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Ryo was watching his phone after the recent live they had done together, they were on their room.
Door closed, the ceiling fan too noisy, their hyungs watching a movie with the volume too high, and Sakuya in his bed on top of Ryo's.
A normal night, boring but comfortable silence, one of those night that nothing funny or special really happens.
"Ryo" Sakuya said, climbing down his bed to step in front of Ryo's, he stood with his gaze almost looked normal, almost.
Ryo looked at him, still holding his phone.
"I like you" Sakuya said.
Ryo stayed still, 'what?' he thought, maybe Sakuya has gone crazy.
"What?" he asked the boy in front of him, looking at him with a confused expression.
"I like you, please go out with me" Sakuya said, his voice steady and his expression unreadable.
Ryo could always tell when Sakuya was joking, and he definitely wasn't joking now. He opened and closed his mouth in an attempt to say something, failing multiple times.
"I- You.. Ummm, would you.. give me some time to think about it?" Ryo responded as he played with the phone in his hands.
Sakuya smiled, "Of course" he said, heading out of the room to spend time with his hyungs.
Ryo was left alone with his own thoughts and feelings, this is too much information. A lot, actually.
His best friend, who is also his band mate just confessed to him. Why? Sakuya knows they can't date.
If anyone saw Ryo right now, they would think he has gone crazy, since he left his phone somewhere on his bed and hugged his plushie. Caressing it stressed, as he whispered all his thoughts.
"He seems serious about it"
"Since when is he into dudes"
"Why me"
"Idols can't date"
"Maybe it's different if they're in the same group"
"Was it a joke"
"Does he really likes me"
"What the fuck"
This is going to be a long night.
And it was, or at least for him — he didn't have any dinner, deciding to stay in his bed being consumed by his own thoughts. His eyes were looking straight at the wall, he couldn't get to close his eyes and just get to sleep.
Sakuya opened the door, he just said good night and climbed to his bed. Everything was normal, except that it wasn't.
How could Sakuya act so normal and unfazed to the situation, he was the one who just confessed.
Ryo couldn't sleep, he stayed awake until 4am until his eyes started to close at their own. Even so, everything that would replay in his mind was Sakuya's confession and all their years together as friends.
Ryo never thought about his sexuality, it was natural that he liked girls, and also he started training to be an idol at such a young age, what could he know about that.
He isn't against homosexual people, Riku's right there, even if he wasn't used to that fact at the start. But he is okay with it know, he is eighteen years old, almost nineteen, so he has better worries.
The thing is that now, at 1pm, currently training with his members at the company. Something that shouldn't feel weird, he has been doing this for the past two years, but he can't help the way his eyes immediately lock with Sakuya's figure through the mirror.
It has happened before, since Sakuya is of course handsome, even more when he is training and he has that cute hair style that makes him show his forehead. But the amount of times he has done it today is not normal, he can't concentrate like he always does.
When Sakuya talks to him like nothing happened, his heart goes a hundred miles per hour, he can't even talk to him without stuttering.
Thankfully, Sakuya does not bother him with whatever is going through Ryo's mind right now and he goes bother Yushi instead.
Ryo sighs, ruffling his hair with his right hand while he sighs, he closes his eyes and tries to calm down.
Even before he can think of anything else, practice begins again. He practically forces himself not to look at Sakuya, even if it might seem impossible, he gets to reduce the times he looks at him.
He doesn't really remembers what he did throughout the day, he seemed lost on his thoughts all day. Making Jaehee worry about him.
"Are you okay?" the boy walking besides him asked, looking down at his friend.
Ryo sighed, looked at him and tried to give him a smile that seemed way too forced, "Yeah, I'm fine" he said.
Jaehee didn't believe him, but he thinks it's better to let him get over his situation alone for now.
After hours at the company, the six boys are finally home. They take turns to shower, making Ryo and Riku the last ones.
