from behind. He turns to see Tsukasa running back up to the stage.
"Oh, hello." Rui stands to greet the exhausted actor. "Is everything alright?"
"Hey Rui," Tsukasa catches his breath before continuing, "sorry, I was halfway through the park before realizing that I left something here."
"Hm? And what's that?"
"My duffle bag with all my clothes in it. I think i left it backstage."
"Duffle bag..?" Rui tilts his head, trying to remember if he's seen it. "Oh! Yes, I saw that just a minute ago. I'll go grab it for you."
"For real? Thanks, Rui!" Tsukasa sits at the edge of the stage as he waits, letting his body rest.
Rui hums in response as he begins to head backstage to where he saw the bag. He walks slowly, wanting to draw out Tsukasas presence as long as he can.
Rui has had a crush on Tsukasa for a few months now, and it's been almost overwhelmingly stressful. He's scared to tell him, but he wants nothing more than to be with him. He knows it's selfish, but he can't help himself... Tsukasa was absolutely perfect.
"Rui! You okay back there?" Tsukasas voice makes him jump. He didn't realize that he had completely stopped moving while fantasizing about his leader.
"Y-yes!" He responds. "One moment!" He rushes to the dressing room, grabs the bag, and returns to Tsukasa on the stage. "Here you go~"
"Ah, thank you!" Tsukasa stands up and takes the bag, immediately throwing it over his shoulder. "You're a lifesaver."
Rui chuckles at his enthusiasm. "It's just a bag, Tsukasa."
"Just a bag?!" Tsukasa gasps and slaps his hand to his chest. "It's special!"
"Is it?"
"Of course!" Tsukasa nods. "It was a gift from my loyal director, after all!"
"Oh," Rui nearly forgot... he gave Tsukasa that bag for Christmas months before. "Well... I'm glad you like it so much." He flashes an appreciative smile as he admires the bright one on Tsukasas face.
He absolutely adores Tsukasas smile, and he would do anything to see it all the time.
"Rui? You look distracted."
Rui returns to earth to see a concerned look on his leaders face. "O-oh, no I'm alright. I just got an idea for our next show, that's all." He lies, hoping Tsukasa doesn't see through it.
Luckily, he didn't. Instead, his worries quickly disappear and turn to pride. "Hah! That's our director! Always having ideas~! Where would we be without you?"
Rui immediately feels himself blushing at the praise. "Stop... I'm not that amazing..."
"You are!" Tsukasa argues. "We wouldn't be WonderShow without our prized director! You need to be nicer to yourself!" He huffs.
"Okay, okay... I understand." Rui chuckles.
"Good!" Tsukasa nods. "Well, I've got to get home before Saki starts to worry. I'll see you in class tomorrow!" He turns and begins skipping away.
Rui felt a sudden sense of dread resonate through his body at the sight. Without much thinking, he calls out. "W-wait!"
When Tsukasa turns around, Rui immediately regrets his action. "Yeah?"
"U-uh... I, uh..." He didn't plan this far— he didn't plan at all, actually. "Do you..." His eyes search for something to keep the blond around, and with a glance up, he finds his answer. "Do you... want to do some stargazing..? It's— It's a nice night for it."
He mentally slaps himself. What is he saying? Stargazing? Tsukasa has to go home, there's no way he would—
"Sure, I don't see why not."
Ruis head snaps back to his leader to see him checking the time on his phone before sliding it back into his pocket.
"Wait, really? But— I thought you had to go home."
Tsukasa walks back to the stage on tosses his bag down. "I can stay for a bit longer. Where do you wanna sit?"
Rui stares at him in silence with wide eyes. Tsukasa actually agreed?!
"Rui?" Tsukasa waves his hand in front of Ruis face to get his attention.
"O-oh! Uh, over here... I guess." Rui slowly walks to the edge of the stage where they both sit shoulder to shoulder looking up at the stars above them.
"I didn't know you liked the stars, Rui. You never seemed too interested in them before. At least, not like i am." Tsukasa chuckles.
Rui leans back on his hands to sneak a glace at Tsukasas face without him noticing. "I do. I think... they're beautiful."
Oh, how Rui loved Tsukasas face. He loved how his skin was slightly sun-kissed, making it just a few shades darker than his own, a stunning contrast to his bright blond and pink hair. His hair was another thing. It was short and wavy, giving off the impression of it being fluffy.
Rui always wondered if the impression was actually reality. Would Tsukasa let him touch it to figure that out? No... probably not. That's weird.
He's weird. Tsukasa would never love him back, would he?
"Rui? Did you hear me?"
His spiraling was cut off by Tsukasa turning to look at him.
Just like always, he got too distracted by his own selfish desires to remember that he wasn't alone.
"Huh? Oh, sorry, no. Could you repeat what you said?" He asked with a guilty chuckle.
"I asked you if you had a favorite star." Tsukasa repeats his question.
"A favorite star, huh?" Rui hums. He wanted nothing more than to get it over with and say 'you', but there was no way he could do that. It would ruin everything he worked so hard to build up.
So, he said the next thing that came to his mind. "I haven't really thought about that. There are so many, it's hard to choose one."
"Really?" Tsukasa looks back up and points at one star in particular. It was much brighter than the others. "I like the north star. It's like natures own personal compass! I think that's pretty cool."
"Hm," Rui looks up at the star and back down to the blond, "I like that one too. It's very important, especially to those who are lost."
"Right?!" Tsukasa turns to him with his typical wide smile. He was shining, just like the star he was admiring.
Rui could stare at him forever if he was allowed to.
During their collective giggles and laughs, Tsukasas phone chimed with a message. It was from Saki, judging by the way the leader reacted.
