Chapter Text
If there's one thing Nakamura prides himself on, it's in being Hirose's #1 fan.
No matter how many times he embarrasses himself in front of his crush, he takes solace in the fact there's no one even half as interested in the boy as him.
'There's no one who thinks of Hirose as much as me' is the mantra which plays in his head whenever he sees the boy with anyone else.
It never fails in making him giddy, for Nakamura knows it's the simple, hard truth…
At least… that's what he thought was the case.
It all started a few days after the summer break. School was back in session, and all things considered, Nakamura had made astoundingly little progress in becoming Hirose's boyfriend.
Despite the fact he had finally become his friend—or as Hirose believed, they had always been friends to begin with—Nakamura's fantasies of going to the beach with Hirose ultimately remained as that. Fantasies.
No matter… he still had plenty of time to get closer to Hirose. Even after Nakamura nearly had secretly taken a whiff of his PE shirt, one which turned out to not have been Hirose's, but rather Todoroki's—and thus almost caused his hospitalization—things were still looking up!
After all, Hirose had asked to walk home with him!!!
Nakamura could barely keep his composure. God hasn't given up on him yet, he thought. The two of them walked out side by side, and the boy's heart was already threatening to burst out of his chest.
Hirose was being such a tease, threatening to go on his own now that he was feeling better—Nakamura had half a mind to pretend that he was dry heaving, just to get him to stay.
"I'm only joking, Nakamura! Of course I'll still go with you!"
Ah… the smile Hirose made when he said that sent shivers running down Nakamura's spine; truly, this was something straight out of his dreams.
But before they could even walk past the gate, there was someone in the way.
"Hirose-kun!"
Before them was a boy wearing a blueish green tie. He was absurdly tall—likely enough for even Otogiri-sensei to have to look up—had short, dark hair, and while this is embarrassing to even admit, he has to be honest, a startlingly attractive face. Nakamura knew in that instant he would be the biggest pain in his quest of winning Hirose's heart.
A student at the college prep school known as Kita High, Matsumura Kōsei was his name, affectionately referred to as 'Kō-chan' by Hirose. Kō-chan. Hirose and Ohmori had been friends since grade school, and they still called each other by their surnames.
How on earth was he on a first name basis!?
That wasn't even the worst part, because it then turned out Hirose was supposed to have dinner with him!
By some miracle, he had forgot, but even then, Matsumura refused to leave. Before they could discuss the situation more, Hirose was called back by the committee advisor, promising he'd be back; neither would leave without him.
They ended up striking a conversation, where Nakamura learned three things:
One, that Hirose and Matsumura were allegedly best friends in junior high.
Two, that Hirose looked absolutely adorable with shorter hair.
And three, that Matsumura was a total creep!!!
Lacking even the slightest hint of shame, Matsumura showed off his impressive collection of pictures of Hirose, taken in junior high while he still had his short hair. Nakamura's face had heated up, staring at the photos— he was beautiful.
So, so beautiful, Nakamura nearly forgot to question why he was carrying them in the first place.
With only a minimal amount of prodding, Matsumura revealed he spam texted Hirose nearly every day of the week, casually mentioning that he intentionally goes to the same stores he knows Hirose to frequent just for the chance to see him.
It wasn't even the confession of borderline stalking which made Nakamura speechless, but the fact that Matsumura had said it all with the same cadence one would have when discussing the weather.
In short, Nakamura's title as Hirose's top fan was at risk!
In full, it was at risk by this shady, shameless pervert who Hirose had apparently failed to notice was an utter loon!
Nakamura wouldn't let this stand. In retaliation, he had pulled out the photos of Hirose he had taken on the field trip. See, he hoped it said, I'm practically your replacement.
Matsumura, for his part, was likely thinking the same thing Nakamura was—I won't let this phony think he's closer to Hirose—and had began recounting anecdotes from when they were in junior high.
