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“Did you tell them that we used to go out?”
Yamada Akirako.
Hirano doesn’t like how similar the girl’s name is to Kagiura’s.
(He’d heard her first name be called by some members of the rival basketball team.)
He inhales deeply, trying to clear his head. There’s no point in thinking about her; she was a piece in Kagiura’s past and therefore had no connection to Hirano.
Still. Something doesn’t sit right with the blonde, and so, he waits, hidden behind the wall for Kagiura to show up. Though, from the brief exchange he had the pleasure to witness, he could tell that their relationship was amicable, and that purely of friends.
Logically, Hirano knows there’s nothing for him to worry about; he and Kagiura had sorted out their feelings, and given their relationship a label: lovers. Everything is fine.
Predictably, everything is not fine.
And he can’t help but think, anyone who has been by Kagiura’s side, close enough to watch him give it his all in everything he does, is seriously really lucky. He means it, truly. And he’s reminded of how extremely fortunate he himself is to have Kagiura as his lover.
Sure, it took a year and a few months for him to understand everything—his feelings, Kagiura’s emotions, the whole concept of ‘love’ as a whole, what normalcy meant to them—but spending that much time on building a relationship with a strong base of friendship before developing into one that much more romantic was worth it; Hirano would take the same path again, if given the chance, for he would pick Kagiura Akira, in every life, in every timeline, always; there was no one else he would rather have by his side, forever, than Kagiura.
Once you have a lover, they tend to become your god, your entire universe.
That is—surprisingly or unsurprisingly—precisely what Hirano feels towards his lover. He prides himself on knowing Kagiura better than anyone else, actually—except Niibashi, perhaps—and he’s seen sides of Kagiura the boy has never shown anyone else.
Ergo, knowing that there was someone out there—specifically, someone Kagiura was previously in a relationship with—who shares part of a name and the meaning with his Akira, makes him feel deeply unsettled for a reason he can’t understand.
Taking another deep breath, he steps out from behind the wall. “Ah, Kagi-kun,” he calls out, eyebrows rising up when he catches sight of Yamada. “There you are,” and he likes to think he’s doing a damn good job of pretending he hadn’t just eavesdropped on their little conversation, though he does feel slightly bad for interrupting.
Kagiura’s eyes light up immediately upon hearing his lover’s voice. “Hirano-san!” He grins, a water bottle in his hand. “Were you looking for me?”
“Yeah,” Hirano nods, doing his best not to let his gaze stray from Kagiura’s face; he’s failing. “You were great in the match, I’m proud.” He smiles, content and his heart filled with pride, though he has no role in the efforts Kagiura puts into his sport.
“Thank you very much,” Kagiura’s smile is genuine and blinding, as luminous as a thousand suns; Hirano swears, if Japan was heavily dependent on solar energy, Kagiura alone could power seventy-five percent of the country.
“Um, Kagiura,” Yamada cuts in, voice reserved and eyes round with curiosity—Hirano can tell that there was something much deeper in that dark brown. “Who’s this?”
Kagiura blinks, as if just remembering Yamada's existence. “Oh, sorry, my bad!” He says, turning his head to face the girl, shamelessly reaching out to tug on Hirano’s sleeve, pulling the blonde closer—Hirano allows it. “This is Hirano-san—my roommate and partner.” Kagiura introduces, and if Hirano’s ears were working correctly, he could detect a barely hidden undertone of delectation in the taller’s voice. It makes his own heart fill with a pleasant happiness.
“Hey,” Hirano says, ducking his head in greeting. He realizes, a second later, that Kagiura had purposefully chosen words that don’t insinuate their relationship. After all, the word ‘partner’ could be understood in various ways.
Huh… This guy keeps getting cooler and cooler by the day, and Hirano has to stifle the grin that was threatening to break out at the thought.
“Hirano-san, this is Yamada. She used to be my ex-girlfriend in middle school,” Kagiura says, looking rather discomfited. Hirano resists the urge to mutter, yeah, I know. “I, uh, didn’t expect you both to meet like this.” The taller boy says honestly.
“It’s okay,” Yamada smiles, thin-lipped, at the boys while Hirano nods in agreement. “It’s nice to meet you, Hirano-san.”
“Likewise,” Hirano finds himself saying, tone indifferent.
Yamada takes a step back. “I have to get going before the team comes looking for me,” she glances, briefly, at Kagiura. “I remember the route so there’s no need for you to show me the way back.” Then she looks at Hirano, who furrows his eyebrows. “I have a girlfriend—her name is Aarohi; she’s in the stands, actually—so please don’t worry about my past with Kagiura.” She smiles, and Hirano recognizes that smile: it’s the same one he sees Kagiura give him all the time.
Hirano ends up staring, clearly having not expected her words, nor the information.
“Please look after Kagiura; he’s an amazing person and deserves only the best.” She bows, and Hirano suddenly feels as if he’d been entrusted with something far greater than he had the capability to be responsible for, by someone who he had just become acquainted with, no less.
With that being said, she turns, and leaves, speed-walking down the hall.
Hirano, as soon as she was out of sight, turned to Kagiura, fingers closing around the taller’s wrist in a tight grip. “Oi, Kagi-kun,” he muttered, feeling heat rise up his neck and spread across his cheeks.
“Hirano-san, what’s wrong?” Kagiura tilts his head to the side, genuine concern and confusion in his jade eyes.
“I—I’m the only one for you, right?” Hirano mutters, voice low, dropping his gaze to the very interesting gray of the corridor flooring.
Kagiura stares, and then chuckles, and it’s like he was really living up to his name with how his voice carries the quality of sunshine, the sound of his laughter filling Hirano’s entire circulatory system with unadulterated happiness.
“Hirano-san,” Kagiura says, voice pure with an undertone of amusement, “you will always be the only one for me—in every life, in every timeline, I won’t pick anyone if it isn’t you. I love you so much.” Then, he adds, “you’re really cute when you get jealous.”
That particular statement, of course, earns him a half-hearted punch to the chest from the blonde.