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He wouldn’t say he hated it, but Kamishiro Rui really disliked Valentine's Day.
It’s not that he has anything against love, but Valentine's Day would remind him of the times in middle school. It happened every year: Rui would get a confession, he'd accept it, and then suddenly they’d reveal it was a prank. And you know what the worst part was? He fell for it every single fucking time.
Okay, maybe he despised Valentine's Day a little, but can you blame him? People are such dickheads sometimes.
So when the troupe was asked to do a show for Valentine's Day, oh, he was so fucked.
Rui gave some suggestions on what to do for Valentine's Day, but most of them were rather… Angsty.
One of the ideas was a Romeo and Juliet-inspired Inspired show where the prince gets executed by the princess’s father with hearts of arrows. Though it was rather interesting, it didn’t really fit what they were looking for in a Valentine's Day show.
With the amount of ideas that were rejected, they were able to come up with a simple yet interesting Valentine's show! It was a wedding show about a person objecting a wedding, sounds simple, right? Well It is simple surprisingly.
Now originally, Tsukasa was supposed to be the groom, Emu was supposed to be the bride, Rui was supposed to be the priest, and Nene was the one who objects the wedding; But Nene seemingly turned down the role, volunteering to be the priest instead.
So he’ll fight for Emu’s love, then? Tsukasa was supposed to be the protagonist, but he didn’t mind Emu being the-
Like reading his mind, Nene suddenly spoke up. "Actually, Rui, Wouldn’t it be better If we kept Tsukasa as the protagonist? Since the groom being the main character fits with the script more?" Nene says with an "innocent" smile while a flustered Tsukasa looks at her with disbelief.
"Oh? Well, you are right about that.. I suppose it is better to keep Tsukasa-kun as the protagonist considering his sparkling personality~" Rui teased, but he genuinely meant it. Tsukasa was someone unique that he had never met before. He didn’t even think someone like Tsukasa was real, considering you only see these types of people on TV.
Tsukasa was the only person who was able to make Rui’s heart beat with joy. The only person who was able to make Rui feel something other than loneliness… And now Rui wants to repay him by making him a star.
"-ui? Rui??" A voice called out, which snapped Rui back to reality.
"A-ah, sorry. I must’ve spaced out for a little." Rui chuckles
"Don’t worry about it" Nene gives him a reassuring smile.
"I’m going to make some small changes with the props for our show. Um, see you guys." Rui says while walking backstage with a small wave of goodbye to Tsukasa and Nene.
What the hell was that about? He felt his heart going crazy; whatever it is, It’s making him insane.
…
Tsukasa felt like he wanted to disappear, the star put his hands on his face and let out a muffled groan of misery while he felt his heart pounding against his ribcage.
After a confirmation that Rui was out of earshot, Tsukasa slowly turned his head to face Nene.
"Nene."
"Yes?" Nene says Innocently but the smirk on her face says otherwise. Tsukasa took a deep breath;
"—WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU DO THAT!? WHAT IF HE CAUGHT ON TO IT!? YOU KNOW HOW SMART RUI IS! ALSO HIM OBJECTING THE PLAY? YOU DO REALIZE THERE’S A ROMANTIC DIALOGUE IN THE SCRIPT, RIGHT?? ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?? DO YOU KNOW WHAT I’LL FEEL HEARING RUI SAY THAT HE WANTS TO BE WITH ME FOR ALL ETERNITY? I CAN’T EVEN—" Tsukasa was cut off when Nene smacked him with the script she was holding.
"Relax, Rui may be smart, but he’s one of the most oblivious people I know."
"And how are you so sure of that!? What if the people who have liked him weren’t even that obvious?" This made Nene think, considering the answer was so obvious.
"Be serious, Tsukasa. You’re the only person who has ever had a crush on him; and besides, he doesn’t even notice when people have a crush on each other, even in movies and shows."
As much as it made sense, Tsukasa ended up focusing on the first half of what Nene said.
