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There’s loud estatic cheering, lots of it.
The crowd stands to applaud the wonderful performance of Wonderlands X Showtime. On stage, the four performers bow and wave, thanking the audience for coming to watch their show.
After a moment or two, they walk off stage, the curtains begin to close, and the audience slowly disappears, either going home or continuing to enjoy the wonders of the theme park elsewhere.
As the director, Rui makes it his mission to personally congratulate and glaze all his friends/fellow troupe members after a successful show.
“Emu!” He calls out to the short bubbly pink-haired girl who’s bouncing in her seat, not being able to contain her after-show excitement. She skips her way over to Rui, already knowing what’s she’s been summoned for.
“Yes Rui-kun?” She exclaims with the second brightest smile Rui’s ever seen.
“You did amazing out there Emu, a stellar performance. I’d say this was our best show yet!” The two giggle together.
“For suresies! I super enjoyed the song we sung! I really liked Me and Tsukasa’s duet…” Emu blabbers on about her highlights of the show.
One down two to go.
Rui makes his way to the girls’ dressing room and softly knocks on the white painted wood. The door unlocks, and out emerges Nene, who’s already changed out of her performance outfit.
“Nene,” Rui takes notice of her change of clothes, “I see someone’s eager to leave.” He teases.
Despite not being able to contain her smile Nene huffs, “Well being in that sweaty gross outfit after two hours of dancing and singing doesn’t exactly feel great.” Nene admits coyly, leaning on the doorframe.
Rui snorts, “Ha… right, it really doesn’t feel great.” They both chuckle. After a fleet of laughter Rui clears his throat and regains his composure.
“You did really great today Nene, I see how much you’ve improved since we’ve started out,” he smiles warmly. It’s nice seeing your once so shy friend come out of her shell.
“Thanks Rui… Y’know, you really don’t have to keep congratulating all of us after every show we do,” she playfully pokes Rui’s shoulder.
Rui feigns hurt, “It’s my duty as the director to make sure all my actors know how well they’ve performed!”
Nene amusingly sighs, “of course it is.”
Two down one to go.
…
Tsukasa wasn’t here. He wasn’t anywhere. He wasn’t on stage re citing his lines, he wasn’t chatting with Emu or Nene or some audience member, and he wasn’t in their dressing room.
After scouring the entire area he sighs and takes a seat at the edge of the wonder stage, swinging his legs.
“Looking for Tsukasa-kun?” Emu’s pitched and cheery voice startles Rui making him jump. He whips around and there the pinkette is. Like Nene, she’s also changed out into her regular outfit.
“Yea I am looking for Tsukasa… have any idea where he is?”
To that, Emu nods her head enthusiastically.
“He left already!”
Left? Tsukasa leaving? Before Rui can give him his well deserved affirmations?
That just won’t do.
Emu, sensing Rui’s sourness speaks up again, “Saki-chan was here today watching our performance! Tsukasa-Kun and Saki-chan left and went home together!” She cheerfully provides Rui with Tsukasa’s whereabouts.
Nene approaches the two, “If you didn’t get to speak to Tsukasa already just send him a text.”
“A Text? That just won’t do——! I have to congratulate all of you in person, a text won’t convey my emotions of gratitude.”
Rui gets up and walks away.
Nene turns to Emu, who’s confused on Rui’s mini outburst. “Don’t worry Emu, you know how Rui gets. He cares about all of us,” she lovingly pats emu’s head and then takes her hand in hers, interlocking their fingers. “Now, let’s go have our sleepover.”
…
The walk to Tsukasa’s was long, but not that long. Twenty minutes max.
He’s visited the Temna residence plenty of times. Tsukasa is his best friend after-all.
With his finger hovering over the doorbell, he’s hesitant to ring. It seems a little extreme to come all the way here just to give him a bunch of silly seemingly empty words that Tsukasa might not even appreciate. But despite his better judgment, Rui rings the doorbell.
After a minute of silence, the door creeps open. A surprised Saki shyly pokes her head out to see who’s there, she relaxes after seeing familiar face before her,
“Rui? What are you doing here?” Saki confusingly tilts her head.
“Saki! Hello, sorry for the sudden visit. I’ve come to see Tsukasa-kun, I wasn’t able to congratulate him on today’s performance.”
“Kasa’s upstairs in his room, c’mon in” Saki smiles and steps to the side to allow Rui to enter, he immediately goes for the stairs.
