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Rui and Tsukasa met by chance one afternoon and began spending more time together after that, becoming almost inseparable. Rui would often go to Tsukasa's house to hang out, play video games, and chat about anything.
But there was something Rui didn't expect to happen... he had a crush on his friend, Tenma Tsukasa.
At first, Rui vehemently denied having a huge crush on the blond boy because, in his 15-year-old mind, he didn't like him, he only felt immense admiration for him. If only he knew…
Mizuki was a great help in realizing that he was in love, the poor girl was tired of hearing him talk about this kid "Tsukasa" and his incredible talent and the great smile he had and the nice smell of his hair and... she was tired of hearing Rui repeating all that over and over.
It was at lunchtime that the pink-haired girl confronted her friend and finally asked him about his "beloved star" whom he so often praised. "Hey, Rui? I think you like Tsukasa," she said with such naturalness and calmness in her voice that it almost made Rui choke and spit out his food while listening. "Huh?!" "No way!" The boy was completely flushed. «Me? In love with Tsukasa? That's impossible» He kept repeating to himself. "I think you're just in denial, dear friend," Mizuki winked at him and patted him on the shoulder. "No way! He's just a good friend!" Rui frowned and playfully crossed his arms. "If you say so~"
After that, lunch continued as normal. When Rui left school and arrived home, he began to think about his conversation with Mizuki. «What if he had fallen in love with Tsukasa? What would he think of him? How would their friendship continue? Would he hate him for that? Would he leave him like everyone else does?» His thoughts began to torment him more and more.
The boy spent the afternoon trying to distract himself from all of that, working on some pending projects, fixing one of his robots that was malfunctioning, trying to think about absolutely everything possible, but his mind always returned to the same place, Tsukasa.
At 6:30 p.m. his phone rang
Tsukasa:
>Hi Rui!
>Do you want to come over for a sleepover on Saturday?
>Only if you want to, of course!
Rui glanced at the notification without opening the message, staring at it for a moment. Lying face down on his bed, his feet bouncing up and down, his cheeks flushed pink with excitement like a teenage girl's, he answered the blond boy's messages.
Rui:
> I'm definitely going!
>Tell me what time :3
—------------------
“Hey Saki.” The girl looked up from her phone. “Do you remember Rui?” Saki smiled slightly. “Yeah, you’re always talking about him.” The boy looked at her and laughed nervously. “He’s coming over to sleep tomorrow, I just wanted to say that.” Saki got quite excited when she heard him. “Really! That’s fun! Make sure you tell me everything later.” She had that big smile that always characterized her, despite everything. “But lately, hanging out with Rui gives me a feeling I can’t quite put my finger on yet,” Tsukasa said almost without thinking before he spoke. “Huh?” Saki was surprised. “But, that feeling… is it good or bad?” Tsukasa immediately realized he was worrying her. “Oh! No, Saki, no bad feelings, it’s just that…” Tsukasa paused for a second, and Saki looked at him with a mischievous grin. “Just what?” she said between giggles. “I think I’m pretty happy to see him, that’s all.” The girl laughed even harder. “Bro, tell me when you two are dating!” Tsukasa froze when he heard her. “WHAT?!” he responded with his stupid, ridiculously loud shout, and Saki couldn’t help but laugh.
«Rui and I? Together?» Tsukasa was thinking on the bus on his way home «But it's impossible. I'm sure there's no way Rui would like boys» Then Tsukasa reconsidered his words. «Wait a minute. I wouldn't be surprised if someone like Rui ended up being gay» The blond stopped for a second in his mind «Anyway, why the hell would I care if he was gay? It's not like I... if I... if I...»
And that's how Tsukasa had his first gay panic in the middle of public transport.
The Tenma house was quiet, as it usually was since Tsukasa's parents had been spending so much time at the hospital with Saki, but he wasn't sad about it anymore. He didn't feel alone, because Rui was there with him and had promised never to leave him. The blond boy happily entered his home and went straight to his room. «Alright, I'm going to plan what I'll do with Rui tomorrow,» he began writing in his old notebook. «1- eat the delicious cookies I'll bake for a snack» «2- Watch a movie or musical on TV.» «3- I'm out of ideas.»
Tsukas stared blankly at the sheet of paper. Well, who needs stupid lists? It's not like he's nervous or anything.
Rui woke up the next morning at 3 PM after sleeping poorly, as usual. He took a quick shower, ate a simple breakfast/lunch while his hair was still dripping, and got dressed to finally go to Tsukasa's house. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't nervous, but he knew there was nothing to fear. His beloved star was one of the only people in the world he could trust and feel safe with.
Rui arrived at Tsukasa's house somewhat out of breath after having run a light jog to get there faster, rang the doorbell once and waited.
The door opened, revealing his beloved blondie, who was standing in the doorway holding the handle. The other boy went straight to hug him with great joy and energy. "HUH!, RUI!? WHAT ON EARTH IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Tsukasa was a little startled by the sudden hug, but he quickly returned it. "Fufu~, nothing, Tsukasa-kun." He paused briefly and stepped back to look at him. "Can't I give my star a hug?" And it was obvious that Tsukasa actually melted every time Rui showed affection; that happens to all friends, right?
