Work Text:
Lily
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Part 1: Hana
Empty.
It’s completely empty, there’s nothing else in the room, there’s nothing else to care about in this room. From now and on, all those moments will be only memories, but he should have known better, that this is the only way that things could have come to an end. He didn’t stand a chance, he didn’t have an opportunity. He has known all along that this is the destiny that he will have to face, but probably he always had a tiny hope that he will be able to change that. Moreover, what is even worst is that he is still hoping that it can change. It does not matter how hurt he feels, he is still praying for a way in which the love he wanted to kill from the very beginning can bloom as beautiful as a flower.
Akoya has been in the Student Council room for about three hours, the graduation ceremony has ended hours ago. However, he cannot go yet, he cannot leave this place when it still conserves his essence, his presence is still around. The pink haired boy wants to treasure this moment, wants to seal this into his memory. There is a part inside of him that does not want to believe that he will not see Ibushi Arima in this room ever again… and probably he will not see Arima in a very long time. The boy closes his blue eyes, concealing his emotions, or at least trying to. Akoya does not want to cry, he does not want to admit that he has been defeating. Furthermore, he knows pretty well that once the first tear falls down he will have to admit that there’s nothing he can do.
He sighs, trying to let the sadness out by small puffs of air, small breathes that no one will see or hear. The sound of the clock fills the room, the sun is starting to set; Akoya knows that is time for him to leave the school, but he just wants a bit more of time in that room. Things will not be the same, that’s for sure.
Suddenly, someone opens the door, the now president of the student council is startled by the unexpected intromission. When he turns around to look at the door, he sees another familiar pink haired coming in. The times when the two of them used to fight for any silly thing are over, and Akoya has come to value Ryuu as a very important friend. More than a friend is actually a confident to be honest. That is the reason why Ryuu comes in and sits next to him, wrapping an arm around Akoya and pulling him closer in a hug.
“Are you alright?” the brown eyed boy asks, his voice showing concern.
“I think I am doing better than what I originally thought,” Akoya replies, but he does not show any dishonest smile; on the contrary, his face remains serious and his eyes are still staring to a blank space.
“He is going to Tokyo with him, right?”
As always, Ryuu has no touch or sensitivity about the issue and just makes the question. He can feel Akoya’s body tensing under his touch, that is a “yes” without the need of words.
“I’m sorry about that,” the boy keeps going and feels as Akoya shrugs.
“You and I knew pretty well that it was almost impossible to convince him to do the opposite, or at least to wait a bit more…”
The last words are barely a whisper. That’s a sign for Ryuu, he will not push about the issue, he knows Akoya needs time to clear his mind and heal as much as he can. The gentle pats on Akoya’s back are more than enough for the blue-eyed boy to know that he will not be alone.
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When he enters the Student Council, Gero Akoya had only one thing in mind; making the school the most beautiful and the best place for any student with high qualifications. Little he could imagine that beside his goal, he would fall for someone because being completely honest, he didn’t want to have any kind of feelings for any person in this world. Akoya has known people’s cruelty from a very young age. He has felt the pain of being laughed at, of being ignored, of being left apart. Therefore, once he entered to Binan High, he wanted to keep himself isolated and only having interaction with those that he could consider worthy.
Oh, how he hates himself for falling now!! He promised it to himself, he promised he would be focused all the time, but that smile, those kind eyes looking at him. It was almost immediately, every day he remembers their first encounter, the way he called him “Akoya” without hesitation, and without any kind of questions. The boy feels his heart beating faster with just the memory from that day, his face slightly blushing. Even if he had broken his promise, he couldn’t deny how happy he feels for being able to spend days with Arima by his side. Walking to the Student Council room always makes him smile, spending the afternoons working with his two partners is always delightful.
However, one afternoon, things are a bit different.
“Kinshiro will not be here today,” Ibushi all of a sudden says and Akoya can notice that something is not alright, his voice is different.