Refusing to let himself be one-upped, Nakamura started to tell his own, and that is what the two of them did for the rest of the afternoon. By the time the sun was setting, Hirose still nowhere around, Nakamura's throat was painfully sore from raising his voice to overpower the other boy.
When Matsumura pulled out Hirose's old PE shirt, which he gloated he'd cuddle in his sleep—Nakamura had never felt so jealous in his life—that was when things became physical; for a guy who Hirose claims to be athletic, it really wasn't that hard to steal the shirt from his grasp.
By the time their mutual crush returned, the two had realized that all along, the shirt was Todoroki's—something that Nakamura really wished he noticed before taking a big whiff from another of his clothes.
That's what led Nakamura to where he is now, wanting more than nothing else to crawl into a hole and wither away; he has a feeling Matsumura desires the same.
"What happened to you guys?" Hirose asks. The boy goes to Nakamura, helping him get up.
Nakamura can't help but feel a little bit smug that he chose to assist him over that perv. "It was nothing," he replies.
Matsumura picks himself back up, still shivering.
"You o-ought to remember to return the things you've borrowed, Hirose-kun." He picks up the shirt, holding it as far as he humanly can away from his face, and bundles it into a ball. Matsumura throws into a nearby trash can.
"…Er…" Hirose glances back and forth between the two boys. "…Sorry again I took so long. I tried to leave multiple times, but the advisor just kept roping me back whenever I turned around!"
"No no no, it's fine!"
"Of course, I didn't mind at all! Matsumura, on the other hand…"
The other boy shoots a deadly glare at Nakamura. He smiles through gritted teeth.
"…We simply had a pleasant discussion."
Hirose raises his eyebrow. Pleasant discussions did not usually result in its participants collapsing to the ground, but with how much longer they have until it becomes dark, he does not try pressing the conversation.
"Well… shall we go, then?"
"Go where?" Both Nakamura and Matsumura ask; they both glance at each other, annoyed.
He's not going to leave me here to go with that shady creep, is he?
Hirose scratches the back of his head, humming in contemplation.
"It's a little too late to have dinner now…"
YES!
"But I'd feel bad just leaving you here, Kō-chan…"
NO!
"…Sooo…. maybe we could all walk home together?"
…
Whatever God is watching over Nakamura really must enjoy toying with his life.
Matsumura, of course, agreed, saying they could always just reschedule the dinner for next week. After a brief discussion as to whose house to go to first, the conclusion ended up being that they'd go to Hirose's.
To be more accurate, it was silently stated both Nakamura and Matsumura would rather drop dead than allow the other to walk with Hirose alone.
"It's been a while since we walked home together, hasn't it?" Matsumura chuckles as he walks beside Hirose down the quiet street. A few steps behind, Nakamura drags along his bicycle, seething.
It's supposed to be him, walking and talking and laughing with Hirose, not Matsumura!
They were supposed to bask under the afternoon sun and Hirose would stop him right before he entered his house and would lean up against his toes to kiss him against the lips and he'd caress the smooth skin of his cheek with his thumb and—
"Nakamura?"
"—Huh?"
The boy blinks, realizing Hirose had been trying to talk to him for who knows how long. His face flushes red in embarrassment.
Hirose just snickers, slowing down his pace to match Nakamura's; Matsumura walks forward without looking back at the pair.
"I said," he gently repeats, "this is your first time visiting my neighborhood, right?"
A-ah… Hirose's face is so close to mine…
Nakamura feels his muscles stiffen. He nods to the best of his ability.
"I-It's peaceful— I like it."
"Haha, I had a feeling you would!" Hirose points to the end of the street. "My house is just around the corner; it should only be a ten minute walk to the intersection where we ran into each other, the other day."
"The two of you walked to school together?"
"AH!!!"
Nakamura was not prepared for how quickly Matsumura materialized beside Hirose upon hearing his words.
Hirose nods.
"Not every day." Regrettably. "But sometimes Ohmori and I bump into him if we're running late."
