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Tsukasa Tenma paced his family’s open-concept living room as he talked on the phone with Kamishiro for seemingly endless hours. He passed the Alexa on the TV stand once, thrice, probably 40 times by now. Honestly, it should’ve counted as a workout.
‘13th of February, 2026. 12:32 PM. 18°C. Partly cloudy with a 37% chance of rain.’
He didn’t pay much attention to the information, but it was unwillingly ingrained in his head from how much he passed by it. The screen would then cycle through articles, each slide one of the “Top 10” of today, all either about influencers convincing you to live the ‘healthy’ life, the news with yet another wholesome cat-related story, a painfully irrelevant online drama, stock enthusiasts, or AI. Sometimes even a weird combination of those. Eventually, the constant dystopian feed cycle meant to feed the already overstimulated brain would pause to return to the simplistic main page with the date and forecast, reminding Tsukasa of the ever changing real world.
It was probably around 3 hours of talking like this, in repeating circles around his house, because time flies when you’re listening to your director’s third rant about evolution this week instead of the script revisions.
“Ah, it’s been 3 hours already… I can’t believe it.” Rui gasped lightly. Apparently, even he wasn’t planning on taking that long to explain convergent evolution in the platypus when he called Tsukasa at 9 in the morning.
“Wha- wait, seriously?!” Tsukasa checked the call time in shock to confirm, and yes, it did in fact say ‘3:07,’ before putting the phone back to his ear.
“I’m sorry for taking up so much time– you can go now if you wish.” Now, Rui didn’t actually want Tsukasa to hang up, but he’d feel like he was imposing if he didn’t state that he didn’t need Tsukasa to stay.
Tsukasa, on the other hand, seemed to hate this idea even more than Rui did.
“I mean it’s fine. Plus, I’m alone right now so–”
“You’re alone?”
Tsukasa paused in his tracks, no longer walking in circles. Or rather, his oblong ovals. “Yes? Mom and dad are doing anniversary stuff, and Saki is at a sleepover.”
Tsukasa heard Rui chuckle (which was never a good sign) before suddenly hanging up.
“Wha….?”
He stood there dumbfounded. Why could his boyfriend have possibly needed to know this information, and why did he hang up when he heard it?
Oh, yeah, boyfriend. The two were officially together, by the way.
*
See, a little more than two weeks ago, Tsukasa decided to ask Rui out. It wasn’t just any ol’ high school confession; no, it wasn’t even at school! As a future star, Tsukasa Tenma couldn’t settle for anything less moving and unexpected than the show he put on to sincerely apologize to Rui as well as convince him to rejoin WxS.
It started out as a dress rehearsal for their Lunar New Year shows, performance dates designated from the 16th (only two days after their Valentine’s Day-themed show! What a busy schedule!) to the 2nd of March.
However, as Rui watched Tsukasa run through the final scene, a monologue about the lesson the Fire Horse had learnt, he noticed Tsukasa’s words were coming a bit more from the heart and a bit less from the script.
“The energetic fire horse, although independent in nature, needed someone to share its passion with. To bounce its daring ideas off of a group of trusted friends. To know that although it’s impressive when independent, it will always be a part of a family no matter how far off his path they seem…, and that its freedom in thinking and genuine care for others made it the absolute best at its job. That it’s truly admirable how hard it works, and how charismatic it can be when helping its loved ones on a path to their dreams.”
Tsukasa looked into Rui’s eyes, hand on his heart. It was no longer just a performance. Emu and Nene stepped back, having paused their choreo run-throughs a while ago to make sure all eyes remained on Tsukasa for this moment.
“Once he realized this, he seemed to unravel his own path. A friend, a director, and a rival in dreams… I can only hope that I too am on his path.”
Rui’s brows furrowed. What did Tsukasa mean by being on ‘his path?’ His heart rate sped up. Why was this so personal? His hands clenched so hard, his nails started digging into his palms, but the adrenaline blocked the pain. He had a feeling in the back of his mind, a voice telling him it was what he thought it was, but he didn’t want to listen to it in the fear of getting his hopes up.
But…
At this point, it should’ve been kinda obvious.
‘Was this a confession?!!’
“And that he knows just how much I love him.” Tsukasa finished his speech, and as if it was her cue (because it was), Emu ran at near-teleportation speeds offstage to suddenly fire the large New Year's confetti cannon, painting the scene behind Tenma in a randomized sparkling rainbow. Each metallic piece’s edge reflected against the sun’s light to create small white twinkles shining like stars in the viewer’s eyes, the sight even burning a bit as his eyes stung.
Rui’s heart dropped, not in fear but in shock. He swore the blood stopped flowing to his head, and for a moment he almost passed out!! His cheeks started to heat up. Then his heart started beating— and it was faster than ever. Sweat dripped down his forehead. His clothes felt too tight. His legs were weak, and he felt like he had just run a mile.
He was actually right?!
The glitter took forever to clean off the stage, and they would have to buy replacement confetti for the show, but at the moment, its scarlet hue looked like magic to the single man in the audience who stared up at the kneeling star before him.
Staring at Tsukasa like this felt like an excited kid watching a late summer firework show. At a certain point in his speech, a confession was somewhat expected, but it still came as a surprise, just like the multi-color explosions through the air. His ‘show’ sent deep, resounding thuds throughout Rui’s heart that echoed through his ears, and when he smiled, between the glitter behind him and the pure light in his persimmon eyes, it was like the big finale of the show.
Rui felt a sudden sense of deja vu.
The rest of the day was a blur, or rather it felt so much like a fever dream that each time Kamishiro tried to relive it in his dreams, he’d feel like he was making up the entire thing! In fact, throughout the rest of that day, he had continuously asked Tsukasa to pinch him.
*
Tsukasa was sitting on the couch in complete silence, still dumbfounded by whatever just happened on the phone.
Soon enough, there was a knock at the front door.
‘It couldn’t be…’
‘It… isn’t Rui, right? It just can’t be. It would be crazy if he got here that fast. Crazy and suspicious.’
Tsukasa went to answer the door. “Hm?” He hummed as he opened it.
“Fufufufu-“
-SLAM!-
Tsukasa's face was red. His heart beat loudly. Rui was there. On his front porch, delivered like a birthday gift with his face being the pretty little bow! It was kind of scary, but also kinda… romantic? Because not only did he come faster than Amazon Prime’s same-day delivery, but based on the quick glimpse he got of the boy, he was… awfully put together! Let alone the fact that his hair was brushed into a style that actually made sense… that was a red flag in and of itself, but also cute. Cute that he had clearly put in the effort for Tsukasa’s eyes only.
