Chapter Text
It was almost embarrassing to watch, really. Tatsumi had no grace at all, despite his premise of being a holy man.
It was a mystery how he didn’t pounce on his victim already if he just was going to be that bold, looking at Mayoi Ayase like that human disaster was something divine. It also made HiMERU wonder how Mayoi himself didn’t notice it, but considering how strong his own self loathing was, he probably had bigger problems to take care of than noticing his teammate wanted more than friendship.
Any other day, he would have simply removed himself from the situation, leaving the duo to be disgusting out of his vision, but unfortunately, HiMERU was still waiting for his lunch — and silently cursing Niki for not going faster — and it was impossible to avoid hearing Mayoi’s screeches as he apologized for… everything under the sun, apparently?
And it did not help that HiMERU chose the worst spot, making him directly face the table where they sat, giving him a front row seat to the spectacle he would rather die than watch.
Mayoi shrieks weren’t the worst part of it, however.
Obviously, as always, the honor belonged to Tatsumi.
It was not the first time HiMERU had caught Tatsumi with that look. It happened when he had the displeasure of passing them in the corridors of ES, and when he stumbled upon them on his free time, and when he needed to spy to get an information or two, or when Tatsumi felt the annoying need to say hello even when HiMERU clearly would rather not interact with him…
To say it was a long standing annoyance would be an understatement. If he was going to gaze longingly at Mayoi for the rest of eternity, the least he could do was to not be a coward about it and confess already.
Maybe that day, HiMERU patience was lower than normally it would be, or maybe his sadism was more active than first expected, but watching Tatsumi still pretend that his affections were anything but romantic in nature was borderline torture.
The idea came in so silently, almost sounding like a bad joke, absurd enough to make HiMERU smirk to himself as he stared at his phone.
What if I confessed first? And what if Mayoi Ayase chose me instead of him?
Thinking about how Tatsumi's face would look was a delight almost worth watching the holy man being a nuisance.
Apparently, he wasn’t even hiding his joy as Niki brought his lunch, prompting his teammate to linger on his table for a few moments longer than usual, a smile on his face as he raised an eyebrow.
“Eh, what are you smiling about?” Niki asked with a hand on his own hip.
“HiMERU had an amusing thought, that’s all.”
Knowing better than to insist, Niki simply shrugged. “If it’s funny enough, do remember to share it with me later.”
Hearing that, another wicked thought about going a step further came to him.
What if I actually do that?
HiMERU was in no way expecting for his "confession" to bear any fruit, mind you. Him and Mayoi barely interacted, and he wasn’t interested in dating anyone at the moment for a multitude of reasons, mostly due to the logistics of dating anyone as an idol, especially another idol.
It was bothersome on all levels, but wouldn’t it be fun to just shake up Tatsumi? Wouldn’t it be fun to make him finally take some action? Hell, if everything went right, maybe then HiMERU wouldn’t have to watch two fools be unaware of the world around them, but two boyfriends be unaware of the world around them.
The second option was less irritating, honestly.
HiMERU was in no rush to finish his lunch, and by the time he was done, Mayoi and Tatsumi were still in the restaurant, and he had already devised how it would all go down.
He walked to the table where they were sitting, his poker face hiding his personal enjoyment over the situation.
“Mayoi Ayase. HiMERU wishes to speak with you in private.”
That was enough to send Mayoi in a frenzy of anxiety, with him asking about 15 times if he was either going to be killed or if he did something wrong, but HiMERU kept his cool, taking no particular enjoyment in the vision.
However, it felt pretty nice to see Tatsumi’s worried face from the corner of his eye.
“HiMERU wishes you no harm. HiMERU simply has something important to tell you. If you do accept, meet HiMERU at the gardens.”
With that, HiMERU left the two, still hearing Mayoi panicking behind him, the image of Tatsumi’s face bringing him unprecedented amounts of amusement.
The gardens were empty, and picking an isolated spot, HiMERU sat down on a bench, scrolling through his phone, almost forgetting his own plan before a shaky figure approached him, his head low and face almost on the brink of tears.
“Do… Do you wish to… talk with me?”
HiMERU silently wondered how Mayoi went through life with those levels of anxiety.
Not important at that moment, however. HiMERU got up, and not wasting a single second, said his confession.
“HiMERU has feelings for you. He wishes to be in a relationship with you. Do you accept HiMERU’s confession?”
Considering how he had acted until that point, HiMERU was half expecting Mayoi to panic, or say something along the lines of ‘I must have misinterpreted your feelings, a maggot like me could never date anyone’, but instead, his eyes went wide, his expression genuinely shocked and instead of the expected shriek, his voice came out low and collected.
“...What?”
“HiMERU has romantic feelings for you. This is a love confession.”
There was no verbal response from Mayoi, but his face told HiMERU everything needed to know, his green eyes staring intently at HiMERU, as if searching for the cue that would tell him this was all an elaborate joke.
He wouldn’t be wrong to assume it was, but HiMERU knew better than to show those feelings.
“HiMERU does not mind if you do not reciprocate those feelings. HiMERU also needs to go to practice, so goodbye for now.”
With that, he left Mayoi to his own devices, already plenty satisfied with what he got out of that little adventure. Worst case scenario, Mayoi avoids him like the plague for the rest of his life, which actually wouldn’t change much from their current dynamic.
However, as he spotted the almost-perfectly hidden mass of teal behind a tree, a rush of adrenaline washed over his body, a smile appearing on his face almost unconsciously as he realized that Tatsumi had heard the entire confession.
Oh, how beautiful. How he wished he could see his expression, that saintly smile getting corrupted with pain, but from that angle, the best he could do was imagine. How wonderful that visage was, even if not entirely real.
With his monthly quota of sadism reached, HiMERU headed to his practice room satisfied.
It took 2 days for anything else to happen. The event had only remained in HiMERU’s mind due to the suffering it brought to Tatsumi, but otherwise, he was already over the entire thing, the approaching live event taking priority, and when he received a message from Mayoi himself for them to meet up, it took a second before he connected the dots.
Probably took a while to gather the courage for that.
HiMERU didn’t mind the slight interruption, however. It was a good enough excuse to go grab something cold to drink on his way back, and honestly, how long could a rejection take, anyway?
Their meeting spot was the same as before, and from a distance, HiMERU could already see Mayoi sitting on the bench, talking to himself as he fidgeted with his fingers.
Mayoi was distracted enough that when HiMERU called for his name, he jumped out of his seat, any courage he gathered gone in that singular second.
“H-HiMERU!”
“Yes. HiMERU. What do you wish to say to HiMERU?” HiMERU said with crossed arms.
Mayoi seemed to hesitate for a second, before swallowing and playing with his own braid one more time, and then, bowing down to HiMERU.
He wondered what kind of approach Mayoi would make. Would he say he has no interest in dating? Would he say he likes someone else?
“I… accept your confession, HiMERU. Please, go out with me.”
His voice was as clear as day, but it still reached HiMERU’s ears like it was a foreign language.
“Go out with you?”
Mayoi was still bowing down, and the confidence he spoke before was already wavering. “I-I know you stand far above me, but I… I would like to try. It’s fine if you want to kick me if a maggot like me is assuming too much! U-uh…”
And it was at that moment that HiMERU realized that he might have a big problem on his hands, and a golden opportunity too.