“Huh, how… strange?” Saki struggles to find the right word to describe the director, shrugging, she heads back to her room.
Rui reaches Tsukasa’s room and gently knocks, no answer.
He tries again, this time calling out his name, “Tsukasa-Kun?”
Behind the door, Rui hears haphazard shuffling and even the sound of something (a chair?) being knocked over.
The door opens.
“R-Rui—! What brings u here?”
Tsukasa is in his pajamas, his hair is disheveled, and his eyes are…red?
A pang of guilt creeps its way into Rui’s chest, must’ve woken the poor star up.
“Tsukasa-kun——apologies for the sudden intrusion, I didn’t get to congratulate you after the show…” Rui trails off as his gaze travels from Tsukasa, to behind Tsukasa, his room.
It’s a mess. Which is completely unlike the shorter male before him, Tsukasa is a very very tidy person.
Tsukasa notices when Rui starts to eye the room behind him. And so he leans onto the doorframe to block his view, “ah I see! Apologies for not seeing you before I left.” He chuckles nervously.
Rui knows what’s going on, so he wraps this up quickly.
“It’s fine truly, I shouldn’t have come all the way here and bothered you and Saki. You did amazing today Kasa’…” he extend his hand and slowly grabs Tsukasas’s wrist, he pulls down the blonde’s sleeve , and begins to nuzzle his cheek against the fresh cuts that adorn his star’s forearm, “So please,” Rui locks his teary eyes with the unfazed ones of his star, “Don’t let yourself think otherwise.”
…
Tsukasa did terrible today, he stuttered during one of his lines, and stepped a little too far away from Nene during the cheorgraphy of “tonal twinkle tetrad”
So why was the director telling him otherwise?
Rui slowly removes himself from Tsukasa’s arm. He lets it go and it falls back next to Tsukasa’s side.
Rui sighs,
“Kasa——ah!?”
Rui gets pulled into Tsukasa’s incredibly dim room, and the door shuts behind him.
Before he can speak, an angry finger pokes at his chest, “R-Rui!”
But then Tsukasa’s composure falters, and he breaks down into tears.
Rui is quick to comfort him, he wraps his arms around the blonde and allows him to go limp against his chest. Rui strokes his peach like hair gently and mutters sweet consoling words.
“I—*hic* I’m sorry!” Tsukasa grips Rui’s vest with trembling hands. Rui realizes he’s still in his show outfit.
“Shh, it’s okay—“
“No it’s not okay!! I did so—“ a broken sob escapes his lips, “terrible! I did so terrible…” he nuzzles against Rui’s chest.
Rui’s heart aches, this isn’t the first time he’s seen his star like this.
This won’t do.
In one swift movement Rui hooks his arm under Tsukasa’s knees and picks him up bridal-style, carrying him towards his bed. Rui lays him down gently, being extra careful with his arm.
It’s not super bad, Rui’s done worse— but seeing those self inflicted wounds on Tsukasa made his heart ache terribly.
“Wait here, I’ll go get the med kit,” Rui walks out of the room and towards the bathroom down the hall.
If I remember correctly it should be…here!
He snatches it from a cabinet shelf. Having acquired the kit, he heads back to Tsukasa, who’s sitting up on his bed, almost motionless. The tears have stopped flowing, leaving behind a pained expression on Tsukasa’s face.
Rui frowns, Tsukasa shouldn’t feel this way. Such a bright shining star shouldn’t look like….this.
He sits down next to Tsukasa, then pats the space next to him, urging The blonde to come closer.
Wihtout a word, he scoots closer to Rui, and gives Rui his arm.
Rui smiles at the compliance. This is their routine after all.
…
After fixing up the mess that Tsukasa made, Rui tucks him into bed. And he falls asleep rather quickly.
“Well, I suppose my work is done for today,” Rui states out loud to no one in particular. He takes one more look at the sleeping Tsukasa below him, sighing he begins to walk away.
A tug at his sleeve keeps him grounded, he looks down to see Tsukasa holding on to the cuff of his sleeve,
“Stay…”
Stay?
“Tsukasa-kun, It’s late——“
“Stay, please?”
Please…
“I didn’t bring a change of clothes,” he motions to his mixed matched brightly colored outfit.
Tsukasa points to the closet door across the room, “Wear mine… I size up sometimes so I’m sure there’s something you could wear.”
Well, he can’t say no now can he?
Rui smiles, “Alright then, I’ll stay.”