Tsukasa checked his call log. It had only been 15 minutes since he hung up. If you thought about the distance between their houses, it seemed like the only possible way to get there that fast was if Rui teleported there as soon as he heard the news that he could hypothetically come over. Or a much more realistic solution of having already been outside. Tsukasa didn’t know how he felt about the second option, so he chalked it up to Rui expecting he was home alone or something.
Tsukasa reopened the door he’d previously slammed in his boyfriend’s face.
“I knew you’d come around.” Rui’s face reverted from surprise to a cocky grin as he leaned on the door frame with his left arm, keeping the other hidden behind his back.
“Were you camping outside or something?”
“Uh…. No?” One thing about Rui Kamishiro was that when he wasn’t acting, he was a horrible liar. If it wasn’t immediately obvious by his excuse, then it was probably clear by his tone or grin. In this case, it was definitely leaning towards his tone.
“Then how’d you get here so fast?” Tsukasa crossed his arms and raised a critical eyebrow, almost pressuring Rui with one look.
“I engineered a jet pack to skip past big crowds on main streets like the scramble crossing.” He smiled like it made sense. Well, there was the grin.
Tsukasa knew it was B.S., but with Rui, he really couldn’t put it past him. And for that, his excuse was kind of believable. Tsukasa calmed his obvious surprise. “No, you didn’t.” He said flatly.
“I was at Aoyagi’s.” He immediately confessed the truth.
“And you didn’t tell me?” Tsukasa uncrossed his arms.
“I was getting ready.”
‘For what??? It's not like you go much of anywhere’
It took Tsukasa a second glance at Rui’s appearance to remember that he wasn't exactly in ‘informal wear.’
He had on dress shoes, white slacks, and a satin-like white button-up with what seemed like a long ribbon at the back of the collar. Its sheer material hung down his back, kind of reminding Tsukasa of when bows were all the rage. A white embroidered vest was draped over his arm, likely to avoid overheating in case the warming weather decided to remember itself.
‘Oh, yeah. He looks… oddly elegant. Like he’s dressed as a bride for a wedding. Well, considering that, he probably needed help getting ready, so I suppose it’s a plausible excuse.’ Tsukasa nodded to himself like a teacher grading a test. For a moment, he could see himself and Rui in similar crème and white suits for a wedding of their own.
He cleared his throat, trying to get his mind off the future that a part of him couldn't wait for.
“Speaking of, what’s the occasion?” Tsukasa tilted his head. It wasn’t every day you saw Rui in a suit; well –it was most days, considering a lot of WxS costumes were suits but he meant more off the sta– ok, you get the point.
“You can’t be busy, I presume. After all, you are home alone.” Rui peeked after Tsukasa at the big yet empty Tenma household.
“You’re right. I’m free right now.” Tsukasa moved his head to cover the house from the nosy Rui Kamishiro. He was going to let him in, of course, but it was a tad gauche of Rui to be so prying. “I take it you’re coming in?” Tsukasa backed up, ready to get a snack for his uninvited yet welcome guest.
“Nope. You’re going out!”
“Huh?” That one genuinely surprised Tsukasa.
“We are going out!” He finally held out his hidden hand, revealing a bouquet of white roses and lilies, sprinkled with occasional blue roses in between, all wrapped in silver and white wrapping with a light blue bow.
. . .
“We WHAT?!”
“I’m inviting you to an outing with me-” He started with a usual sly grin and an outstretched hand. “...unless you don’t want to...” He paused, pushing his bottom lip outward and–
“No, no, don’t use those puppy dog eyes on me, I- I’m going. I’ll go, it’s just… why?” Though Tsukasa supposes it’s true that maybe Rui was a bit too well dressed to stay in the eyes of just one person, it was also very random. He took the flowers from Rui’s hand, smiling at the gesture.
Rui stared deadpan at Tsukasa like his reasoning was obvious.
“What?” Tsukasa matched his stare, squinting like he was trying to find whatever clue previously given to the audience that made them understand Rui’s sporadic choice hiding behind his slim golden eyes, only to find a bit of disbelief.
“It’s… February.” Rui cued him in.
“I know.”
“It’s Saturday.”
“I’m aware of the date, Rui.” Tsukasa sighed, slightly frustrated that Rui was being so vague with him when he had no clue what was being implied.
“Then you’d know tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, but I’m also traveling with my parents tomorrow?”
“Huh?! You’re goin— wait, that's what this is about?!” Tsukasa almost dropped the bouquet in shock. ‘So he came for the sake of romance? Is this what everyone means when they say we’re like newlyweds?!’
“Exactly! And we, my love, are going on an outing today to make up for a day that hasn’t even happened yet!” He announced like he was the first person to discover oiling a machine. Clearly Tsukasa’s tendencies to overdo (everything) rubbed off on Rui.
“Well, now that I think about it, it makes sense.” Tsukasa put his free hand on his chin, still taking the whole thing in. He looked at the flowers, then back at Kamishiro. “But what inspired you?”
“Can’t it just be my love for my boyfriend?”
“You’re a bit too eager to be calling me that considering we just-"
“No, I’m an appropriate amount of eager. Now get dressed and let’s ditch this place.” His eyes lingered up and down Tsukasa’s figure. He was dressed kind of like a chud, wearing a baggy burgundy shirt with a few bleach stains that he obviously wore only when cleaning, and straight-legged black sweatpants that were clearly not meant to be worn anywhere out of his bedroom with how wrinkled and washed out they were. He looked like a long-time reditor; sure, add in the incoming peach fuzz above his lips and the peel-off face mask on his forehead that he likely forgot about and it was just about done, but God, was Rui a lucky man, because his hair smelled like coconut and his eyes still had about as many shades as a Hawaiian sunset in them and his skin was practically glowing and the waistband that hung on his hips…
“‘Kay?” Rui smiled as if he didn’t just check out Tsukasa, who, in short, was suited up in the classic ‘man I hope I don’t run into anyone I know’ fit, but was still cute in Rui’s (based) opinion.
“If it’s somewhere nice enough for you to do your hair and wear white, I should do a little more than just get dressed.” Tsukasa joked, placing the bouquet on the counter behind him before going back to the doorframe.
“Hm? What do you mean?” Rui didn’t think Tsukasa needed to do much, but Rui was also the same type of guy to walk out in an unironed shirt and matted hair if he was thrown more than a few curveballs by life, something even a depressed Tsukasa wouldn’t do.
