Chapter Text
The day was normal.
At least, by Nakamura’s old standards. He woke up at a decent hour, claimed the bathroom before Kana for his morning routine, ate breakfast, met up with Hirose and walked to school with him. The brunette had shaken up the routine a bit with the gift of a desperately needed black coffee (the machine for it at home broke), and a nice conversation about Icchan’s wellbeing instead of the typical affair of quietly enjoying eachothers company. Not that the usual silence was a bad thing-it was very welcome, pleasant easing into the days inevitable social obligations. Casual small talk about mundane responsibilities did the same job, as long as it was with Hirose. Nakamura liked to think the brunnete felt that way about their routine, too.
Still, the walk couldn’t last forever, and the classroom marked the end of such pleasantries. Hirose sat closer to him than he did last year, but the proximity didn’t really stop Takeuchi and Mukai from commandeering the brunettes attention the moment he settled at his own desk. That status quo remained unbroken, and Nakamura zoned out in kind, only tuning in to the real world when classes were called into session by either a teacher, or the demonically loud bell system that had Nakamura on edge before his current situation.
Now it was lunch. Unfortunately for the ravenette, this was one of the days he’d subconsciously set aside for Hirose to spend with people that weren’t him, so he was kinda just… sitting idly at his desk and picking through his bento. Yearning, but not acting, as it would be selfish to keep Hirose to himself when the boy had so many other people who deserved time with him too. Not that it stopped the loneliness-but Nakamura was well experienced in dealing with that particular emotion. All he needed was a decent distraction, and thankfully he remembered to pack one.
Tearing his eyes off Hirose and his friends, Okuto leaned to the side and unzipped his bag, pulling out the latest installment of Love-Ben, the cover and outside infographics tastefully obscured by a fake-out book jacket. The ravenette already read through it once, though it was more of a skimming after homework and other “responsibilities” had eaten up his free time the previous night. If he hadn’t rushed that initial experience, he would’ve had the whole thing spoiled thanks to the fujoshi trio by now, the three girls currently chatting excitedly about the plot of this latest installment. A rushed initial experience free of spoilers was better than taking the risk waiting for an opportune moment, and nowadays those spoilers were MUCH harder to avoid past the first day of release.
No. None of that, it’s Love-Ben time Okuto scolded himself, cracking the precious tome open to indulge in his favorite flavor of escapism. That preference used to be held by his own imagination, but… nevermind, the reason wasn’t important. The ravenette settled into a slightly more comfortable position and buried himself in cute romantic fluff and a unique sentient lunch based plot setting.
For the first half of his lunch period, the distraction worked. Okuto managed to finish his bento, plus most of the manga, and was idly packing the box back away when a pair of hands slammed down on his desk. The sound Nakamura made was not dignified in the slightest, and he flinched away from the offending desk abuser as he took in their identity.
“Get up right now, you’re helping me settle a dispute” Okuda Masako, the borderline ginger of the fujoshi trio (and the one who dragged him into the situation that led to the “Cockroach Incident” from last year….) loomed eerily over the ravenettes desk, a truly terrifying expression on her face. Okuto blinked stupidly as the shock faded, pointing at himself with raised eyebrows as he snapped the manga in his other hand closed. “Yes, you-agh, just come on!”
Nakamura yelped as his arm was harshly grabbed and he was pulled unceremoniously from his chair, Okuda clearly not in the mood for civilities. What possibly had her this riled up was anyone’s guess, since Nakamura had successfully drowned out the chatter of his classmates through the loving embrace of BL, but he knew better than to fight with a woman on the warpath. God knows he’s seen enough carnage learning that lesson through Kana’s bullshit.
