Chapter Text
Rui watched the way the light caught the gold in Tsukasa’s hair, and for a second, a show he thought of somehow lingered in the air, but of course, Rui’s mind, always three steps ahead, began to spin a different thread. He imagined a world where this bickering, Tsukasa's presence was stripped away.
He thought back to the "director" he used to be before the Wonder Stage, before Wonderlands × Showtime. He had been a serious inventor isolated by his own eccentricity until he felt he'd never find anyone else.
...Then came Tsukasa. But he's just some man who didn't just walk into his life, but crashed into it, literally. Yet, Tsukasa had changed the very motive of Rui’s inventions, and on that day, his story of a written tragedy got blended into comedy in the best way possible.
"Let's make them laugh while they cry, Rui!" Tsukasa would definitely say.
And Rui had. He had learned to write happiness, simply because he wanted to see it reflected in Tsukasa’s eyes.
Rui’s gaze drifted to his sketchbook. In his mind’s eye, the sketches on the floor weren't just plans for a normal show, they were like... love letters. In a way...
No matter how obscure they may be, they were letters to a version of Tsukasa that might one day be out of reach, when he finds this in the future and everyone's gone their separate ways.
He imagined the "stage" he would build if his main star, his star ever left for his dreams, he'd probably have a place of beautiful, terrible suffering where Rui would play the villain just to see Tsukasa’s indignation.
He could see himself now, a figure behind some broken mask of tragedy, performing alone, waiting for a star who would never return.
Until Tsukasa cut him off from his thoughts.
"Rui? You’re doing it again." Tsukasa’s voice broke through the vision like a bell. He was leaning in, his face inches from Rui’s. He wasn't dead. He wasn't some lost memory. He wasn't even out there, fulfilling his dream of stardom, solo. He was literally right there, staring at him. Concerned.
"You have that look in your eyes," Tsukasa murmured. "Like, you've been staring at me for a few minutes and I've been calling you. Are you sure you're okay?" Of course he isn't, you idiot! he was zoning out, how would he be okay from being unaware of his facial expressions for minutes straight???
"I was just thinking," Rui said, his voice a bit thicker than before, "That the show we'll be writing is quite a spectacular one, Tsukasa-kun. Even the parts that haven't been written yet." Oh, he's lying to him! Rui, you SICK FU-
"Of course it is! Because I'm the lead, and you're the one making sure I don't fall off the stage." Tsukasa squeezed his hand briefly. "It’s a perfect arrangement."
Rui felt relieved for once, even if he hadn't admitted what he was really thinking. So he gave him a reassuring smile. that smile only Tsukasa could force out of him.
"Fufu, absolutely," Rui whispered, leaning his head against Tsukasa's shoulder as the sun finally set.
"What a perfect arrangement indeed. Let’s make sure the ending is a happy one, shall we?"
"Heh! As if I'd allow anything else!"
Maybe Rui wasn't the villain in this show after all.