"WHAT!? HOW CAN PEOPLE NOT LIKE RUI? I MEAN SURE, HIS IDEAS ARE A LITTLE MUCH, BUT HE’S STILL SMART, A-AND PRETTY, AND HIS HAIR?? HIS HAIR LOOKS SO SOFT, AND HIS FEATURES ARE SO-" He was again cut off with another smack. Honestly, Nene was surprised at the fact that Rui couldn’t hear him.
"Okay, loudass. I don’t wanna hear you talk about how gay you are for Rui." Now—Nene has known about Tsukasa’s "little" crush on Rui for a while, despite Tsukasa only telling her recently. I mean, can you blame her? He was so obvious, like how he blushes furiously when Rui gives him a simple compliment.
Rui was a.. Different story. The boy looked at Tsukasa with love hearts in his eyes and often gets flustered whenever Tsukasa shows affection to him! And yet he still claims he only sees him as a friend. Honestly, this man is just in denial. Although Rui has recently started flirting with Tsukasa a little, which makes Tsukasa’s brain stop functioning every time—gross. At this point, everyone at Kamikou just believed that they were a couple.
…
How was Tsukasa supposed to perform well during the show now?
15 minutes till showtime. Everyone is ready, with Nene doing semi makeup touchups while Rui helped Emu with her wedding veil. Everyone felt pretty confident about this! Well, almost everyone. Tsukasa was fixing his suit with shaky hands. He’s supposed to be a future star! He shouldn’t be nervous! Right?
There is no way Tsukasa was going to let a little play get in the way of him becoming a future star! He can do this! least, he thinks so?
He takes a deep breath and slowly stands up. The curtains will open in about 5 minutes. Everyone then starts going into position.
And so the show begins.
…
"Yumi, do you take Haruto to be your lawfully wedded husband?" Nene says, staring at Yumi. aka Emu
"I do!" She says it with a little less enthusiasm unlike regular Emu.
"Haruto, do you take Yumi to be your lawfully wedded wife?" Nene then looks at Haruto (tsukasa)
"I.." Tsukasa pauses for a bit, waiting for the cue.
"Haruto-san? Please, speak now."
"I.. I do—" And just like planned, someone cuts Tsukasa off.
"Stop the wedding!" The audience starts to get lost, as there was no one at the stage. They suddenly turned to see someone from the audience objecting the wedding.
This made the audience confused. Did this person not know that this was a show?
The mystery person then looks up, revealing themselves to be Haruto’s past significant other, Izumi, who was forced to break up with him after finding out Haruto was in an arranged marriage.
"I-Izumi!?"
"Haruto.." Rui says quietly as he slowly walks up to the stage with shaky hands. Surprised looks were shown by the audience, and yet, like on the script, Tsukasa didn’t take his eyes off Rui.
"Haruto-kun, I know that we are not allowed to be together. But, even if the universe tries to keep us apart, please know that I will still love you for all eternity."
"Izumi…" A slight pause was made. "Yumi-san, I understand that we both agreed that we do not love each other and that we are only doing this to please our parents.. But I cannot stand the thought of us being married and yet still having different partners."
"My dear Haruto, I understand that we both love someone else. I hope that you will be happy, and I too will try to reunite with my loved one." She says with a small smile.
"And as for you, Izumi, I am glad that you were around when they said, speak now." He takes Rui’s hand and caresses it while still staring at his eyes.
and thus, the curtains closed.
…
HOLY SHIT HOLY FUCKING SHIT! HE JUST HELD RUI KAMISHIRO’S HAND IN THE MOST ROMANTIC WAY POSSIBLE! WHAT THE HELL
Tsukasa was literally having a homosexual internal breakdown. His palms were sweaty, his face felt hot, and his heart felt like it was about to burst out of his body. He had a love-hate relationship with the uncomfortable feeling he feels whenever he’s with Rui.