“Oh… did something happen?” he asks, completely naïve of the issue.
“I think he has gotten back to talk to his old friend,” the green haired boy continues, but now he does not look at all at Akoya.
“Old friend?”
Ibushi sighs and looks back at the paper work he has in front of him. Slowly, he talks about an old argument that Kinshiro had with a childhood friend, Kinugawa Atsushi.
“Apparently, after Yufuin’s attempts of getting them to talk, and all of them terribly failing, Kinugawa finally decided to do something as well, and so…”
“They have come back to be friends again,” Akoya concludes.
“Yes, that is correct, but the true is that Kinshiro is actually in love with Kinugawa.”
Akoya’s expression is alarmed at the moment he listens to that, the president in love? He would have never imagined something like that could be possible. However, he has to be honest, he does not seem to find the bad thing behind all the story for Arima. That is the reason why, he does not know how to proceed with the conversation at this moment.
“You are a very kind and a gentle person for worrying about the president, Arima,” he says hoping his words are accurate for the situation.
Nevertheless, it seems like he didn’t get it right, Ibushi bitterly laughs at the comment and he can actually start to notice Ibushi’s teary eyes. The vice president stands up and stretches a bit, without saying any word and trying to hide his face as much as he can from Akoya. Then, he walks around the room and goes to make some tea for the two of them. Once the tea is ready, Ibushi slowly walks towards Akoya and gives him one cup.
“I suppose that since I’m being such a good friend for him is that the president has not being able to notice my true feelings for him,” Arima suddenly comments and the pink haired looks at him, “I’m in love with Kinshiro.”
Those are simple words, in any context they could be simple words. Nonetheless, in Akoya’s mind those were the heaviest and most terrible words he could have heard. The pink haired tries to keep his expression as normal as possible, he tries to ignore the crushing sensation he is feeling in his heart right now. He fights against the itchy thread of his eyes warning him of the tears that are about to come out. Desperately, he looks for the right words to say to the vice president, he searches through all his mind for something, anything that he can say would be alright, but nothing happens.
“Akoya,” Ibushi calls him out, noticing how confused the boy is at the moment, “I am very sorry for telling you this, but I do not want you to go through the same pain I feel.”
The boy looks even more alarmed to Ibushi when he says those words, he zips a bit from his tea and looks away, “What do you mean by that?” the pink haired asks hoping to not hear the words he is fearing.
“I know you are in love with me.”
He can feel as his world crashes down and hard. He feels his hands are shaking and he cannot avoid the tears falling down his face. Struggling to regain his composure he looks back at Arima, the other boy already coming closer to him.
“I feel bad for telling you this, but please, do not doomed yourself to love someone that will not correspond your feelings, please do not do it,” the vice president says kissing Akoya’s cheek.
For a moment, the pink haired stays too shocked to say something, to be able to react. However, in a swift and quick movement, he joins his lips with Ibushi’s. Kissing and enjoying the taste of his senior’s lips and letting his tears dry as he slowly bites Arima’s lips.
“I apologize, but you cannot take these feelings away from me. I will treasure them as long as I want,” the pink haired expresses whipping away the last tears and with his voice a bit shaken, “and believe me when I say that I know you will realize of how precious and powerful these feelings are.”
He stands up, he cannot, and he does not want to, wait for Ibushi’s reply. Moreover, he knows it will be completely awkward and uncomfortable to come to work to the Student Council room, but still he will do it. Even if he feels his heart broken, even if he feels as if this sadness will never disappear, he also knows that today, there’s a tiny seed that may grow into the most beautiful kind of love.
If he can only have the opportunity to make Ibushi understands that he really loves him.
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Part 2: Lily
The beginning of their last week in the interchange has started. The pink haired feels so much happiness knowing that he has gotten a bit closer to Ibushi, it has been crazy to think that this could happen. Especially, if he considers the fact that Kusatsu has also been around, and even more how tense their situation between the two of them was before coming to the exchange. Nonetheless, he is also aware of the fact that he cannot let his defenses down, he hates being vulnerable. Therefore, even if he had promised to Ryuu that he will do everything he could to get to Ibushi’s heart; he hasn’t done it. Being honest, Akoya does not want to lose it all.
