Archive of Our Own ^beta

Most weeks start the same, he wakes up and gets greeted by no other than the stark silence of his house and the sunlight gently glazing over his bedsheets. He gets out of bed, brushes his teeth, sits down on his desk and writes, and writes, and writes, until he deems his play good enough. If there’s enough time he’ll watch one of his usual musicals while remembering to at least get some nutrients before going to school and then his day officially starts.

It's been like that for a few years now, long enough that his mind seems to be forgetting how he used to be before this. Traces of what he used to be loom over him, they laugh watching how he cannot grasp those memories quickly enough to keep them next to him. They cackle as the happy child plastered all over the photographs on the walls slips away between his fingers.

Lately, his week starts like this.

"Would you be against doing me another favor today too?" Rui speaks from where he's sitting, messy school uniform and hair as always. The usual metallic parts around him are missing and he's holding a singular hard-covered book in his hand.

What a way to start the week, indeed. Tsukasa sighs "Fine, last time wasn't bad, so as long as it isn't something weird"

"Fufu, seems like you're getting used to my antics already. That means I should step it up"

He taps his free hand on the ground and Tsukasa follows his command without much thought, sitting in front of him and looking ahead expectantly. Rui laughs and does a circular motion with his index finger pointing downwards. Tsukasa throws him a confused look yet complies. A sudden nervousness sets over him as he realizes he's not able to see Rui face to face but he endures it.

So as he feels Rui's chest firm on his back and his head resting on his shoulder, purple hair brushing his neck, the first thing that registers in his mind is the fact that it doesn't feel as weird as it should. The second thing that registers is, as always, immediate embarrassment.

"I'll be finishing this chapter soon so you won't need to endure this for too long" Tsukasa notes that he’s kind of trapped between Rui’s body and the book he’s holding in front of both of them, he feels like a glorified pillow yet Tsukasa’s shoulders dropping slightly at that. Something about Rui's insecurity sends a small alarm signal.

"You say that like this is the worst thing that could ever happen to me"

They stay like that for hours, at least that’s how it always feels like when he’s with Rui. Tsukasa relaxes further as he gets the small epiphany that it’s been so long since he’s been hugged that he didn’t realize he missed it. He fights the dizziness, wanting to nest in his head by looking at the book in front of him and finding that he can’t understand anything that’s written in it.

"What's this book about?" he asks.

"It's a novel about a Prince doing everything he can to save his kingdom from doom. I found it in the library the other day"

"And you're reading it in English?!" Tsukasa gasps surprised, looking at the contents inside like they're some ancient records recently discovered.

The other lets out an airy chuckle "That's not an issue for me so it's fine"

The dismissive tone of his voice barely helps in subduing Tsukasa's wonder. A whole English book that at least has 200 pages, and at least half of them have been read already! He probably exaggerated a small amount before because he can recognize some words he vaguely remembers the meaning of, vague memories of his English teacher come to mind, but the rest is complete gibberish to him, it might as well be a made up fantasy language.

"Seriously… I guess I can see why people call you a genius all the time"

"They say a lot of things about me in this school, Tsukasa-kun" Rui's tone changes slightly, enough to alert Tsukasa again "Do you believe those too?"

His shoulders stiff for a brief second, he's sure Rui noticed it. With his chin still resting on his shoulder, it'll be kind of hard not noticing it. But he relaxes quickly and his next words come naturally.

"I don't. Never have, especially since I know you a bit better than before. People that say that are idiots that just like spreading dumb rumors around. Even when you're teasing me like this, you're kind and considerate" He rests his head against the other, purple hair tickling his neck once again, but he ignores it "You have a good, gentle heart, Rui. Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise"

Time stops between them, although the leaves might be moving with the air below them and the cicadas keep their insistent chirping even at the end of spring Tsukasa feels as if the time should just stop for both of them, as a sign that at least time cares about what happens to them. Tsukasa's not really sure if Rui's even breathing behind him. Maybe he got caught by the time as well.

But as he’s about to force the continuous flow of time, he hears Rui clearing his throat behind him, breaking him out of his imagination. "I-I think we maybe should head to class soon…"

"Huh? Well, yeah, I guess…" Tsukasa feels the usual coldness settle in his back. His body is already missing the closeness. He doesn't want this to end so soon "But you didn't even finish that chapter?" He lies, sort of, he’s not even sure if Rui even turned a single page in all the time they were close to each other.