Ryo sat on the couch, scrolling through tiktok— Riku was sitting at the other corner of the couch, sitting comfortably as he watched the tv— he looked at the younger boy, he had a face that he only has when he is stressed.
"Ryo-chan, are you okay?" Riku asked, kicking him softly with his foot at his leg.
Ryo hummed, he didn't pay that much attention to the question.
Riku sighed, he was about to tell him something, maybe that he can count on him always, or that he needs to talk about his worries.
Sion came out the bathroom, his hair damp and his clothes smelling like fresh perfume.
"You can go first, hyung" Ryo said, his eyes still fixated on his screen.
Riku looked at him worryingly, he hummed and went to take a shower.
Ryo sighed, turning off his phone as he groaned. He flopped on the couch, his arm resting on his forehead — '𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘮 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘸' Ryo thought as he looked at the ceiling, he has felt worried about a lot of situations before, but nothing like this — he decided to watch the tv, he can think better on the shower.
Waiting for Riku to come out the bathroom felt like an eternity, he sighed as he looked at the time repeatedly. He covered his face with both hands, why is he so confused.
He wanted to cry, why is he the one stressing about the situation. All day Sakuya seemed like he didn't even care about his confession, maybe it was a joke and Ryo was overthinking about it.
But Sakuya would not joke about that, he does pretty stupid jokes but he would not do something that would affect their friendship.
He felt relieved when he heard the door opening and Riku walking straight to his room.
Ryo hurried to grab his towel and make his way to the bathroom. He brushed his teeth as he looked at his reflection on the mirror.
Warm water falling down his body, he sighed as he closed his eyes. While he soaped his body, his mind was flooded with his own thoughts again.
He tries to remember if Sakuya has even given him any slight hint that he liked him.
But sharing earphone cases with their names followed by 'love' is very casual, right?— Same as letting him kiss the top of his head, even if Ryo himself denies it, there's videos on the internet that Sakuya later called him a liar with. — Giving him the medal he had just won in front of hundred of fans is also very causal, just a friendship-like behavior.
Or maybe not? He isn't sure if Sakuya has even seen him as a friend. Since when is Sakuya in love with him? How has Ryo never noticed.. He is Sakuya's best friend he should know everything about the boy. Or at least that's what he thought until now.
As he massaged his scalp while it was lathering up, he paused briefly. He furrowed his eyebrows and kept massaging his scalp softly — he wishes he could stop thinking for at least two minutes.
After ten minutes, he came back to his room. For some reason, his roomate seemed to have decided to sleep early today.
Ryo laid on his bed, making himself comfortable as he opened Twitter. Bad idea.
The had just released a new video, which consisted in them just skating. It was funny, he saw some clips and he couldn't help the smile that he had on his face.
He then saw someone that pointed out how Sakuya talked sweetly to him when he said "wanna try it this way? i'll do it for you". And then another user pointing out that Sakuya reacted the same way he does when he loses a game when Yushi stole Ryo from him.
After that, his tl was flooded by that one clip where he is looking up at Sakuya, and the latter looked down at him. Whilst saying "you fell down so prettily earlier". People saying that Sakuya always compliments Ryo by calling him pretty, at random times.
Then fans saying that Sakuya always avoids eye contact, and then congratulating him for finally being able to look at Ryo right in the eyes.
He kept scrolling, ignoring the way his heart was beating faster.
He then saw people talking about the live, when they did the lemon tang test. Someone said that when Sakuya asked him "So you don't like ambiguous things?" he was actually taking notes.
That made Ryo blush and immediately put his phone down. That made it, he quietly got up and opened the door slowly — walking through the hall in tiptoes — he sighed and opened a door, hoping his hyung is awake.
He saw how Riku's face looked at the door confused, lighten up by his phone screen. "Ryo-chan, what happened?" Riku asked, putting his phone on his bed as he turned on the little lamp he had on his nightstand.
Ryo slowly walked into his bed, sitting down as he looked at him.