“We only have five days left here,” the green haired comments all of a sudden.
“Yes, I am so happy we have had this experience.”
Their conversations were always like this, talking about their classes, about the cultural differences they have noticed and stuff like that. None of them have dared to talk about what happened one month before coming. There has never been a mentioned of their kiss, of the way Akoya cried or the confession that Ibushi did. Somehow, Akoya feels it was better like this, that at some moment he would have the opportunity to reach for Ibushi again, to expose his feelings and at that moment, he will be able to get into Ibushi’s heart.
“Kinshiro told me yesterday that Kinugawa, his friends and the two new students, are preparing a welcoming party for us,” Ibushi bitterly says.
“Oh… for all of us?”
Akoya curses under his breath Ryuu, he should have told him about said party before. He only sees as Ibushi nods and his heart beats faster, this is going to be bad… he can only imagine how uncomfortable could be to have all of them in the same room. Being honest, one of the things why he was so grateful for this interchange experience is that there’s no chance for all of them to be in the same room. All of them meaning, Kinshiro, Ibushi, Kinugawa, and him… well also that guy Yufuin, but he has perceived Yufuin as someone neutral who does not care about what is going on. Akoya sighs, he does not want to be so evident in regards of his emotions in this moment, but thinking about what is waiting for them once they go back… well there is not a lot he can do.
“Would you like to go to that party?” Ibushi questions him after a while, the pink haired is not sure if the vice president has been able to see him sighing.
Even worst, he does not know what could be the right answer.
“I miss them, but I wouldn’t like to be in a party with all of them as soon as we go back,” that is his most honest opinion about the issue.
He sees by the corner of his eye Ibushi’s reaction, the boy nods and then looks up from the book he has been reading. Akoya tenses a bit. He is nervous by the fact that Arima has noticed that he was observing his reaction. Nonetheless, the other seems that he didn’t notice, or didn’t want to show that he realized of said action.
“Would you like to go to my place then? It would be something bad if just one of us miss the party, but probably the two of us will not be that bad,” Ibushi proposes, looking straight to Akoya and waiting for an answer.
The pink haired hesitates, what could this mean? Is Ibushi willing to give him an opportunity? Or he just really wants to miss the party? However, if he misses this chance, when would he get another opportunity like this? Ibushi is about to graduate, he cannot expect to have many future conversations with him if the vice president really decides to go to Tokyo to study.
“Yes, that sounds like a better plan,” he replies after what felt like hours, but it was actually less than a minute, twirling his hair and looking at Arima’s reaction.
A small smile is drawn on his lips, and he nods.
“It is a better plan,” the boy comments going back to his book, “Since our flight arrives at the afternoon you can go and stay over.”
“Yes, sure,” Akoya replies.
He can feel as his heart is beating faster and he feels his face getting hotter. He hopes that the blush will not be that evident and that the sun’s light of that beautiful afternoon could help him to avoid being caught on the spot. Keeping his reading as well, he starts thinking that going back to Binan City will not be that bad.
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Once back in Binan City, Akoya goes with Ibushi to his the Arima’s mansion. He can practically hear his heart beat all the way from the airport to Arima’s place and he feels as his face would explode. How come he is behaving as a crazy teenager who is in love? Wait… that’s what he is…somehow, right? He internally screams at himself, he needs to stop having all these crazy thoughts and try as much as he can to properly behave. Being honest and real, he knows that Ibushi still has feelings for the president, hence the reason why he did not want to go to the party.
“Would you mind if the first thing I do is checking my garden? I know some of my people have been taken care of it, but I will not feel at ease until I can check it by myself,” the silence is suddenly broken.
