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“Bruno, you've been staring at the dirt for at least five minutes."
Spencer's voice sounded behind the small Peruvian man who had been staring at the ground for a while now. Bruno looked up now, blinking a bit in a dazed way. He hadn't realized he had been so quiet for so long. He didn't even realize Spencer had noticed he was. He glanced at the rest of the favorites. He saw Rosa glanced over with a worried look and he realized they all had noticed.
"Seriously. It's like something is going on in that head of yours.” Spencer continued with a judgy look as usual. Bruno sighed slightly as he stood up, rubbing his arm slightly and slowly. He actually had been lost in thought and the train derailed a bit in his head. Spencer faltered slightly and sighed when he saw the expression on Bruno's face.
Now he knew something had been going on in Bruno's head. He figured Bruno just needed time to think, which he really did. The last challenge got him thinking. Thinking a lot about a thing that he never really thought about before.
His own sexuality. He never had to question it before after all. He knew he liked girls, they were really really pretty. But… after the last challenge, he realized might like more than just girls. And he knew the reason why he had that realization. It was a silly reason.
Ren. That goofy person who seemed so unique, yet also very amazing.
The way Ren did the flips and the jumps and just the way the sun shines on their hair and earrings. Along with his voice and just her personality. It all was just so unique and nice and neat and a million other things Bruno could call Ren. He actually really liked thinking about all the words that he could place on Ren. He didn't know what he'd do if he never met or saw Ren before.
Spencer snapped his fingers suddenly, getting Bruno's attention again. The slightly taller, black haired Brit had a raised eyebrow. He clearly wanted an answer to what was wrong with him. Bruno stood up now before speaking, quietly until he managed to clear his throat and repeated.
“I…. I think I need to … talk with someone. Probably Benji.” He mumbled as he looked at Spencer. Spencer nodded at that, actually having an understanding look rather than the judgy stereotypical British man look he usually had around Bruno. He stepped to the side as Bruno walked past. He even patted his head slightly.
Bruno was smiling slightly as he walked over to the bamboo area where Benji and Ally had been chopping some bamboo. Ally had gone back to the shelter for a bit but Benji was sitting there with his goofy look on his face. He seemed to be thinking about Tristan when Bruno walked up. He blinked when Bruno spoke and looked over.
“Hey um … Benji…” he began. Benji beamed at him. "Oh Bruno! What's up?" He said happily with a big smile. “Well.. I have a question."
Benji tilted his head with that same smile he got after thinking of Tristan. “Oh?" Bruno nodded and bit his lip. “How…. Did you start questioning….” Benji immediately beamed after a second and started chattering. He mentioned how Tristan always lended him an ear and would always hype him up when he was feeling low and the fact that after the musical was when he first started realizing.
“They are the best thing to ever happen to me.” Bruno was smiling and sighed. "So, how did you realize? That you weren't straight.”
"Oh. After the musical challenge I realized a lot of my thoughts drifted to Tristan. And I got that feeling in my chest each time. They're the best thing to ever happen to me.”
Benji had a big smile as he said that. Bruno nodded at that with a thoughtful look. That helped him a lot with what he had been debating. That was just like with him, how his thoughts kept drifting to Ren. He got that pang of weirdness in his chest each time, a good weirdness. That made it click in his mind now.
He liked Ren. Like really liked Ren. He felt like his heart just skipped a beat at the actual realization. He bit his lip as he thought seriously now. Benji noticed and patted Bruno’s head with a smile. He understood completely, he had that same look when he realized he liked Tristan after all.
“So, you like someone huh? Is it like Spencer or someone else on this-?” Bruno immediately shook his head the moment Benji said Spencer's name. He also made a face as he did so.
“No no… it's not Spencer at all. It's.. another fan. From my old team.” Bruno started, looking awkward as he rubbed his hoodie sleeve and then messed with his hood on his hoodie. He felt awkward wanting to admit this.
"Oh? Which person? And uh…. You might need to describe them…" Benji said with an awkward smile. Bruno nodded a bit and took a deep breath. He thought of it for a moment then smiled.
“Its Ren, the one with the pretty brown hair that covers their eyes and the green pants. They were the one who did all those cool flips and jumps. They looked so cool doing that... They're so cool and-” Bruno blushed as he realized he was beginning to ramble on about Ren. Benji was grinning at him now. It reminded him of how he was with Tristan.
“You should talk to them sometime! It will help!" Bruno's eyes immediately widened at the thought. “T- talk to him? But… what if I say something stupid and mess it up?” Benji patted the tiny man's shoulder with a smile.
"Oh don't worry. I thought that too before talking to Tristan and they still accepted me! I uh… also said something stupid but they thought it was funny.”