"Huh?! When did it get so late?!" He jumps up. "Sorry, Rui! I have to go!" He runs over and grabs his bag before jumping off the stage.
"No worries." Rui stands up shortly after. "Maybe we can do this again sometime."
"For sure!" Tsukasa agrees with a thumbs up. "Alright, bye! See you tomorrow!" He turns around and begins hurrying towards the park gate.
"Bye!" Rui continues to wave until Tsukasa was no longer in sight. "See you tomorrow..." He sighs as his hand falls down to his side, his smile fading away.
"Back to cleaning..." He slowly returns to his previous activity without another word. His walk home was quieter, he didn't even bother with putting music on.
He had fallen so fast that it psychically hurt. Tsukasa is extremely important to him, he can't risk losing him over something like this.
Tsukasa cannot know.
The next morning, Tsukasa greeted Rui at school like usual.
"Good morning Rui~!"
Rui looks up from his paper to see his leader wide awake, shining like he always does.
"Good morning." He replies with a sleepy smile.
"How are you feeling today?" Tsukasa leans down onto the desk to examine Ruis expression.
"Hm?" Rui cocks his head to the side. "What do you mean?"
"You seemed a bit down last night. Did i... misread that?"
Tsukasa looked concerned, like he was genuinely worried about Rui.
"Oh, uh..." Rui wasn't sure what to say. Sure, he wasn't exactly ecstatic last night, he hasn't been truly excited in years, but he wasn't sad either. He also didn't want Tsukasa to worry about him. "Not... necessarily, no. At least... I don't believe i was upset. I apologize if I gave off that impression."
"N-no! It's fine! I... shouldn't have assumed..." Tsukasa lets out an embarrassed laugh.
Then, Rui makes a painful realization.
Did Tsukasa only agree to stay with him... because he looked sad? It had nothing to do with him actually wanting to spend time with Rui... did it? His eyes fall back to his desk as reality slaps him in the face.
"Hey, are you sure you're alright?" Tsukasa leans closer, making Rui back up.
"Yes... I'm okay." Rui sniffs and wipes away the sudden tears that threatened to fall. "Allergies, you know?"
"Right..." Tsukasa didn't seem to fully believe him, but he's never been one to pry. So, he stands back up and plays along for the time being. "It is that time of year! However, we can't have you getting sick before our show!"
Ah, right... they have a show soon. In three days, to be exact. He really should take better care of his health, Nene would kill him before anything else could if he got sick.
"Of course." He nods. "I'll be more careful, thank you."
"No problem!" Tsukasa giggles. "Oh! Did you want to do some more stargazing after the show? It was pretty nice!"
Rui feels his heart skip a beat. "You... want to do it again?"
"Mhm! It was a good de-stresser, you know? A perfect end to a perfect show!"
"W-well... I guess we could—"
"Maybe we can invite the girls, too! It sounds like something Emu would enjoy."
Ah.
The girls. Of course they would be invited. It only makes sense.
"...yeah, sure." Ruis voice quiets. "We can ask later today."
"Wonderful~!" The bell rings and the students take their seats. "Oh, class is starting! See you~" He heads over to his own seat with a small wave to his director.
During lessons, all Rui could think about was his interaction with Tsukasa. He can't tell how the blond sees him. Friend? Lover? It's entirely possible that Tsukasa doesn't even like him at all. He could be lying like everyone else was.
What a sick reality that would be. After everything they've been through, Tsukasa doesn't even like him? Funny... hilarious, even.
His brain puts a pause on his thoughts as the day comes to an end.The students put their items away and leave the room.
"I'll see you at the stage later, Rui!" Tsukasa pats his shoulder.
Rui jolts at the unexpected touch. "R-right, see you there." He smiles as if his heart didn't just stop beating for a second.
He has no idea why he suddenly couldn't act normal. Tsukasa does that all the time, what could possibly be different now?
He shakes his head along with his nerves and heads to the park for work. When he arrives, he saw something he didn't expect.
The props were already laid out in a neat, orderly line, ready to be used.
But, he knows for a fact that he put them away the night before.
"Who..?"
His eyes widen as they land on one specific item.
Tsukasas duffle bag.
"When did he—"
"Oh, hey!" Tsukasa announces his presence as he emerges from backstage holding one of the props they need for the day. "I hope you don't mind me starting without you! I got here early and thought I'd help you out!"
Rui was overly flustered by the blonds kind gesture. "Oh, uh... no, that's alright. Thank you, Tsukasa." He steadies himself, not wanting so sound more pathetic than he already does.
"No worries!" Tsukasa sets the box down. "A star must always be willing to assist his crew!"
"Of course." Rui agrees despite his heart breaking for the second time that day.
Teammate, crew... That's all they are. Star and director. Nothing more, nothing less.
He puts on a small, forced smile and attempted to match his typical energy. "Well, I appreciate the help, my star." With a quiet chuckle, he begins searching through the box Tsukasa brought out.
He was so focused on not thinking of his own emotions that he didn't notice the way Tsukasa completely froze up at the nickname.
"What did you—"
"Tsukasa~! Rui~! We're here~!"
Whatever Tsukasa was attempting to say was quickly drowned out by Emu and Nene arriving, Emu making their entrance a loud one as always.
"Hey, girls." Rui greeted them calmly before returning to his job. "And, what were you going to say, Tsukasa?"
Tsukasa tenses up. "N-nothing! Nevermind! Let's, uh... let's start practice!"
Rui lets out a confused hum before hesitantly nodding. "Okay... sure. Let's begin for the day."
The girls change into their costumes and rehearsal begins. All the while, the name was the only thing on Tsukasas mind.