For an instance Akoya feels startled, it was really sudden and he was too deep into his thoughts. As quickly as he can, he reacts nodding and smiling to the boy next to him who kindly thanks him for the understanding. Shortly after, they arrive to the residence, Ibushi guides Akoya towards the garden. It has been a long time since the last moment that the boy visited the place, but it is as beautiful as he could remember it. There are so many different plants around, all of them blooming and growing so gracefully, being honest this is one of Akoya’s favorite places in the entire city.
He walks around, there’s no need for him to go after Arima now that they are in the garden. The pink haired carefully examines the red roses, those showing such a passion, it is weird and hard to explain, but that’s what Akoya feels when he sees them. Then, moving a bit more, he can see one spot that he didn’t notice the first time he came. There is one place full of lilies, all of them of different colors, but there’s something that catches his attention.
There is a spot in which red and white lilies seem to intertwine, the blue eyes are fixated on that, slowly he bends over to pay closer attention to the picture of those flowers together. Red and white, love and peace, passion and pureness… somehow, the image of those lilies is getting stuck into his mind for a moment.
“Something interesting?” he listens to Ibushi asking him, he is right behind him.
He stands up and it’s just in front of Ibushi, his face completely blushed, “I… I thought that those lilies are beautiful.”
“Aren’t they? I was amazed that they got mixed… somehow,” the vice president says scratching his head, “Anyways, would you like to have dinner here? I know it may be a cold night, but I missed this place during these months.”
“It’s alright, it’s actually pretty fitting for a comeback,” the pink haired replies and smiles.
No longer after, they are enjoying a delicious dinner surrounded by the beautiful plants. Akoya wants to block the thought of believing that this feels just like the perfect scene from a fairy tale, because he needs to keep remembering that Ibushi is still in love with someone else. Nevertheless, he does not want this to vanish, he wants to keep conserving this feeling, this memory, the beautiful image that is right in front of him. He wants this to be something eternal. Internally, he sighs, he keeps paying attention to all what Ibushi says, he keeps replying politely and showing enthusiasm to the conversation.
The night suddenly becomes colder, and it doesn’t help that there is a gentle breeze going around by now. Ibushi invites Akoya to go inside again, he would have to wait until tomorrow to spend some more time at his garden. Together, they walk in, the atmosphere providing them with the warmth they just need, now that the house is empty Ibushi guides Akoya to the kitchen. He prepares some tea as he keeps talking. Nonetheless, the green haired can easily notice that his companion is not even paying attention, his thoughts have taken him somewhere away, dreaming while being awake. Ibushi looks at him, a sudden and somewhat cold impulse taking over him. The vice president observes the pink haired as he goes closer to him, the younger does not make any kind of movement.
In a swift move, Ibushi steals a kiss from Akoya. Slowly going deeper, slowly demanding for more access. It takes Akoya some moments to react, some few seconds to realize what is actually happening. As soon as he can connect his dreams with his reality to know that this is actually happening, he corresponds the action. He grants Ibushi the space he needs, he lets the older boy to dominate the kiss, he lets Ibushi’s tongue explore every space inside his mouth and he wishes he could go even longer.
Nevertheless, it has to stop at some moment.
Akoya knows his face must look completely mesmerized, that he must look as if his biggest dream has come true. Being honest, this is something he has wished for a long time. The boy still feels lost, he doesn’t know what to say or why Ibushi did this, but before he can articulate a word, Ibushi cleans the corner of his mouth and cups his face with his hands.
“Arima…” the pink haired whispers, is this good? Is this some kind of dream?
“I’m sorry, I’m being selfish,” the other replies, lovingly looking at him in the eyes, “Would it be ok for me to be selfish?”
Akoya nods, he is still too out of himself to think, he is still feeling inside a dream. However, he believes this is the moment he was waiting for. He allows Ibushi to guide him to the vice president’s bedroom. He can start listening to his heart beating faster, he can feel his hands shaking and his skin feeling scorching hot.