"Is everything alright?" the room owner asked, patting his shoulder softly.
Ryo sighed, he looked down and then up at Riku's face.
"I... don't know how tell you this" Ryo confessed, his voice coming out in a scared tone.
"You can tell me everything Ryo-chan, did anything happen?" The boy insisted.
Ryo licked his lip and then began to speak again, "How do you, I mean-" he sighed again, deeper than before.
"How can I tell if I like someone?" He said, rapidly and barely understandable.
Riku opened his eyes like plates for a moment, he didn't saw that question coming.
He cleared his throat and thought of it for a minute, making Ryo nervous from the waiting.
"Every person has different experiences. But, from my experience I guess that if you think they're pretty and perfect, if you feel comfortable and at peace with them.. if some things they say or do make you 'feel butterflies' on your tummy, you definitely like them" Riku explained in a sweet tone.
Ryo gulped, he then asked "If I want to be at that person's side always.. and miss them even if we haven't seen each other in barely an hour.. does that mean I like that person?" .
Riku nodded, "Mm, most likely" he responded honestly.
Ryo started to feel tears falling down, he couldn't stop them.
Riku immediately hugged him, asking repeatedly "What happened Ryo-chan?" and "Are you okay?" his voice wavering in worry.
Ryo sniffled, he hugged him back. He kept crying and sniffling, but he couldn't get any words to come out his mouth.
"Everything's going to be alright.. calm down" Riku reassured, he sounded so worried about him that it made Ryo's heart ache even more.
After a minute, Ryo seemed to finally calm down. Parting from the hug, Ryo hiccuped as he tried to say something.
"Do you like anyone?" Riku asked.
Ryo could only nod.
"Is it Sakuya?"
Ryo's heart skipped a beat, he was about to ask something when Riku interrupted him.
"I'm not blind, Ryo-chan.. I have known about it" Riku said. He looked at his friend tenderly and then asked, "Did something happened between you two?"
"Sakuya confessed to me.." Ryo said, looking down.
"Then why are you crying? Don't you like him back?" Riku asked, trying to make Ryo look up at him again.
"Yeah.. but, I don't know" He sighed, "I think I was ignoring this feelings" he continued, scratching his hand meanwhile. "You know what it means if two idols date, hyung.. let alone from the same group"
Riku nodded, "Mmh, but if no one knows about it then it's going to be fine".
Ryo finally looked at him, finding his friend already smiling at him. "Do you really think so?" he asked, unsure.
"Of course, as long as you guys are happy" He said, smiling even harder.
Ryo hugged Riku, hearing the boy groan softly from the pressure.
"Finally Sakuya is going to stop yearning" Riku said, his voice mockingly high-pitched.
Ryo chuckled, he parted from the hug as he giggled. They stayed in silence for a while until Ryo suddenly asked, "Do the other hyungs know that Sakuya likes me?"
Riku laughed, as if the question itself was ridiculous. He then saw Ryo's confused face and stopped laughing.
"I think everyone knows that he likes you" Riku said.
"Eeeeehhh" Ryo said, his face blushing harder than before. "I must be stupid not to notice until now.."
Riku laughed once again, "Poor Saku.. he has been waiting for a long time" he said, then he immediately told Ryo to go back to his room as he pushed him out of bed.
"Good night, hyung wants to sleep" Riku said as he yawned.
Ryo giggled as he walked to the door, when he was about to leave he said, "Thank you hyung" and left.
He sighed, walking to his shared room again. He touched the door handle unsure, he was biting his lower lip when he finally decided to open it.
He climbed to Sakuya's bed, he was shaking the boy as he said "Saku, wake up" repeatedly.
Sakuya groaned, he asked Ryo what happened, but when he got no response from his roomate he immediately sat up.
He looked around worried, then looked down and saw Ryo standing on the floor.
"Come here" Ryo said.
Sakuya of course did what he said. He was now standing in front of Ryo, trying to look at him with his still tired eyes.