“I mean, get inside.” Tsukasa pulled Rui in by his cream bowtie. “I’m going to take a while.” Tsukasa shut the door after pulling Rui in, yet kept his grip on that collar.
The two were but a few inches away. The house was large and empty. Suddenly, everything Rui jokingly said he wanted to do came to mind. He gulped anxiously. What was Tsukasa planning to do?
Tsukasa pinned him to the front door. With a sigh, he released him.
“So is it a food place, or?”
“Huh?” Rui didn’t hear a word that came out of Tsukasa’s mouth. He stared down into his eyes, and further down at his lips. Tsukasa was, by now, a little bit less than a whole head shorter than Rui, meaning Rui could give him a forehead kiss without much strain.
But right now, that wasn’t exactly what he wanted.
“Us. Outside. Food. Eating. Or is it someplace else?” Tsukasa reiterated, trying to ignore what Rui thought was him being slick.
“Oh, uhm… yes! Aha… if you want.” No doubt about it, Tsukasa caught him. He closed his eyes as if punishing himself for looking astray.
Rui scratched his nape and awkwardly chuckled as the silence closed in, praying Tsukasa, although extremely close, wouldn’t recognize the familiar pink that stained his cheeks.
“Is that makeup or are you just–”
“Both.”
“Oh.” Would you look at that, an answer he didn’t expect! To think it was both the fact that Rui had dolled himself up for today, and that he was actually flustered in this position. You know, since Tsukasa took him for the shameless type and all.
‘So it’s a Valentine’s Day surprise sort of thing?’
“Then I’ll do the same.”
“Hm?”
Tsukasa sat Rui down on the couch before dashing up the stairs to get ready. For a while, all Rui heard was footsteps coming from all over, racing from one room to another just to get ready. Every once in a while he’d see Tsukasa from his balcony, trying on different shirts.
“Stop looking!” He shouted down from his balcony to Rui.
“You have clothes on–”
“Yeah, but it’s a surprise!"
“Oh?” He said much more quietly, like Rui was pleased that Tsukasa really wanted this to be big.
A few doors slammed and minutes passed as Rui flipped through channels, awaiting Tsukasa’s return. Every once in a while, Tsukasa would call down to ask Rui a question like “how warm do you think it’d be?” or “1 or 2?" or “pick a number” to discreetly help him pick out an outfit without seeing it. Apparently, the whole ‘surprise-outfit’ thing was still a big deal.
He finally heard a familiar clack from the stairs; Tsukasa was coming down— in heels?!
Rui stood up from the couch, turning to the stairs as Tsukasa came down and held the banister. It felt like those dramatic prom dress reveal scenes in western shows where the date would swoon immediately out of shock, but it wasn’t prom; Rui was just lucky enough to have a (literal) model for a lover.
Tsukasa sported a dull blue embroidered vest over a slim-fitting white button-up. As if in contrast to Rui’s lack of color, his own bowtie was the same shade of ‘dull blue’ as his vest, and was probably the hardest decision out of his outfit– it was unusually overwhelming when he thought about whether he was to match with his favorite color vest or his date’s bride-like color scheme.
His fitted vest contrasted Rui’s much more ‘flowing’ look and slightly overlapped his boot-cut white slacks. As he raised a foot to go down yet another step, peeking through were the hardly visible sources of the sound: black-heeled boots that slipped through the veil of his dress pants. As he proudly put a hand on his hip and posed for the camera that wasn’t (but should’ve been) there, the silver bracelets and rings on his wrists and fingers clanked against each other.
Even more, his captivating smile was decorated with a light-tinted lip stain, and his eyelids were accompanied by faint brown eyeliner creating a short, thin wing that pronounced them. He also seemed to have enough time to quickly brush his hair, separating his bangs into a curtain-like middle part. It wasn’t as eye-catching as Rui’s may have been in the street, but to his date, who never got to see him dressed like this for a date being that it was their first, the purpose of his suit and tie made his heart race.
After a few confident poses, Tsukasa suddenly got hit with a sudden wave of ‘wait, what does Rui think of this?’
For some reason, he’s gotten a lot more anxious about the impression he made on Rui ever since he came in infectious contact with these feelings.
Namely, the first instances of this were when Tsukasa attempted texting or inviting Rui out— weird, right?
Now it was a simple task considering they often walked with each other all the way to the scramble crossing after school until they had to separate their own ways home like the root to the tip of a fork. The time they would spend together would fly by, and by the end of it, when Tsukasa was reaching for his keys to unlock the front door, he felt like it was just a far-away, faint memory, most often awakened until the next hangout or short walk. Of course, this was only (whenever there wasn’t practice at PXL or other more pressing matters, but it just went to show they were practically superglued together, bonded at the hip if you would. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think Tsukasa was Rui’s childhood best friend– a role actually filled by his neighbor Nene, who always seemed to get home much earlier because she wasn’t taking her dear sweet time to walk with Tsukasa.
Yes, a simple task, but when was anything ever simple with love?
*
Tsukasa glanced up at Rui. It was a consistent habit nowadays, as Tsukasa suddenly found his… crush so hard to look away from (he was still grappling with the predicament).
Sometimes he would even hope to get a quaint shot of him looking up at the lesson during class to save as a mental picture, sun hitting just a part of his face and eyes always glowing. However, right now he was too preoccupied with the joys of ‘doodling random sketches’ on the sides of his messy, word-filled notebook, lacking any rhyme or reason— not even with handwriting or the color he highlighted with! How come the smart kids had god-awful eyesores for notebooks and 100 on English essays? Then again, Rui Kamishiro was far from your average smart kid.
For starters, Tsukasa was 87% sure that the aforementioned ‘random sketches’ were far from ‘doodles’ but hyper-realistic prototypes that were also far from random, each one probably pertaining to their paragraph of a personal description and a short plan of how to use them and propose the idea to Tsukasa. He figured this because he saw some pages filled with them way before, during a study session.
See? Far from random.
But Tsukasa Tenma wasn’t staring just to stare! Although it didn’t sound too bad, he was ready to pounce— to go up to Rui and ask him if he was interested in accompanying him to a new cafe he saw all over Instagram. Who knows, if it was good enough, he'd take Saki along, and she’d be the happiest sister in the world. Just the thought brought his classic ‘proud older brother’ smile to his face.
‘Yes, this is for the sake of my dear sister and not at all my growing and somewhat selfish desire to be alone with Rui.’