“Oh my gosh, you did not-!” Kawamura’s familiar voice squawked as Nakamura was dragged over to their little corner of the classroom and shoved into the empty seat Okuda had previously been occupying, pulling up a new chair for herself and blocking the taller student off from any subtle options for escape via her and Hamaoka’s new positions at his sides. Poor Kawamura looked ready to straight up die, and Okuto briefly wondered if it’d be rude to ask her to kill him on the way out, as he was not liking the looks he was getting from the other two members of the Fujoshi trinity. “Masako, for the love of God girl, do not do this”
“It’s already done, honey” the borderline redhead replied with a downright evil grin before she leaned into Nakamura’s personal space. “So, are you gay or bi? I’ve got money riding on the latter”
Nakamura’s brain promptly short circuited.
“WHAT!?” He shrieked, making a move to jump out of his seat, only for the girls at his sides to hold him in place by grabbing the arm closest to them. The gut wrenching terror from the sudden accusation had the ravenette considering much more extreme options than before to get out of this conversation. Becuase he did need out of it, right now. “You can’t just accuse someone of that out of the blue!”
“That’s what I TRIED to tell her!” Kawamura whisper yelled, in a vain attempt to make further conversation less conspicuous, burying her face in her hands. Perhaps as a quiet mercy (combined with a few nasty looks from Okuda and Hamaoka for the stragglers), Nakamura’s tendency towards sudden outbursts was known decently enough by then that the attention garnered didn’t last longer than thirty seconds before the other occupants of the classroom lost interest. A few extra moments were taken before Kawamura came up for air, now fixing Hamaoka with a disapproving scowl. “Like I tried to tell you not to keep goading Masako on!”
“What? It’s funny when she gets riled up, especially when she’s wrong” the long haired ravenette grinned mischievously as she stared down a glare coming from the girl who’d dragged Nakamura into this situation. “The whole “Starry Night” incident was Hirose in drag, remember? This one’s a boy kisser, and exclusively so~”
“That’s your BL brain talking and you know it! I doubt Nakamura knew Hirose was his scene partner with how last minute everything was!” Okuda hissed back, keeping her voice as low as simmering anger would allow. “Ugh, if only Hirose’s sister hadn’t spoke up-you’d have seen what I did!”
“No, I figured out it was Hirose before she called out from the crowd” Nakamura mumbled, before freezing up as he had not meant to get caught up in this argument over his sexuality. Hamaoka gasped excitedly, squeezing the arm she held tighter, as Kawamura pinched the bridge of her nose, beneath the glasses.
“I should have kept my suspicions to myself” the artist of the trinity bemoaned as Okuto did everything in his power to not meet Hamaoka’s gleaming eyes. “I’m really sorry Nakamura, I thought my friends would be more mature about the theories I shared”
“Girl, we’re plenty mature, if we weren’t I wouldn’t have taken this measure” Okuda argued, tugging at the arm she held to get Hamaoka to loosen her grip. “This queer boy has good taste in BL and needs some gal pals, the bet was mostly an excuse”
Nakamura squeaked again at the blunt certainty as Kawamura raised a finger, seemed to think for a second, then lower it with a baffled sort of acceptance. Oh lord, was his lifeline here cutting him off!? He couldn’t be expected to fight three on one in a social context! No way!
“Exactly! We’ve been wanting to bring you into our circle since the year started” Hamaoka admitted shamelessly, releasing her hold on Okuto’s arm in exchange for slinging her own over his shoulders, forcing him to lean down closer to her and the other girls’ level. “Surrender your number, today’s the day you become one of us!”
“Hell yeah! One of us! One of us!” Okuda chanted, and Nakamura practically felt his soul leave his body as Kawamura silently tore a sheet from her notebook and pushed it across the table, a wordless concession to her friends whims. The still chanting fujoshi to his right released the arm she’d apprehended, knowing he’d need the ability to write in order to fulfill their demands. Shakily, as it was not Okuto’s dominant hand, the fudanshi picked up the pen, and painstakingly printed each digit of his personal number, the end result highly legible, yet a little untidy. Okuto barely had time to remove the writing instrument before the paper was snatched away by the eager Hamaoka, who dropped her hold on his dominant arm in favor of retrieving her phone for input. “The contract is sealed!”