Tsukasa blushed and looked into Rui's eyes; sometimes he forgot how tall he was. "Of course you can, but a 'hello' would be nice first!" Rui chuckled and finally entered the house.
“Come in,” Tsukasa beckoned. “No one’s home today.” Rui took off his shoes and left them in the entryway. Slowly, he stepped inside. The house smelled of vanilla essence, like something freshly cooked. It was cozy and quite large, and the wooden floorboards creaked slightly as he walked. How he missed the warmth of the Tenma house, even though it was empty most of the time.
The afternoon passed normally. Tsukasa had baked him chocolate chip cookies for a snack. According to Rui, they could become millionaires if they sold his pastries. "The best cookies I've ever eaten," he declared. Although, anything Tsukasa made was considered the best in the world, Rui liked to emphasize things like that, and he wasn't the only one. Tsukasa also admired Rui, even though he could be quite annoying at times and constantly said strange things. When he was serious, he knew how to say things with maturity and comfort. Words were, and are, important, especially when you need to hear them. Boys don't usually talk much about their feelings; they find it unnecessary. Sometimes, a look is enough to express an emotion, and these two knew that well.
Then it was just them talking about anything and everything, as usual, but there were moments when the blond boy found himself staring more than he should at Rui's lips, and Rui couldn't stop thinking about how soft Tsukasa's arms would be if he hugged him at that moment.
For his part, Rui didn't want to confuse his friendship with romantic love. The problem with liking the same gender is not knowing when a relationship is just friendship or something more; it's difficult to see beyond that invisible line. Perhaps all the things Tsukasa had done for Rui that Rui considered romantic weren't really romantic at all. Exactly that—confusing love with friendship when you like your best friend.
And the blond had never considered going out with Rui until now, since he hadn't thought about the idea of going out with anyone in general.
“Looks like someone’s falling asleep.” The purple-haired boy glanced at the other boy. They were both watching a movie on the living room sofa. “Huh?” the blond boy mumbled, half-asleep, and Rui repeated, “You’re falling asleep,” tucking a strand of hair behind Tsukasa's ear. “What? No,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “Of course I’m not falling asleep, how could I if I'm with you right here!” Rui laughed and put an arm around Tsukasa. “It doesn’t bother me, you can rest.” And of course, Tsukasa wasn’t going to be happy about falling asleep on a special occasion like this; he had to enjoy his time together to the fullest!
“No, Rui! I’m not going to sleep while you’re here. What kind of host would I be if I left my guest to go take a nap?” Tsukasa was now even more agitated. “Hehe, but taking a nap is also spending quality time with me, you know.” The blond rolled his eyes. “But what’s the point? If I’m going to be asleep, then I won’t be able to enjoy the moment.”
“But I’ll be here when you wake up,” Again, this side of Rui. Tsukasa stared at him. “I’ll accept only if you rest with me.” The purple-haired boy didn’t like the idea. “But Tsukasa-kun, I’m not sleepy…” Tsukasa put on his best incredulous face, clearly knowing that Rui hadn’t slept a wink the night before. “I can see the dark circles under your eyes, you know? And it’s my duty as a star to make sure my friend is healthy.” The blond boy crossed his arms.
“Okay, okay…” Rui protested. “I’ll sleep with you.” He got up from the sofa, letting go of the blond boy. “Shall we at least go to your room?”
Tsukasa couldn't believe what he was hearing, fate must be playing in his favor. It wasn't as if he'd fantasized about this scenario 12,000 times before going to sleep.
Both boys went upstairs to Tsukasa's room. "My bed is big enough to share" he said, implying that there was no need to bring out a futon for Rui to sleep on the floor.
Tsukasa collapsed onto the bed almost the instant he touched it, everything smelled freshly laundered, it was so comfortable he felt he could sleep forever.
“Tsukasa-kun has given me so many reasons to smile,” Rui began, his calm gaze drifting slightly around the room. “I used to be convinced I could never get along with anyone. But that changed when I met you that day.” The boy sat up in bed. “Now I know I’m not alone, and there’s someone who cares about me.” His gaze met Rui’s as he lay down beside him, his hand gently stroking his hair and tracing the contours of his face. “Thank you for giving me this opportunity to change.” There was a brief pause as they gazed at each other longingly.
The blond boy continued to gaze into Rui's amber eyes, held his hand that was still resting on his face, and gently stroked it. "Hehe, I can't take all the credit." Tsukasa paused briefly. "If you've changed, it's because you have your own will, and what more can I say? Only you can make me shine like a star, Rui!"
“I love you, Tsukasa-kun.”
For a split second, Tsukasa genuinely thought he was dreaming and had fallen asleep on the living room sofa. "Oh, Rui, if this is a dream, don't let me open my eyes!" Rui couldn't help but laugh. "Darling, this is real." Rui went over to hug the boy.
“I…love you too, Rui.”
And he returned the hug.
They gazed at each other longingly, as if they hadn't done so millions of times before, and finally shared a sweet and innocent kiss.