"Saku.. I like you" Ryo confessed.
Sakuya seemed to have fully recovered from his tiredness, he looked at Ryo with a surprised expression. Before he could even say something, Ryo talked again.
"I'll go out with you"
Sakuya's ears turned red, his heart raced rapidly and his lips curled up. "Really?" He asked, to make sure.
"Mm" Ryo hummed, he smiled softly.
Sakuya lifted his right hand, placing it softly at Ryo's cheek, cupping his face. He looked at his lips, caressing his cheek with his thumb tenderly.
"Can I?" Sakuya asked, slightly leaning towards him.
"Yes.." Ryo consented.
Sakuya broke the gap between them, placing his lips upon Ryo's. He smiled softly, staying still for a second until Ryo deepened the kiss.
It was a slow, electrical, tender kiss. Feelings blooming from their young hearts, they could finally learn how to love someone, maybe for the first time properly.
In this instant, nothing else mattered. If they world ended right now, Ryo is sure he would die at the most happy moment of his life.
Their lips collided against each other, the sound filling the room and their ears, going directly to their hearts and souls.
They parted from it, looking at each other shyly. Sakuya caressed Ryo's face while he placed his other hand on his waist, Ryo placed his hands on his shoulders, smiling softly.
Sakuya suddenly giggled, looking down.
"What's so funny?" Ryo asked, confused.
"Nothing.." he looked at him again, "I'm just happy, I love you" Sakuya said.
The smalled boy giggled, "I love you too" he said, stealing him a little kiss.
They slept late that night, since they spent the whole night talking about their past. With Sakuya explaining patiently to his now, boyfriend, all the times he showed his non-brotherly love to him.
"I like you since I told you that we would debut together.. even if you probably thought I was a weird stranger. It was love at first sight.. or whatever they call it" Sakuya confessed, getting embarrassed as he kept talking.
"EEEHHH" Ryo said, his voice almost three tones higher. Sakuya covered his mouth with his hand, telling him to shush.
"Sorry.." Ryo said when he grabbed Sakuya's hand, taking advantage to hold it.
"We should sleep now" Sakuya said, his voice deep and tired.
They were on Ryo's bed, both boys comforting each other with their tenderness.
Ryo hugged Sakuya, whispering. "I love you" as he fell deep in his sleep. Sakuya smiled, his heart progressively calming down as he started to dream.
Next morning, they woke up next to each other. Smiling and giggling at everything they did, they walked to the living room, walking maybe a little too close.
Everything was normal again, they sat on their respective chairs. Somehow, none of their hyungs seemed to be around , except for one.
"Good morning lovebirds" Sion said from the kitchen, he was walking towards the table with a bowl of cereal on one hand and milk on the other.
He sat down right in front of them, giggling at their faces.
"Did you enjoy your lovey-dovey night together?" He asked teasingly.
Ryo furrowed, "How do you know.. that?" he asked, unsure on how to word it.
"You guys need to know how to keep your voices down, you talk too loud" The older boy said.
Sakuya laughed, knowing he was mostly talking about Ryo, who seemed to have a speaker on his mouth.
"I'm happy for you guys" Sion said sincerely, looking at his maknaes. "I'm proud of you"
The boys smiled, Sakuya grabbed Ryo's wrist and guided him to their bedroom as he said, "Thanks hyung" while he laughed. Leaving Sion amused, he can't believe his precious maknae is revealing and making fun of him too.
The boys flopped on Ryo's bed, hugging and giggling. Sakuya kissed Ryo's cheek, he said "I love you" and then leaned to kiss him on the mouth.
Ryo reciprocated, cupping Sakuya's face with both hands. He smiled, his heart now racing but not from fear anymore, it raced rapidly from the happiness he was feeling.
He is lucky to have someone like Sakuya by his side, he will make sure to make this last for eternity.
Sakuya is lucky to have Ryo by his side too, and he will make sure to show him that everyday.
- Fin.