Do you have to make it so ominous!? Nakamura internally questioned with a violent shiver, dropping the pen as his phone vibrated in his pocket. Several times. Kawamura checked her own device, then looked up at Okuto with a soft, mildly comforting smile.
“Welcome to the club” she chirped politely, returning her phone to her pocket. “For all my protests, I am glad you didn’t decline our request, even if the excuse used to bring you here was distressing and extremely inappropriate”
“Hey, it worked” Okuda cackled, propping up her arm on Nakamuras shoulder to use him as a brace. The ravenette was too overwhelmed by the entire situation to protest the resumed intrusion on his personal space. “You told us about a lonely queer boy with fantastic taste and expected us not to drag him into our circle. That lack of judgment is on you, girl”
“Speaking of excuses, don’t think we’re done with the sexuality interrogation” Hamaoka joined back in, apparently satisfied with whatever she’d done with the shy boys number, now circling back to the topic that had Okuda dragging Nakamura here in the first place. Would it be inappropriate to flip the desk and run? “I’ll make things easier-are girls on the table for you? Yes or no?”
The desk flipping was looking more appealing by the minute. Okuda was leaning in closer, and even Kawamura looked interested, despite her insistence against this very thing. Nakamura barely knew these girls outside of the artist across from him! Why was he entertaining any of this!? It wouldn’t be hard to force his way out and run. Heat blossomed across his face.
“…no” WHY WAS HE ADMITTING THIS!? “No girls”
A beat of silence passed.
“Oh my God, we actually snagged one!” Hamaoka screamed, but only just loud enough to betray her excitement, not draw attention. Okuda snapped her fingers with a “tsk”, removing herself from Nakamura’s person once again to retrieve her wallet, and Kawamura… looked oddly relieved, as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Maybe her head too, with how she sat up a little straighter and smiled. “My gaydar has never led me wrong!”
“That’s not what you thought last year” Okuda grumbled as she handed over several hundred yen in bills, which Hamaoka happily accepted
“No, but Hifumi was the only one of us who was actually paying attention back then, so your point means nothing” the long haired ravenette replied smugly, and she released the shy boy to count her winnings.
Okuto, freed and not wanting to be touched again for a while, took the opportunity to cross his arms over his chest with a hearty shiver, blocking out the sensation of an invisible tail following suit around his ankles. A flush spread across Okuto’s pale cheeks as he dipped his head to obscure his eyes from observers.
WHY DID I SAY THAT WHY DID I SAY THAT WHY DID I EVEN ENTERTAIN THIS OH GOD WHY WHY WHY-
“Hey, it’s alright” Kawamura’s voice broke through his loud internal screaming. Nakamura blinked-when had he joined hands with her? The brilliant artists thumbs were tracing soothingly over the shy boys knuckles, smiling gently as Okuto’s bewildered eyes found her face. “Your secret is in safe hands. All we want is to be your friends, okay? And friends don’t go around spreading your private business-promise!”