He approached Rui with an overwhelmingly confident aura, for starters, not his casual excited one when he was doing things like these. It kind of looked straight out of an shonen manga panel and didn’t fail to alert Rui as soon as he stepped out of his chair. Tsukasa followed by placing his hands on his hips and shouting as if he had to get Rui’s attention; at this point, he was just yelling for the love of the game.
“RUI!!”
“Hm? Yes, my star?” An often-used pet name between the two that earned itself a suspicious brow when said in public (e.g., school, where their classmates were more surprised to find out they weren’t dating than to think they were). It started to send Tsukasa into a spiral, the way he said ‘My.’ It never used to do that before? What changed?
‘Oh yeah. The crush thing.’
‘Wait, what was I doing? Oh yeah, asking him to eat.’
‘Wait, seriously?! I’m asking him to a cafe with me… like a date?! With just us? One-on-one?! And I probably look like a fool too, yelling and stomping… no way he’d say yes!’
‘Damn, this is so troublesome. Why am I overthinking this? We’ve done this a million times before.’
‘I kind of miss when he was actually just a friend.’
“What’s going on, Tsukasa?” Rui’s voice pierced through Tsukasa’s spiral, bringing Tenma back to their conversation, and his noble mission.
“Oh. Yeah, I uh, I was just wondering if you were free… after school today…” His voice was suddenly much softer— and quieter —in an attempt to seem casual. He must’ve forgotten he was Tsukasa Tenma, because being quiet was even weirder than shouting to Rui as if he was across the classroom during passing period.
“Oh?” Rui chuckled. It was a rare sight, seeing him so shy, and that’s what made it cute.
“Yes, my schedule happens to be quite empty this week.” ‘As is any other week where we don’t have practice, but he doesn't have to know about that.’ (That being Rui's lack of a bustling social life like Saki’s.)
“Splendid! Then would you be interested in accompanying me to a cafe?”
“Just us?”
“Yeah”
“Like…” His mind wandered to the probability meter of a date with Tsukasa-kun, now going up from a casual 38 tenfold.
“An outing. With us. To get the food. I need a friend to do it with me before I take saki, and you’re my test subject for once, Kamishiro.” He put on a grin as if he didn’t just deliberately cut off Rui from saying the words he feared so much, and in the process friend-zoning his own crush.
Rui’s meter went back down past the original 38 to a scorching -93. yikes.
At this rate, the two had no shot. It was a serious miracle nerves didn’t kill Tsukasa on his path to dating Rui.
*
Tsukasa wasn’t a stranger to Shame when it came to instances like these, but he was still hardly acquainted with it and its brother, Embarrassment. Maybe it was the whole dynamic shift getting to him, the one where he wanted Rui to adore him as much as he adored Rui, romantically.
Tenma remained on the third-to-last tan wooden step, shifting from one heeled foot to another, anxiously pulling at the collar of his shirt as if trying to air himself out.
“Is it… too casual? Should I put on a different tie or vest or something?”
To Rui, this didn’t even feel close to casual. Casual was sweatpants and a sweater with geometric stripes… so basically what he wore every other day.
“No, you look… it’s… yeah.”
Rui didn’t realize it, but he was sweating. A lllot.
“Huh?”
“I mean, you look spectacular, my star.”
Rui’s compliment completely erased any prior doubts he held. Suddenly, Tsukasa was all fired up! “Then let’s go! Lead the way, Rui.”
Rui grasped Tsukasa’s hand. “Then you’re going to have to trust me.”
“Hm?”
“I’m going to have to cover your eyes once we get closer. It’s still a surprise after all ~.”
“That’s fine, just don’t do anything weird”
Rui covered his boyfriend’s eyes and leaned close to his ears. “Why, of course I won’t. When have I ever done anything weird?”
Tsukasa’s eyes were covered, but Rui could tell he was giving him the look. He even felt Tsukasa’s doubtful eyebrow raise against his palms.
“When haven’t you?”
Rui looked away, trying to avoid Tsukasa’s (albeit blocked) all-knowing gaze.
“Aha… but I’m serious this time.” He uncovered Tsukasa’s eyes. “And I want you to promise me you won’t be peeking at maps either.” Rui smiled and held out his hand.
‘Wow. He was seriously dedicated to this whole surprise thing…’ Tsukasa looked down at that gloved, outstretched hand. He resigned and took it into his.
“Alright then. Lead the way, love.”
His bare palms gently wrapped around Rui’s fingers, soft from the fabric that stretched from his palm to his fingertips. Rui blushed. After all, Tsukasa didn’t hold his hand and call him pet names often. Maybe this was a sign he needed to do it more.
*
“You can look now.” Rui stopped at the corner of the sidewalk with Tsukasa standing, blinded, in front of him. It was a rather grand restaurant that was much bigger inside than out. Its windows, bordered with a dark wood, were tinted just enough to make the patrons inside look like something out of a painting: a whole new world away. Everything inside was lit by dazzling glass chandeliers that emitted a warm light much like an old Christmas. They rose above every other table, and clearly were a sign of just a fraction of how grandiose the owner wanted the customers to feel. But just by looking at the name, something almost illegible even to English readers and probably just a random French word in a gold script, you could tell that it came with a price.
“You know you have to move your hands first when you say that." Tsukasa removed the veil set upon him all to see such a familiar sight. For a second, he turned left and right to see if maybe Rui was taking him to the arcade or shop next door, but based on their attire and placement on the sidewalk, this was definitely what Rui wanted him to see.
It was the fancy new restaurant Tsukasa had been eyeing on his walks back from school. He’d stare at the sparkling chandeliers in the dim-looking restaurant that went on for what seemed like miles inside, twinkling like stars if you walked by in a hurry because of how they caught the light. Sometimes you’d even see a rainbow prism, a few dashes of all the visible shades to the human eye, reflecting from the glass and unto the window before you. Each couple or group that surrounded a table had something unique on their plate, and it was conveniently spread to look magnificent to the hungry Tsukasa, most likely on his way to practice with his troupe or dinner with his family. He’d mentioned wanting it once or twice on a walk with an empty stomach to Rui whenever he started to envy them a bit more than usual.
But seriously, booking a reservation for a date...?! And knowing Rui, he obviously had something bigger planned than just surprising him with his favorite flowers, but a fancy restaurant…?
This seriously made Tsukasa’s homemade surprise pale in comparison— the same surprise he didn’t have ready yet because he expected to do an ‘after-Valentine's’ Valentine’s Day surprise rather than a before one!
He clearly had to step up his game when it came to Rui’s surprise, but that was fine by him— after all, who didn’t love a good challenge?