Bruno was nodding along, he was still thinking of Ren and what he would say to him when he got the chance to talk to her. He was very nervous but really wanted to and knew he needed to talk to them. After all, it could very likely be now or never for him. And he knew he really needed to tell her before it was too late. He also needed his words straight first of course.
After a few more words were exchanged, Bruno said he was just gonna take a walk through the woods, which Benji just nodded at. As Bruno walked, he couldn't help but think about Ren and how nice he seemed and how pretty they were. It was like she was all he could think about now. It was somewhat weird and new to him but in a good way. He was so distracted by his thoughts he didn't realize someone was watching him now when he stopped by a tree.
Ren had popped out of the branches as Bruno leaned his back against the tree, startling him a little but the man in the hoodie still smiled up at him as his cheeks felt warmer than usual. He hopped down after and started to clean the leaves out of Bruno's hair.
Ren was halfway through taking the leaves off of Bruno's hair and grinning as he did so. He may have seemed like he was oblivious to it but he wasn't oblivious to the chaos he’d just caused. He liked scaring people he liked. Especially cute ones like Bruno.
"You’re a menace," Bruno muttered as Ren finished what he was doing, still grinning up a storm. His whitish crop top smelled like smoke and trees and something faintly and weirdly citrusy, probably some fruit he found in the trees.
Bruno exhaled sharply through his nose, trying to steady the erratic beating of his heart in his chest. Ren’s fingers lingered near his hoodie hood, brushing away the last stubborn leaf. The air between them felt charged, like the tension in a movie before it gets interrupted.
It felt like an entire hour before Ren tilted his head, the smirk softening into something softer, a small curious smile. "What?" he asked, because Bruno had been staring without realizing again.
"I need to tell you something," Bruno blurted, then immediately regretted it when Ren’s eyebrows shot up. Even though he couldn't see them he could tell they did as Ren was grinning now in curiosity. The words lodged in his throat like a fishbone now. Should he backtrack? Make a joke?
But Ren was still waiting, one hand now tucked into the pockets of his pants while the other played with one of the straps. He was rocking back on his heels like he had all the time in the world to just wait for Bruno. Bruno swallowed. "You...you make me realize things. About myself."
Ren blinked slowly as he went quieter somehow. The woods around them were stupidly loud, branches creaking, a squirrel chittering indignantly from somewhere above. Bruno focused on the frayed edge of his own hoodie sleeve instead, the way the fabric curled where he’d chewed on it absentmindedly during the harder work hours.
"Okay," Ren said slowly, dragging the word out. "Good things, I hope?"
The laugh jumped out of Bruno before he could stop it. "Yeah. Yeah, good things." He rubbed his palms against his thighs, wiping away the sweat.
"Like how I’ve never… I mean, I always thought I was straight. Until.... you." There. The words hung between them. Bruno couldn’t bring himself to look up now.
Ren went perfectly still somehow. It was different from his usual hyperactiveness. Then, with a cautious and kind gentleness, he hooked a finger under Bruno’s chin and lifted it to meet where his eyes were under his bangs. His expression was almost unreadable; but there was something seemingly soft and sweet or something of the like. "Bruno," he said, voice low and gentle, "are you confessing to me right now?"
The question wasn’t teasing. It was careful, like testing the weight of a ledge before stepping onto it. Ren’s eyes were very much sparkling under those bangs of hers. She wanted, no, she needed to know. She wanted to confess her own feelings too after all.
Bruno’s face was flushed a deep red now but he slowly and cautiously nodded. “Y… yes. Yes I am. I.. is that a problem? I'm sorry if it is I just really like you and-”
Before he could say another word, Ren had planted a very gentle, soft and quick kiss on his lips. They lingered for a couple of seconds or so after and then pulled away with a soft, loving smile. They gently rubbed his cheek as he processed what had just happened for a few seconds to a minute. Then… once he did so.
“Oh … my god … you kissed me.” He murmured with a very red face and a happy smile. " and you kissed back." Ren whispered as he sat close to Bruno. He was smiling softly still as he brushed his bangs out of the way so Bruno could see his eyes. They were mesmerizing to him.
“Does… this mean that you like me back?” Ren nodded at that as he kissed Bruno's cheek now. He was being so much more cuddly now. It made Bruno beyond happy and he hugged the slightly taller Chilean with a small laugh of joy.
This was the greatest thing that Bruno ever had happen to him since he managed to get a spot on the show of his dreams. He finally had a partner. Someone who truly loved him like he loved them. He could hug and kiss and cuddle them. Well, in secret, since there were a few people that could be mad about this.
"We should probably be careful. Don't want someone like Sam or Spencer seeing us." Ren slowly said as he held Bruno. She smiled when he looked up.
“Oh. Right. ….. But we can still meet up and kiss sometimes, right?” Ren laughed for a second, but nodded. "Of course we can."