"I’m losing my fucking mind" Tsukasa mumbles.
"Tsukasa-kun?" A voice called out, which Tsukasa could recognize from a while away. which was funny because some people say they sound alike sometimes.
"R-Rui!" Tsukasa jumps from his seat.
"Are you alright, my star? You’ve been anxious ever since rehearsals? I mean, I understand If you were nervous about the show but it's already over, y’know?" Rui rambles, though he is genuinely worried for Tsukasa.
"I-It’s alright, Rui! Don’t worry, I was just about to go home now after I fix up my stuff." Tsukasa says as he goes to grab his things.
"Oh.. Would you like me to walk you home then?"
WORLD PAUSE. WHAT.
"AHAHAAHA— IT’S FINE RUI DON’T WORRY!—"
"No, no, I Insist. Besides, It’s getting quite late, don’t you think? I don’t want my star to go out into the street alone." He gives Tsukasa one of his cat-like smiles.
Oh, this man has no idea what he’s doing to me. How can a person be this oblivious!?
"Oh, well, sure. I’ll just, um, fix up my stuff"
"Great! I’ll wait for you outside." Tsukasa’s eyes follow Rui as the younger male goes out.
"Walking together, huh?" Nene speaks up, which makes Tsukasa practically trip on his feet.
"OH MY GOD, NENE— YOU ALMOST GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK." He looks around to see Nene, of course, with Emu besides her.
"Maybe It’s because you were too busy staring at Rui-kun!" Emu says
"I.." Well, she’s not wrong.
"Don’t you think this is a good time to confess?"
"Pfft, no way. It’s too risky, Nene. I can’t do it."
"Don’t be like that, Tsukasa-kun! Like what Nene said during the show, you should speak up now!" Emu’s eyes shined, reminiscing about how beautiful her girlfriend looked in her black dress earlier.
"Oh, I don’t know.. How about you two? How did you get together?" Tsukasa asks, the two never really talked about how they got together; they just did.
"Easy, Emu said we should get married, and I said sure, and here we are." Nene smirked as she saw Tsukasa’s dumbfounded look.
"But honestly, Emu is right. You should just confess your feelings to him soon."
"Yeah! And It’s almost sunset!! Oooh, wouldn’t that be so romantic? Right, Nene-chan!?" Emu perks up
"Whatever, I’ll think about it.. And I don’t want to keep Rui waiting from outside!!"
"Alright then. Goodluck loverboy~"
"Do it soon, Tsukasa-kun! Oh, hey, that rhymed!!" Emu giggles.
…
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Rui!" Tsukasa sighs
"It’s alright, I could hear you talking with Emu and Nene inside." The star froze
"Did... you perhaps hear what we were talking about?" He says as he resumes walking again.
"Hm? Not really. I figured it was about love since I only heard you ask how they got together. Didn’t bother to listen to the rest." Tsukasa exhaled a breath he didn’t even know he was holding In
The two decided to take a longer route home as the shorter route was closed due to road repair. There was a long yet comfortable silence between the two. This gave Tsukasa some time to think about what Emu and Nene said.
He really wanted to confess to Rui, but he didn’t want to risk getting hurt or making things weird between them. They were walking through a bridge decorated with hearts for Valentine's Day. One of the hearts read "Speak It now!" which made Tsukasa come to a halt.
"Rui." Tsukasa calls out, which only then does Rui realize that Tsukasa stopped walking.
WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING
"Hm?" Rui turns around to face the star.
"I.." WHY AM I DOING THIS TO MYSELF!?
"Tsukasa-kun..?"
"Rui.. I.. Ugh, this is a lot harder to do than I thought.." YEAH, WHICH IS WHY I SHOULDN’T BE DOING IT NOW!!!
"You can tell me anything, Tsukasa-kun. I won’t mind" Rui said with a small smile on his face.
"Oh my god, I’m so in love with you." Tsukasa mumbles, but it's loud enough for Rui to hear.