Rui watched the surprise flood Tsukasa’s face before speaking. It was always worth it, seeing the appreciation melt in and flood his cheeks in an abnormally red hue (even if it happened often). “Initially, I planned to perform you a song from that new musical you heard about in the school courtyard, and then proceed to present you with tickets to it, but they sold out.” He chuckled.
The real reason why he didn’t go through with ‘plan A’ was because he wasn’t quite sure if Tsukasa would be okay with such a public display, and the format seemed better suited for a birthday gift of sorts.
“I'm still shocked you did this… even considering buying me tickets— that isn’t cheap, you know. And what if I cancelled or was with my family or something, huh?! What then?! You really should've given me a heads up! How on earth could you have been so sure it'll work out?” And there went Tsukasa from relishing in shock to nagging about Rui's irresponsibility.
“My apologies..." He chuckled, watching Tsukasa keep going on about financial literacy. "But no need for you to worry; I would've found another way. You mentioned wanting to try the food, and every time we pass, you stare through the window.” He shrugged as if it was a good enough reason to spend that much on just a down payment. “Sure, it took some allowance saved up and a bit of sacrifice…” He looked off at the pale, imaginary spirit of his yen, now floating away.
‘More like it took too much allowance and a considerable measure of sacrifice, but it was well worth the shocked countenance he gets at surprises like these.’
Now of course Tsukasa stared through the windows longingly at times— he was often hungry after school! And yes, as previously mentioned, he mentioned it once or twice, but it still was hard to wrap his head around Rui seriously going ahead and booking a reservation. This place was overpriced as hell considering it was a European-themed tourist trap in a big city in Japan and all!
“You actually remembered that… I really don’t know what to say. You really didn’—”
Rui cut him off before Tsukasa could dare finish his sentence. He obviously ‘didn’t have to,’ but he wanted to. He wanted to show Tsukasa how much he meant, although it was already clear with each smile Rui was able to give thanks to him. He wanted to show Tsukasa that he was listening to each rant and each accidental case of mansplanations. Even more, he wanted to return the favor and give Tsukasa a reason to smile too. A smile that, this time, belonged to him alone.
“I choose to.”
“T-thank you Rui…” his throat had that tight feeling he always got before his eyes would well up with tears. He wanted to kiss Rui, or better yet, he wanted to cry and scream ‘THANK YOU’ at the top of his lungs to show off what fate brought him. In fact, Rui was a tad shocked he didn’t start yelling.
But he couldn’t. They were in public after all, and they were still two young (and really well dressed) men. He tightened his grip on his boyfriend's hand. Tsukasa’s large persimmon eyes told all the stories of joy Rui sought in him when he planned all this.
Call it a late repayment of the show Tsukasa held especially for Rui, but he—believe it or not—wasn’t done yet.
“After you,” Rui let go of Tsukasa’s hand and bowed, moving to the side to make way for the suited-up blond.
Tsukasa put a hand up to his mouth to hide the grin that grew at his boyfriend’s antics. “If you insist,” he matched his over-the-top formality by matching the bow and entering the large tinted glass doors his boyfriend held. Rui often found joy in participating in little acts of service like these.
Inside, it was much brighter. Between the almost pungent smell of a couple’s million-dollar cologne at a table by the front and a waft of air containing the smell of a temptingly well-done Beef Wellington, it for sure smelled like one thing: money. It was almost like everyone else patroning the restaurant today thought they were going to the Met Gala instead— for sure there at least half of them were overdressed for just eating, but they surely weren’t ones to talk. It was safe to say that two bright teenage boys entering the restaurant together the day before Valentine’s Day gathered a few eyes here and there.
The walls offered a dark contrast to the bright warm lights from the chandelier. The entire restaurant was decorated like someone stumbled across an oak wood forest and decided to make do with it. Or like that one fancy cabinet someone’s grandmother has— the one with all the fancy fine china decorating its rows, and just the way the glass shines with the deep wood bordering it screams, “I’m vintage and therefore can be sold for a million bucks.” —up and became a restaurant. Accompanied by the tan walls was that same dark oak wainscoting, and the furthest wall at the back of the restaurant was black, adding to why it felt like it stretched on forever.
From the inside, it was even clearer that the placement of the customers was in fact very intentional: the tables, each with chandeliers above them, by the front housed a company much different from the family situated at the back. It was almost classist in and of itself.
No, not classist. It just was.
Rui could practically feel the confused and curious glances and flat-out stares across the restaurant fall on Tsukasa and him. To be fair, they were basically dressed for a wedding. As if it was to deflect each lasting glance, Rui's face hardened. He turned to take in Tsukasa, now standing beside him. He was already looking at Rui with that ‘You notice that too, right?’ face. He was well aware of the looks, which weren’t as bad or painfully obvious as the ones on the train, but not as casual as the glances on the walk here (seriously, try casually walking around in an all-white suit).
They were well accustomed to having eyes on them, being the eccentric and loud yet captivating showmen they were, but these weren’t the eyes of admiration. In short, it wasn’t wonder, and it certainly wasn’t the type of ignorance they could ignore.
Rui glided across the polished wooden floors with his heeled boots, walking with a grace and level of professionalism told only by the silent clacking of his heels and the sternness of his face, approaching the uniformed man who stood behind the front desk.
“Good Afternoon, I’m here for a reservation under ‘Kamishiro’?”
His hair was dark and combed nicely, and his naturally long lashes and thick brows accentuated his whole ‘tall, dark and handsome’ look. Despite his funny mustache, he was clearly the best fit for your first face of the restaurant.
“Yes, uhhm…” his expectedly plummy voice trailed off. He stared at Rui’s face, as if reading and categorizing him in real time: age, race, accent, attire. Then he turned his head to Tsukasa, reading him much more intently.
“You two? Ah, you two are together— for the booking— I mean?”
Despite the specification in the worker’s intent, a familiar creeping feeling grasped Rui by the shoulder. A nervous sense of paranoia surrounded him everywhere around him all at once.
‘He doesn’t know. He couldn’t. And I doubt it would be his business if he did.’ He repeated it to himself until he was calm. He cleared his throat, trying to shake off that itching feeling from under his skin.
“Yes,” Rui smiled and nodded. He faked a chuckle at the misunderstanding, though not much was funny, considering the bell of impending doom that rang in his head.
The employee in the fine-fitting uniform made an undiscernible face, like he had something to say but buried it under confusion. His finger glided over the service tablet.
“hm…. I’m… not seeing that name. Your given name is Rui, correct?”