"Oh yeah, Ohmori…" Matsumura's tone is a little bit resentful. At least he's as jealous of the bespectacled boy's luck as much as him. "How far is his house from yours, again?"
"Mm… only a block or two away. Say—" He turns his head back to Nakamura, who quickly has to act like he hasn't been glaring a hole into Matsumura's head.
"I never thought about it much before, but if we're not too far from the intersection, that means we must live pretty close, huh?"
"Oh… you're right." It only takes a twenty minute bike ride—or a half an hour walk—to reach the intersection as well…
…It makes the fact he still didn't see Hirose at all in the summer a little more embarrassing…
…
Simmering in that thought only makes Nakamura feel even worse. The silence is killing him; he blurts the first thing out of his mouth just to focus of anything else.
"So where do you live, Matsumura?"
Wait.
WHY DID I ASK THAT?!?
With the limited time they had until they reached his house, there were so many things he could've asked Hirose—what did you do for the summer, do you have any plans tomorrow, can I please please please get a kiss?—and for some reason his mouth defaulted into asking something about HIM?!
Just his luck!
Matsumura scoffs in a way which plainly states 'as if I'd ever tell someone like you', but with Hirose in between them, he still has to play nice.
"Only around twenty or so minutes away from here."
"To be more specific," Hirose clarifies, "it's in the opposite direction of the intersection. His parents grow the prettiest flowers around the exterior."
Ah, Nakamura thinks. What nice information to know about a house he will never, ever go to.
Matsumura chuckles, "Aw, come on, you're flattering them; the shrubs aren't that good-looking…"
"But they are!" Hirose says back, "'least that's how I remember them…"
Nakamura can only cut in, "So you guys walked home together often in junior high?"
Hirose hums, "Not all the time, per se, but it was definitely more often than not. It's nice, stretching my legs at Kō-chan's house; his living room sofas are very comfortable…"
While he says all of this facing Nakamura, Matsumura stares at him with the biggest, cockiest, most shit-eating grin he's ever seen. See? Not only do I think of Hirose more, but he knows me better than you. Hahaha, the #2 fan is all you'll ever be!!!
Why, YOU—!
"Aikiiiii!"
While they were in the middle of their silent stare-off, the two of them and Hirose had automatically reached his house.
Hirose freezes. "Oh, no…"
His sister runs out, pinching his cheek.
"You didn't tell me you were bringing friends over!"
"Owowow— that hurts!!!!!!!"
If she ever cut her hair, Nakamura would seriously have trouble telling the two apart. Matsumura shakes her hand.
"It's nice to see you, Saho-san." Oh, so that's her name. "We were just walking Hirose home."
"Y-yeah," Nakamura quietly adds.
Saho-san smiles, letting go of her brother's pouting face. "Thank you, Kōsei. Whenever it gets late, I start to worry he might have been trapped in the gym's storage room again."
"That was four months ago, Sis."
"You never know!" She turns to look at Nakamura, "And you are… oh!" She grins, her eyes glimmering in recognition. "You were the boy at the drama play, during the festival."
…
Her eyes look exactly like Hirose's…
Blinking rapidly and shaking his head, Nakamura snaps himself out of his daze; he can't be making a fool out of himself in front of Hirose.
"Matsumura and I thought to accompany him today."
Nodding, Saho-san looks back to the opened front door.
"Say…" she starts. Nakamura notices how Hirose sometimes does the same thing. "It's getting late; our mom is just about to finish making dinner. Would you two like to stop by and have some food?"
…
E-ENTERING HIROSE'S HOUSE? MEETING HIS PARENTS?!
The prospect alone makes Nakamura freeze on the spot. He wants to say yes so badly—but what if Hirose thinks he's imposing? Saho-san might be offering just to be polite, she probably doesn't expect him to accept.
Then again, though, what if it's genuine—?
"Ah… I'm okay, Saho-san. Hirose and I are going out for dinner next week, anyway."