Alone in the room with Ibushi, Akoya can listen to the clock marking every second, but suddenly losing its strength. Caresses, kisses, clothes being taken off, the feeling of coldness becoming inexistent once his skin is directly touching Ibushi’s skin. Quickly, all he can listen to is his own breathing mixing with the grunts from Ibushi. His ability to talk, to think, fading and only leaving him able to look at Ibushi. Look at the red eyes that somehow are devouring him, the eyes that are shedding him from his pureness.
The lilies… all of a sudden; the image of those lilies come to Akoya’s mind.
Love and peace, passion and pureness
It is crazy to think how he feels as if he is having the chance to experiment all those things in this moment.
He suddenly chokes a cry, baring the pain in order to feel the pleasure, Akoya clings to Ibushi. The older has been merciless, but in this moment, that doesn’t matter for the pink haired teenager. On the contrary, he is looking for the intoxicant taste and the essence from the red eyed boy. Reaching for the way to seal Ibushi’s warmness into his skin, into himself. Trying to regain his strength for a moment, Akoya looks straight to Ibushi’s eyes, the view making him feel dizzy, the constant pulsations and shivers going around his body becoming stronger. The blue eyes are locked to red, reaching for a last kiss and losing all consciousness when getting to climax.
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How naïve!!! The pink haired thinks the following day when he wakes up and Ibushi is not by his side. The feeling getting worse once he comes out of the room and someone who works at the Arima’s mansion tells him that Ibushi left pretty early that morning. The reason, Kinshiro called him so he could help him with some delayed paperwork that the student council needs to have ready before the graduation. He couldn’t believe how dumb he could be, how stupid he was for something as abstract as love.
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Days have passed, none of them talk about that night, even if Akoya is dying inside to get some answers. He prefers not to talk.
That until the day before the graduation. Kinshiro has left before since he still needs to work on some arrangements about the decoration and other stuff. Arima and Gero are again alone in the Student Council room, just like the first time when they kissed, just like when everything was a bit normal between them.
It is a shame they cannot go back to those times, Akoya thinks as he finished some of the reports and places them on the desk. Checking one last time that he is done with all his work to leave and go home, he looks at Ibushi, the vice president seems to be somehow frustrated. He wants to ask, he wants to know if Ibushi is ok… but…
“I think, I own you an apology… for everything…” the taller man speaks out loud and stands up to place his reports next to Akoya’s.
The pink haired remains quite and looks away, as if words could fix his broken heart.
“I shouldn’t have taken advantage of you… but for a moment I thought… I thought that I could actually accept your feelings and even correspond them in the same way…”
At those words, Akoya looks up again, did he really think that?
“Arima…” the boy whispers, he does not need to get his hopes up, he does not need to punish himself in this way, but he talks, “Please stay, please… wait for me… we could go together to college next year, please… allow me to take care of you!”
The smile he sees on Ibushi’s face after he has finished his words breaks his heart. He knows what that smile means, he knows he is being rejected, again.
“I am apologizing because I regret that day, Akoya, I regret what I did to you because you do not deserve to be hurt like that, I am sorry, I wish I could go back in time… but I cannot.”
The words resonate on Akoya’s mind over and over again, why? Why can’t Ibushi realize that he can love him even more that Kinshiro?! Just why?
“I am sorry,” Ibushi says once more, giving a gentle kiss to Akoya’s forehead and then leaving the Student Council’s room.
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Part 3: Like Nestling Closed to a Lily
It has been a year since Akoya thought that his life was over… well somehow it was over. He can swear that he has been living with a broken heart, that a part of him vanished since the day he had his last conversation with Ibushi. Being honest, he has never gotten in contact with Ibushi after the day that the green haired man apologized to him for everything. Akoya has fought against all his impulses of doing something stupid as calling him, or as begging him for another chance. Of course, he has been thankful to Ryuu and even Haruhiko… those two have become his biggest support. He sighs when he looks around the Student Council room… he cannot believe how much he changed the room in a year, but he needed it in order to erase a bit the presence of Kinshiro and of course Arima.