“Yes.”
“How is it written?”
“Ah… kind… as in type.”
Another moment of tapping and it was clear from his following statement and taut customer service face that it was a rather unsuccessful endeavor.
“Do you have a confirmation email perhaps?”
Rui held back a frown. He didn’t want Tsukasa to worry (even though Tsukasa could already tell he wasn’t in the jolliest of spirits anymore). Rui nodded before reaching into his pocket to open that saved tab— alone like a prized possession in his favorites that he predicted would come in handy— specially placed so he wouldn’t confuse it with the bordering on hundreds of tabs of projects that screamed to be finished and deleted, alongside those articles all about something different yet similar, all representing his frequent fleeting moments of passion from any particular inspiration. They all seemed to just sit there, open whether or not he actually saw them through.
It wouldn’t be a stretch to say this was what his brain looked like at most times too.
The worker and the taller boy continued deliberating on ways to see the reservation on the employee's end. All this went on as Tsukasa stood beside Rui, worrying over Rui’s very poorly masked worry over Tsukasa’s non-existent initial worry.
This was what often occurred between the two since they both happily took the role of worrywarts when it came to each other.
“Unfortunately we are at capacity, and I still don’t see your name… although you do have a confirmation email, so it’s most likely a mistake on our end!” He said in his best customer service voice with an apologetic smile and bow.
“If you desire, you can wait approximately…” he clicked at a few buttons on his end that Rui, suspicious, attempted to observe. “40 minutes for an open table, or we can offer you a refund and a discount the next time you come!” He slipped in another slight head bow. He was surely a natural-born salesman; why didn’t he pursue a career in that instead of lying to kids? Though one could argue that salesmen do that too.
Rui’s eyes sharpened in thought. He seemed to also be upset, maybe even disappointed in himself for letting Tsukasa down. Rui turned to his boyfriend for his confirmation. Tsukasa saw the slight frown in his tight lips. It was different from the ones that unconsciously took shape when he noticed a flaw in a performance, or the countless times when he was faking offence and cried ‘yoyoyo’ as he called Tsukasa ‘cruel.’ It was the one he had only when faced with an unavoidable truth that kept him stuck between a hard rock, and yet another hard rock...
‘It’s fine.’ Tsukasa whispered.
Rui turned back to the man, ‘Soto,’ as per his nametag, before he nodded. “I’ll take the latter, yes.”
*
The two exited the restaurant like a portal to the real world. The sky was clear. The Shibuya streets beyond the store were busier than before. People smiled and waved at their friends, ready for hangouts or walking hand in hand. A lot of couples walked hand in hand.
Rui’s hands remained anxiously at his side. The sun continued to smile down at them almost too happily for the moment.
The breeze passed them by.
“So…” Tsukasa's voice trailed off.
Rui didn’t respond. He bit at his lip like he had something to say eventually, but remained unresponsive.
“…”
His thin taro brows furrowed. He was a tad upset, sure, but why? He stared off into the distance at small shops and school kids and their friends ahead of him, trying to figure himself out. To understand why he was so unhappy in the first place. It wasn’t that big of a deal, just a… small diversion. A change of plans that could lead to something even more exciting. He could do other things.
Yeah. Something different.
He just had to find one.
Besides, he wasn’t much of a fancy restaurant guy anyhow.
Tsukasa watched his boyfriend, currently going through the motions. He wasn’t exactly sure what he was thinking, but he could guess. His finger twitched against himself.
‘What can I do for him?’
“It’s okay.” Tsukasa started, reassuring not only Rui, but himself. He was a bit disappointed, but he couldn’t let that show. He let out a big huff, shifting his mood completely like a system reset. He puffed out his chest and put his hands on his hips, unveiling those proud pearly whites to the world once more. "At least we got to spend time together! And you got a full refund along with a discount! That makes this experience a net-positive!” He announced louder than an overhead train. He was awfully optimistic; after all, they couldn’t both be the Debbie Downers of today!
Rui smiled. It was like Tsukasa could physically never get tired of being as dramatic as he was, but he appreciated it. A small chuckle escaped his thin lips. Tsukasa was more than a bit amusing, but his perspective also brought Rui some relief. “I suppose it’s quite true if you look at it that way, yes.”
Rui checked his wrist. It was still rather early, so why not…
“You mentioned you were home alone earlier…”
“Hn? Yeah.” Tsukasa looked up from his phone. “Isn’t that why you initially came over?”
“Then what’s your sister doing?”
“Oh, she’s at a sleepover. I was actually just checking on her.” He help up his phone to show the text he was midway through sending. Rui couldn’t read it with as fast as Tsukasa put it down, but he figured it was something along the protective older brother lines of ‘be safe’ or ‘call me if you need me.’
“A sleepover?” Rui looked up at the sky. Nope. Pretty bright. “Shouldn’t she be back by now? Or did she just go?”
“She left yesterday, so she’s coming back tonight… I think a bit after midnight actually…” he sounded unsure.
‘Oh? Midnight in particular?’
Tsukasa checked his messages again to be confirm before continuing, “Yeah, it’s because she and her friends are going stargazing! The plan is that once they finish, she’ll…”
Tsukasa continued, but Rui started unconsciously tuning him out.
‘Stargazing? If I remember correctly, Tsukasa’s star sign…’
“Hm…” Rui’s thoughtful expression became a much more devious one. He continued, “Stargazing, eh?” He said, with his hand to his chin like some sort of overly prudent anime character.
Tsukasa could tell that he formulated some plan, but he tried to ignore the bad things that familiar smirk cued in to and focus on the relieving fact that Rui must’ve been feeling better.
“Yup! They've always loved doing it. Apparently, the majority of the constellations visible in Japan are most prominent now in Okinawa!”
“Then would you want to give it a try?” Rui suggested with a sly tone. A tone too quirky for an idea he technically just stole from his boyfriend’s little sister.
“Huh? Stargazing? In… Shibuya? I don't really think this is the best place when it comes to the constellations… city lights and all.” Tsukasa scratched his head like he was confused, but he sounded much more sarcastic.
“No, no, of course it isn’t. That's why we're heading to Kanto.” Rui said like it was obvious. So that was his make-up plan? Not bad, considering Tsukasa did enjoy stargazing alongside his sister, and it was pretty smart since he was also a Taurus, one of the constellations visible at the moment.