…
In that exact moment, Nakamura realizes he has two options.
The first is to accept the offer and stay with Hirose for dinner. They're friends now, they can do that, but that means giving Matsumura the chance to eat alone with Hirose the very next week. Knowing him, he'll probably spend the entire meal watching Hirose as he eats, the shady perv…
Or the second option. The much more reckless one, which has a much higher chance of putting Hirose off. Of course, with Nakamura's big, stupid mouth, he immediately blurts it out on impulse:
"I'm going to go for dinner with them, too."
"EH?!!?!"
Strangely, Hirose doesn't even object.
"Yeah! We can go eat together next Friday." He says, looking up to the purple sky. "Plus, the sun's almost down. I don't want to make Kō-chan have to walk home in the dark…"
Matsumura looks as if he had been doused in freezing water. To be fair, he is ruining what was likely a meticilous plan in getting more intimate with Hirose.
"If you two say so," Saho-san replies, either not noticing or simply ignoring the total shock on Matsumura's face. "Let's go in now, Aiki."
"I'll see you later, Nakamura! You too, Kō-chan!"
With one last wave goodbye, Hirose follows his sister inside, and the front door closes.
All that's left are his two biggest fans.
"So—"
"Just what are you playing at?!"
Matsumura threateningly towers over him; he almost forgot how freakishly tall the other boy is.
"You think I'd let you be alone with Hirose?! After everything you showed me!?" Nakamura shakes his head, "I have to join your dinner to make sure you don't try anything sketchy."
"Wha—? I've been planning this dinner since last month!"
Rolling his eyes, Nakamura walks with Matsumura away from Hirose's house. Neither of them want to attract his attention by screaming so close.
"Oh please," he says, "Let me guess, you probably reserved a table at some fancy restaurant to make it feel like a date…"
"…"
Matsumura's face is red…
"…Hang on, am I actually right…?"
"Shut up! You've ruined everything!!!"
The other boy huffs, blowing a strand of hair away from his eyes. He pulls his phone out.
"Now I have to reschedule my reservation for next week… do you even know just how much they charge for that?"
"Blah blah blah… you better make sure to ask for an extra seat."
"As if!"
Furiously typing away, the other boy gives a withering glare at Nakamura. "No way you're actually going to dinner with me and Hirose!"
"And let me tell him you're excluding me? He seemed pretty excited to eat with the both of us next week…"
Ohh… the small twitch in Matsumura's eye nearly makes passing the golden opportunity to eat with Hirose worth it. Either he lets Nakamura join them for dinner, ruining any of his ideas for romance, or he refuses to let him come, damaging how Hirose sees his old friend…
You're a genius, Okuto. An absolute genius!
"…"
Matsumura lets out a resigned, 'you-win-this-time' sigh.
"Fine," he says, "I'll go see if they can spare an extra chair for you."
Hahaha, YES!!!
Nakamura pumps his fist in the air.
"B-but you better be on your best behavior, got it?!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever…"
Scoffing again, Matsumura places his phone back in his pocket.
"I suppose this is where we part ways."
Nakamura nods; there's no point in following him when his house is in the opposite direction.
He gets on his bicycle, determined to reach his house before Kana eats all of the food meant for him.
"See you soon, Matsumura."
"…"
Matsumura walks down the street, refusing to look Nakamura's way.
"…Catch you around, bike boy."
"BIKE BOY?!"
Nakamura turns 180 degrees, but by the time he does, Matsumura is gone.
"…Hmph."
Of course he'd only say that once he could run away.
Cycling back to his house, Nakamura thinks to himself how annoying it is to have to compete to be Hirose's #1 fan. He thought the title would be his, for sure, but now that he actually has to fight for it, determination courses through every one of his veins.
My name is Nakamura Okuto. I'm 15 years old, shy, gay, and when I get home, I have to plan how to undermine Matsumura's moves on Hirose during next week's dinner.