Someone knocks at the door and makes him come back to reality. Again, it’s Ryuu, but this time he is with Haruhiko.
“The president should not be here the day before the graduation, even Aki and I left earlier,” Haruhiko speaks first trying to sound as if he is scolding Akoya.
“Things need to be done under absolutely perfection, I was just verifying that everything is in order for the next Student Council,” he says and stands up, “which I already did and I’m ready to leave then.”
“So… you are definitely leaving?” Ryuu asks, talking more about Akoya’s future than the present actions.
The president sighs and tries to twirl his hair, which is slowly growing. Ryuu looks with sad eyes to the action, he always felt Akoya was only making his suffering bigger by cutting his hair. However, he also knew that was some kind of ritual for Akoya to try to let go of the past.
“I already did all the arrangements, I am leaving for sure,” the boy confirms “Going to Paris to study and live there for a while will be for sure one of the best things I can do.”
Haruhiko and Ryuu look at the pink haired, it has been extremely hard to convince him to at least stay in Japan. Nevertheless, they know this would be for the best.
“I will just beg you to please stay in touch, it is already too hard to have some lost friends because of college and stuff, please do not get lost,” Ryuu says and unable to control himself he hugs Akoya.
Being shocked by the spiky haired boy’s action, Akoya is a bit out of himself until the moment that he can react and hug Ryuu back, Haruhiko joining them shortly after. It was kind of weird to know that after all his suffering, he was able to enjoy happiness by getting closed to two people who he didn’t like at all at the beginning.
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After his graduation, Akoya only spent one more day at Binan City, even if he was not really convinced of going to a farewell party for him, he ended up going. It would have been pretty rude to reject said gesture. Besides, it was also a good moment to see some old friends, referring to En and Atsushi, and even Kinshiro, who finally went back to Binan City to visit them all.
The young man sighs at the memory, being honest he is more than happy for the opportunity he had back in high school of being in an interchange program. That has made his transition from Japan to France easier; although the language barrier has always been a problem. Hopefully, it will stop being his biggest problem at some moment. Walking down the streets he takes the opportunity to take some pictures and send them to Ryuu and Haru, both are always asking him about the place and always requesting for more and more pictures. Akoya smiles when he thinks about those two, he really misses them and he may go to visit them during summer break since it has been practically a year since he left the city. Once he writes about the place, the date, and the time when he took the pictures, he sends them through the small chat group they have kept since Akoya left. Immediately, he gets a reply from Haruhiko, he is always the most active since he has to keep all his media on for being an idol.
‘Beautiful place, hope you’re having a great time, we miss you, I may go to France during spring, we might see each other over there, what do you think?’
‘Sounds like a great plan, I’ll be waiting for your confirmation.’
Akoya replies and before putting his cellphone back into his pocket, he feels as it vibrates with a new oncoming message. He keeps reading while carefully walking on the streets.
‘Not fair! I also want to go! Can’t you wait for summer break, college is killing me… but also can you pay for my flight?’
‘Mmmmm let me think about it…’
‘Haru!!!!! You said you will take me with you!’
‘Come on Haru, don’t be cruel with him,’ Akoya texts as he smiles, it’s good to keep having these two boys as his friends.
‘Akoya, please do not spoil him, he needs to be responsible for himself.’
‘I’m already responsible for myself, I want a break from that to be hones!!’
He sees as they start bickering on the chat, one complaining about the other for not making enough money, the other complaining about college and how cruel the other is. The pink haired smiles being distracted by the messages and his friends’ behaviors, they are such kids. However, he actually feels happy to see them as they are. As long as he knows, Ryuu is still happy with Io; and even if Haru does not seem to have find a special love interesting he seems to be happy with his idol career. Akoya knows that they never get to talk about love or relationships because they don’t want to hurt him. He sighs, it is a beautiful morning, he should not ruin it with memories from a past that he has been trying hard to forget.