“Yeah-I may have been too straightforward for your taste, but we BL loving queers gotta stick together!” Okuda chuckled, leaning forward onto the desk so she was in the boys field of view again. “For example, I’m pan, Hifumi’s ace, though her romantic interests are pretty hetero-”
“-And I’m a bisexual, leaning on the girl kissing side!” Hamaoka cut in before Okuda could take the announcement from her. There was a confidence in the fellow ravenettes voice Okuto could only wish he possessed, as she too leaned forward into the boys field of view, supporting a devious little grin. “That makes you our first member with fully “exclusive” preferences”
“O-okay?” Nakamura didn’t know what else to say to that. To any of this, really. The last time someone wanted to be friends with him first was elementary school, and that ended pretty quickly once he showed the slightest bit of his true self. He wasn’t holding out hope that whatever this was wouldn’t end the same way-if not worse, considering the VERY private thing he’d just admitted to… “I-I don’t really know what to do with that information. Or really anything that’s just happened”
“Meh, we didn’t really expect you would going in, this is basically just a “Lets rip off that band-aid” introduction thing. It’s not exactly a secret that you’re not experienced with friend stuff” Okuda hummed, before gesturing to the other two girls at the table. “One of us was taking FOREVER to work up any courage to do this, and the other’s ideas for our approach were so terrible I figured I may as well drag you here to prevent those from taking place at all”
“Excuse you, my bookstore idea was flawless!” Hamaoka huffed, while Kawamura turned a little red and pulled her hands away from the tragically shy boys, probably having just noticed the contact had gone on a little too long. Okuda just rolled her eyes, annoyance clear in her expression.
“Yes, and how much stalking do you think that would have taken to pull off?” The orange-brown haired girl countered, one eyebrow raised as she pointed at the long haired ravenette with an upturned hand. “I’ll tell you now, it wasn’t zero, and you would’ve been caught right away”
“You underestimate my intel gathering skills and dedication to friendship” Hamaoka replied, a very concerning smile breaking out over her face. “I would’ve figured out where his usual BL supplier was in a week-”
“You can’t constantly go to the same place for your BL as a guy-clerks start to recognize you” Nakamura muttered quietly, turning pink as the fujoshi trios eyes trained on him again. “I h-have four places I cycle through, just so I don’t have to answer uncomfortable questions”
“…I never really thought about what shy boys might have to resort to for their BL fix” Kawamura mumbled, fiddling with the pen Nakamura had used to write his contact info. Hamaoka looked a bit deflated by the comment, while Okuda appeared vindicated. “I’ve taken for granted how easy it is for me to regular the bookstore near my house without anyone questioning my purchases”
“Well, that’s an easy problem to fix now that you’re part of our group” Okuda assured, riding off a small victory high. The short haired girl made a move to put an arm over Nakamuras shoulders again, but before they made contact she seemed to have a sort of epiphany, and changed its destination to the back of the boys chair. “You can just join us after school tomorrow-we already had plans to visit one of those fancy bookstores with a café inside. It has a deal where you can get a free drink if you buy two or more books”
“Oh my gosh yes- we can figure out your tastes and recommend stuff to each other!” Hamaoka agreed with a little squeal, quietly smacking the desk a few times. “Hifumi, you know him best-does Nakamura already know peak, or do we need to be prepared to educate?”
“…from what his opinions were on Love-Ben’s flavor awakening scene, we might be the ones learning something instead” Kawamura answered noncommittally, shyly hiding her face and twirling a braid around her finger. Okuto himself went pale, but just as the two more extroverted members of the trinity zeroed their attention on him again, the lunch bell showed the only mercy it knew and rang out its obnoxious chime to signal the end of the period, thus sparing the newest member of the BL lovers from having to share his opinions where peers could hear. Relieved, the gay boy sprinted back to his seat without another word, silently thanking the annoying bell system for its blessing. It might be hell on his ears to listen to now, but he was freed from embarrassing himself further.
Well, until his phone pinged, and while everyone else utilized the five minute notice to return to their classrooms and seats, Nakamura gave the device a curious check, as he wouldn’t be able to look at it again until school came to an end.
You have been added to the LINE Group: Fujoshi Fun! Come say hi!
LINE Group “Fujoshi Fun” has been changed to “Fujoshi Girlies and Adopted Fudanshi” by Admin: Yuu Keyed My Car
Your User ID for “Fujoshi Girlies and Adopted Fudanshi” has been changed from “Okuto Nakamura” to “Boy Kisser Bakamura” by Admin: Yuu Keyed My Car
Yuu Keyed My Car: The bell can’t save you from us. Talk soon <3
Nakamura had never felt more threatened by an emoticon heart in his life.