“You mean, like, a stargazing tour, like, now?!” Tsukasa sputtered, rising in volume and actual confusion this time. (Tsukasa shock counter: x4)
“Of course now. Considering I just got a refund, we can use that money for a train ride. By the time we get there, it should be dead night, the perfect time to view the eight visible first magnitude stars, as well as the Orion and Taurus!” Rui started to sound noticeably giddy himself, even checking his phone to confirm.
Tsukasa's eyes lit up like a lamp after curfew. He was well aware that the first magnitude star was the brightest star in the night sky, but seeing eight of them? Alongside his birth constellation— which was admittedly pretty cool. Suddenly, he was very passionate about this whole stargazing thing.
On the way there, they passed more than a few proposals. It being a popular couples and friends spot and all, as well as it being February 13th. With each photoshoot and man on a knee, Rui saw a gleam of hope flicker in his heart, like the blinking stars above him.
They were only 17. Their romance was the one where you’d look back at it in your 40s and think about how small your world was back then, about how you hopes that would be your highschool sweetheart forever, but then something had to happen to separate you guys. The life and death of first love wasn’t a new concept to Kamishiro, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t see anyone else he’d love and appreciate more in his heart, want to see looking back at in his eyes, or holding his hand in his future.
He stared at Tsukasa, who had been looking straight up in awe since they found a spot. Mostly because the dark nebula of colors colliding with the gas balls contrast was a hard sight to look away from in person when they twinkled, and partially because he was afraid if he looked down he’d see a horrid species of bug encroaching on the grass.
Kamishiro could only smile. He loved stargazing as a kid— he even tried to build a telescope on his own! Well it was that, as well as searching for fossils and gems, but it was hard to focus on the main attraction when Tsukasa was giddy like a kid at Disneyland.
“What are you looking for? Any specific constellations? Should we have paid for a guide to show us the specific ones or something?”
“Not really. I believe from here we could find Orion or Taurus, my zodiac, but I'm just looking for the brightest star.”
“The brightest star?”
“Mmhm.”
The brightest star. The most correct-incorrect answer would be “isn’t that the sun?” To which you would promptly hear about how there are other stars than the average-sized fusion ball we call the sun. But considering it was night and they were ‘stargazing,’ not ‘sunstaring,’ Tsukasa was likely looking for the most stunning of the many dwarf stars that littered the galaxy. They could probably point out a constellation, which tended to be brighter and more noticeable than the rest. Or a magnitude star, of course, but with as much potential satisfaction that could’ve been…
Light is energy. Stars are light. They provide clarity, helping you differentiate between two colors better than in the dark. They provide safety, which is exactly why you act unafraid of the unknown as you turn on the lights at night when you need to go into the hallway. When you are born in the darkness, you wouldn’t miss what you naturally never had, but in a world where light was right next to you, where that light switch was always readily available, being thrown into the darkness made you feel hopeless.
But he never felt that way nowadays. It was hard to think that that almost terrifying world was once his reality. That at a moment, each face he passed was nothing more than just that.
Rui always wanted to touch the stars…
What would he have been able to do without them? And… him?
After a prolonged silence, Rui spoke up. “It might… be you.”
Tsukasa rolled his eyes. It was the type of thing he couldn’t take seriously. “Stop saying cheesy stuff,” Tsukasa huffed and looked away, but Rui could tell at the slight reddening of his ears that it flattered him.
“I'm serious. To me, you're my brightest star. Not the sun, nor the north star, nor any of the first magnitude stars.”
Tsukasa paused. It was still cheesy, but extremely sweet, because he knew Rui meant it.
“...like a firework.”
“Hm? I didn't catch that.”
“Tsukasa, you’re like a firework.”
“I… am?” Weren’t fireworks made out of… y'know... Fire? How could he be like that?
“That's how you make my heart feel.”
“Oh…”
It sounded nonsensical. Almost as nonsensical as “you are our sunrise,” but far more cliché. But he thought about it. ‘The way they captivated you and made your heart thud, and you'd wish that feeling lasted forever. So much so that you’d count down the seconds and holidays until you saw one again, and each time they were even more captivating than you remember.’
He could see that comparison, because Rui made him feel the same way. Like when he showed up at the door, or a week ago during their first kiss. And how each day Rui somehow was even better than the last— surely Tsukasa was so deep in at this point that he couldn’t possibly imagine falling out of love! But he felt that way especially all throughout today; throughout their first date.
Tsukasa turned back to the sky, feeling Rui’s gaze remain on him for a few moments longer before finally admiring the blinking memories of light.
They sat in silence for a bit. The night is at its darkest at midnight, so that's when the stars were to be at their clearest.
“It's midnight now.” Tsukasa blurted.
“Oh? Already?” Rui turned back to the voice beside him. Tsukasa still looked ahead as he pointed.
“Yeah, there are some people up ahead talking about it”
There was a small group down the hill that suddenly got all excited like a crowd at a concert after the opening act wrapped up.
Rui checked his silver watch to confirm.
‘11:59’
‘One more minute.’
A lot can happen in a minute. A story can start, reach its climax, then end. You can clutch that essay and submit it before 12. A conversation can happen. A confession, or a kiss. You could catch a glimpse of someone, only to not see them until another minute in a different time. A job can be gained, as well as lost. A minute could be the difference between twins, or the amount of time left on that episode you forgot to finish. It could be filled with a song, or you might finally get that verification code email within one. Your teacher can take attendance. A goodbye, or a first and last meeting, can take place, unaware of the importance they'll hold in the next 60 minutes. Unaware of if they had an impact on the person anymore than all the minutes leading up to it. Unaware if that single minute would still be remembered when you were out of them.
This minute, he wanted to spend it enjoying the spoils of the moment.
“The stars are… so beautiful.” But Rui wasn’t paying even a moment's attention to the stars.
He scooted closer to Tsukasa.
“Ah- Don't do that– you'll get grass stains!” Tsukasa waved his hands frantically, trying to stop Rui from destroying his only other pair of white pants.
“Thats fine.” His sing-songy light tone was a bit too complacent for Tsukasa’s liking.
“Ah– but…” Tsukasa’s protests on the sake of protecting Rui's new clean white pants died down, clearly not doing much to change their poor unfortunate outcome.
“I forgot to ask…”
“What is it?” Tsukasa looked back up at his face.
Rui fished in his pocket before raising his brows, indicating his desired item was on his hook, then it out: a silver chain, sparkling as the moon’s light bounced against its curves. No– there were two.
Tsukasa paused, eyebrows practically shooting up into space alongside the Taurus. Did Rui seriously purchase these… for them?
And suddenly, the odds of Tsukasa being able to top up Rui’s gift(s) went down dramatically.