Suddenly, Akoya looks back at the chat, one audio message from Ryuu. Akoya sighs once again, he is completely sure that Ryuu is begging him to convince Haruhiko to pay for this trip. Once the audio starts, he verifies his suspicious and holds his laugh.
‘Tell Haru that if he wants you to be completely happy he has to take me with him to Paris so the three of us can be together again and have some…’
He is paying attention to the audio, until the moment that someone grabs his arm. The young man gets scared, his first impulse is to hit whoever who is trying to mess with him, he almost drops his cellphone to accomplished said action. Nonetheless, his world stops once he sees the person who is grabbing his arm. Then, his cellphone actually hitting hard against the ground, the conversation immediately being forgotten, and his legs becoming numb. Akoya’s eyes gradually getting teary and his lips trembling.
“I’m sorry, once again, I feel so sorry”
Ibushi expresses, those are the first words Akoya listen to him saying after almost three years of not having any kind of contact with the man. Arima’s face looks emaciated, his eyes seem to have lost the sparkle of that beautiful red that once in the past used to shine more than the stars.
“Arima, how? Why?” Akoya whispers, his thoughts rushing through his mind and not allowing him to form more coherent sentences.
“I… I needed to see you, I am so sorry…” the man expresses and starts crying while hugging Akoya.
“I… what happened?”
Akoya asks, he is shocked, he can only feel as Ibushi’s tears start to damp his shirt and as the other man keeps holding him tight between his arms. His heart feels as if the broken pieces are starting to go back together. He knows… he knows more than anyone else in this world that even if Ibushi hurt him in the past, he would be more than willing to forgive him at any moment. Right here, right now, he feels as the love he has been trying to deny is creeping again through himself, blooming as the flowers he used to love.
“I am so sorry,” Ibushi repeats again, and Akoya understands.
Ibushi is feeling just the same way he has been feeling for almost three years, what he thought was real love it was never meant to be. The green haired man reflects on his face how desperate he is in the search for the feeling that he longs, on a feeling that he may have never known what really is. Akoya hugs him back, and once that Ibushi feels Akoya’s arms around his waist, they look at each other. The pink haired feels as if the air is not enough, as if his heart could burn down at any moment. He simply snuggles closer to Ibushi, the smell he misses, the presence he has always been looking for. All of that is right there for him at this moment.
“I told you… didn’t I?” he dares to speak, his voice breaking with every word he pronounces, “I told you once that you will be able to see someday how precious and powerful my feelings for you are, didn’t I?”
The pink haired asks him, placing his hands on Ibushi’s face, tears are adorning the blue eyes, but the smile that is drawn on Akoya’s face is the prove of his real happiness. The green haired cries even more, how could Akoya be so tender, so kind to him? That is something that he will never know.
“You were right,” the man whispers into Akoya’s ear, “You were completely right, I’m sorry.”
Feelings are blooming in Akoya’s heart once again, feelings he thought would never be able to come back. Gently, he kisses Ibushi’s cheek, what happened to the man in his arms is a complete mystery by now. Nonetheless, the only thing that Akoya needs to know right now is that Ibushi is here with him, that Arima looked for him and found him. There are so many things they need to sort out, there are so many feelings he needs to share with Ibushi. However, for now, all that matter is that they are together. The beautiful essence of the flowers, the memories of the lilies he saw back on that day coming again, reminding him of the beauty of love and the pureness of his feelings for Ibushi.
“I love you,” he says while he snuggles closer to Ibushi and letting out a breath he didn’t even know he has been holding.
“I love you too.”
It is the first time that Akoya listens to those words being said by Ibushi, being said to him. The feelings he had once, the feelings he has now are never going to fade, but they are for sure going to grow forever and more. Akoya closes his eyes, tears falling down as he smiles, the moment is truly beautiful, just like a lily.