"..What?" Rui whispers, which makes Tsukasa snap back to reality.
WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST DO
"OH MY GOD, IM SO SORRY, RUI, I MEAN IM NOT BECAUSE I AM INLOVE WITH YOU, BUT ALSO IM SORRY BECAUSE I DIDN’T MEAN TO CONFESS NOW, BUT MY BRAIN JUST AGHAUAHWKDDJAGA—"
"Hey." Rui cuts him off.
"You’re such a jerk, y’know that?"
huh?
"I can’t believe YOU of all people, would even joke about It." Rui says, a single teardrop falling from his eyes
a joke?
"W-wait! Rui, what are you talking about?" Tsukasa says with full concern
"..I can’t believe this. You’re just like everyone else.
I don’t understand..?
wait
( "Tsukasa-kun, I know you want to confess, but just a little advice. Please do not confess so suddenly. If you want to confess to him, plan it out. He might think of something else otherwise.." Nene says )
Is this what she meant? Oh curse my stupid but beautiful brain!! But, how can i prove to Rui that I’m being SERIOUS.
His mind clicked.
No.. NO NO NO NO WAY IM I DOING THAT!! IT’S TOO CLICHE
"Whatever, I’m going home. Goodbye, Tsukasa." Rui says as he turns around to leave.
Well, you only live once.
"Rui, wait!" Tsukasa says while he grabs Rui’s arm, pulling him close.
Am I really doing this right now?
Tsukasa holds Rui’s hand, placing it on his lips, slowly kissing his knuckles. Tsukasa doesn’t see it, but Rui has a faint blush on his cheeks.
"..I don’t know what you’re talking about but… My feelings are real.. And lying is unfit for a future star, but.. I will also never lie to you. I really do love you, Rui, and I always will.. For all eternity."
Rui tried to open his mouth, but no words came out. He stayed silent for a bit before suddenly talking again.
"… And how can I believe you?"
Tsukasa paused for a bit.
"Let’s meet after school? There’s a new cafe that opened nearby!" Tsukasa smiled, so bright that Rui almost looked away.
"..Sure"
…
"So.. I’ll see you tomorrow?" Rui asks
"3pm! Oh and by the way.."
Rui tilts his head in confusion.
"I love you" Tsukasa smiles.
oh! Well, that was an awesome way to make Rui malfunction!
"I.. I love you too."
"Great! I’ll see you tomorrow, darling!" Tsukasa waves goodbye as he goes inside his house.
"Goodnight, Tsukasa-kun."
…
Tsukasa screams into his pillow.
"I CAN’T BELIEVE I JUST DID THAT!?" Tsukasa yells.
THAT WAS LIKE.. A SCENE OUT OF A JDRAMA!! OH MY GOD, THAT WAS SO CLICHE!!! HOW WILL I EVEN FACE HIM TOMORROW??
"AAAAAGAHHWUAHAJAHAGDIDJDH I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT JUST HAPPENED" Tsukasa screamed like a lovesick high school girl in a manga.
"Onii-chan, keep it down!!" Saki shouts as she is just in the room across the hall.
"A-Ah! Sorry, Saki!" Tsukasa then rolls over his bed.
"It’s a date, huh?" He mumbles
…
Rui plops down to his bed, which he sleeps in once a year.
"What the fuck just happened?" Rui whispers. He then starts to blush, thinking about the confession earlier.
He just.. called me darling..?
So much for being the flirty one…
He then heard a knock on his door.
"C-come in!" he yells
"Rui, are you okay? You just ran inside without even telling us you were home. I would’ve thought you went to the garage." His mom says in a worried tone.
"Ah.. Don’t worry, Im okay mom.. Actually, more than okay." This made his mom smile.
"I see. Well, get some rest now." She says as she closes the door.
I'm really looking forward to tomorrow.
Maybe… Valentines day Isn’t so bad.