“Will you be my valentine?” Rui asked as he held out one of the chains to Tsukasa. It wasn't the traditional flowers or a pack of chocolates, but something much more intimate and long lasting. I mean hey, might as well give him promise rings!
“I was planning on matching rings but that felt too…” his cheeks flushed with the thoughts of Tsukasa accepting such a clear display of devotion. He never thought he’d be worth it to someone, but Tsukasa made him feel like he deserved their intimacy.
Okay well never mind to the promise rings. There was always college I guess.
Rui stared at the tears that welled up in Tsukasa's grateful eyes. By now, the sight wasn’t anything new to him, but his honesty was what he admired most. Rui almost envied Tsukasa’s ability to let himself cry and well up with emotion like this.
“A- are you for real? I mean obviously you are, but…” Tsukasa’s voice got a bit louder and even cracked. “You seriously planned all this…”
There we so much he wanted to say:
‘For me?’
‘Without me knowing?’
‘To happen at the restaurant?’
‘Seriously, how did you do it without me knowing?’
But he knew Rui had gotten the point when he nodded, taking the words Tsukasa couldn’t even say off his… well, throat I guess.
Rui smiled at his boyfriend, who was clearly trying to keep it down as to not disturb the people ahead of them: the family excitingly taking turns with a telescope, the numerous couples taking photoshoots of their favorite part of the ocean of the sky sprinkled with clear sheets of holographic purples and rice grains of stars, the tour guides leading a string of tourists alongside the beach…
“Yes, of course…” Rui wiped one of the heavy tears that weighed from Tsukasa’s wide eyes, now narrow and wrinkled with the furrow of his brow. “Why not?” He continued, lightly pushing the necklace toward Tsukasa to accept.
Rui watched as Tsukasa held it, examining each small detail. How it glittered in reflection to the millions of light sources in the sky… oh wait that was just his tears blurring it.
“It wasn't expensive if that's what you're worrying about,” Rui reassured him, knowing full well that Tsukasa would accept it just the same if it was worth $5 and a button.
“but even if it was…” he trailed off, looking back up at Tsukasa’s warm sun-kissed face. He was fundamentally so much different, and yet so similar to Rui, and it was for both of those reasons that Rui admired him so much. They both could get careless for their person when it came to matters they deemed priority. On multiple occasions they hadn’t eaten for work, consciously or not. Overworked and carried away, the first concerned face that they saw when they finally stumbled was one another.
Such different people, but somehow each other’s matching halves.
He held Tsukasa's cheek in his palm. Normally, his pale hands were rough and lightly calloused from always dealing with wrenches, hammers, blowtorches— wait what why was he torching stuff??— and other tools of the sort, but he’s been noticing how they’ve gotten a lot smoother. Maybe Tsukasa was rubbing off on him in more ways than personality (afterall, it was only thanks to Tsukasa’s gift of hand lotion and advice).
“It’d be worth it. It wouldn't amount to my love, but if you like it, it's worth it.” He continued after a long loving gaze.
Now Tsukasa must’ve had a rough week, because he was feeling oddly overlysensitive at the moment. Afterall, no way was he fully sobbing because of the kindness of his boyfriend. No way the restaurant made his heart melt. No way even after being right in front of the brightest star to earth besides the sun, no way when the Taurus constellation was there, right in front of them(!) Was Rui too busy admiring Tsukasa like he shone brighter than them all. It was impossible that he could feel his heart squeeze and throb like it was to burst at the seams, just by seeing such a recurring moving display of affection. It wasn’t just the big things either. It was how he waited for him— to get dressed, to cross the street, to cross the grass carefully because he didn’t want to dirty his shoes. How he listened whenever Tsukasa felt particularly chatty on the way there, and how he talked so overly affectionately, because Rui was quite bad at masking the joy that would often seep out of his tone.
Tsukasa didn’t want to obganiate his boyfriend by constantly repeating his praises of thanks, so he tried to think of something else to say. His heart ached, pained by how it felt Cupid had a bit too much love in that arrow, so it was fitting when he blurted the stupidest thing that described just how he felt;
“I think… I just hit the jackpot…” Tsukasa said through choked tears. Realistically, it was probably the tamest reaction anyone could achieve from Tsukasa without also getting a noise complaint.
Rui hurriedly wiped the tears that came bum-rushing down Tenma’s face, his lips were in a strict frown, trying to keep themselves from breaking open to shout a loud yet deeply rooted ‘thank you’.
“Happy Valentine's Day, my love.” Rui kissed Tsukasa's forehead through the curtain of his bangs. Afterall, everywhere else was basically drenched from his dam of ‘very manly and confident grateful happy tears’
“Im not crying… you are…”
Rui chuckled. “Yeah…. I am too.”
Rui blinked the smaller tears away. As soon as one fell, another welled, making his glossy eyes shine in reflection to the plethora of glitter specs in the sky. Tsukasa couldn’t stop staring at the small cyan fleck in his eyes. It was a trait completely unique to Rui.
“Did I ever tell you I love you?” Tsukasa hurriedly asked, like it was a breaking-news confession.
“Hm… come to think of it… no.” Rui’s smile chuffed as he thought about it. Tsukasa, however, was much surprised at this statement. After all, he wasn’t one to hide his affections. Just look at him and his sister!!
“Well I guess I just did.” The blond shrugged
“Did I tell you I love you too?” Rui leaned his head on his knees, tilting his attention to Tsukasa once more.
“Yup. Just now. And every time I'm about to hang up on you.” Tsukasa chuckled. By now the view was much clearer, though his nose still felt a bit puffy.
“Well then, I’m glad you already know,” Rui said with that aforementioned godawful tone of clear bliss. The one he didn’t even know peeked through when he admired just how great his life has become. How many colors he’s been able to see and all that stuff.
A salty breeze passed through their hair, making it dance alongside the blinking stars, but this time, the two were living in the moment, not letting time float them by. Rui watched a guide point out Orion for an old couple. Tsukasa watched the small daughter hop and skip as she held the hands of her parents on both sides.
“Do you think we look stupid? Stargazing while sobbing?” Tsukasa turned to Rui after a long moment of peaceful silence.
“I think we look silly either way. We don't even have a telescope,” Rui turned back to him. It was probably the 100th time this evening, and it was hard not to, even when such a beautiful sight was overhead, because a better one was always beside him.
“Good point.” Tsukasa turned back to the stars, trying to take it all in like he’d be quizzed on it later.
‘I can make one from scra-‘
‘No! I think we’re actually good.’