While Tsukasa's removing the dust from his uniform, he locks eyes with him at some point but Rui quickly adverts his eyes from him, yellow eyes set on the floor, then going up to the sky, then to the side. Finally, he remembers what he was supposed to be doing and settles his gaze on his schoolbag, putting away his novel inside with nervous hands. Tsukasa can't help but grin at the flustered actions of that dork. If he looks closely enough, he might even see a cloud of small pink dust adorning his face. I should compliment him more often if I get to see him like that.

"Ah… then Tsukasa-kun has given me enough motivation to further my education" Rui clears his throat again, trying to cover up his nervousness.

"It's getting easier and easier to persuade you, if I keep going like this you'll be in class consistently in no time" he grins at the thought. He doesn't see that happening very soon, though. One part of him wishes that they could stay like this for a long time, just both of them meeting on the rooftop and being alone together. The other part of him forces him to acknowledge that he has other responsibilities than just hanging out and ignoring everything else.

"Fufu, you'll have to work even harder for that, Tsukasa-kun"

Tsukasa puffs out his chest, placing his hands firmly on his hips. He's used to overcoming challenges, after all "Just watch me!"

After school he sits in the train, patiently waiting for his station to be displayed in the announcement board so he can go back to the pure white, sterilized and empty hallways of the faraway hospital. He'd rather forget the specific details of the place, because if he wanders, he'll memorize them and allow them a space in his mind. It's supposed to be transitory, he'll see his sister right in her room sooner or later, a place they're both familiar with, something that's more fitting for her that those damn hospital walls–

A sudden stillness breaks his train of thoughts, and the actual train opens its doors and lets more people in. Tsukasa settles deeper within the seat below him, thankful for the distraction.

His props are prepared and his script is memorized. He thinks about Rui's incomprehensible book and his warm embrace and a sudden self-consciousness hits him, he shakes his head, as if that'd help him shake away his thoughts as well. His station is far away still. For now, he'll wait.

☆

He'd expected that hall monitor to stop showing up after a couple of days of Rui messing with him, wanting to see a reaction out of him, but for some reason it didn't happen. If Rui was absent for a few days, he only needed to wait and eventually, Tenma would immediately rush towards the stairways demanding an explanation and their weird cycle would repeat. It even got to a point where they would meet up at lunch time, when Tsukasa didn't have to worry about fulfilling his assignments, just to eat in silence.

Today, he wakes up from another dream he can't quite make out, remembering only warm sunlight and a hand holding his own, preventing himself from falling apart. He prepares himself and even eats some of the breakfast his dad left for him before going to work. He's used to skipping breakfast and just leaving for school, but ever since he complained lightly about having an empty stomach to Tsukasa, he made sure to bring enough food the next time for the both of them.

The breakfast settles weirdly in his stomach but it's better like that than having Tsukasa worry too much about him.

As he gets to the closed school gate he apologizes briefly to the member of the council for getting late, they let him in without much commotion as usual. The school hallways always seemed too empty for Rui, extremely sanitized with their warm, empty colors that always seemed to laugh at him as he walked. And yet, he stops to observe how the sunlight reflects on the floor, exposing the earthly footsteps of the students that ran around the second year's hallway before getting to class.

Rui notes that he stopped walking not long after that, the ceiling seems closer to him than the last time he looked up to it, he didn't remember there being colorful star-shaped stickers on the windows. The pamphlet board next to him shows the school clubs he didn't even consider before, a small heart is attached to one of the art club's pamphlets. A cute drawing of a dandelion shows in the botanical club. He remembers visiting the park with his parents in spring, always looking forward to seeing the flowers bloom nearby, announcing the beginning of the most colorful season. It's a quiet, happy memory that makes him warm inside. Huh.

He's already late for his morning classes, he'd better not stall.

The “2-C” sign above his door greets him and as he holds the doorknob to finally start his day, he gets interrupted by a voice coming from the next side of it "-shiro's coming to class pretty often, have you noticed?"

"Of course I've noticed" another voice replies, snare dripping from it "Even the teachers are left dumbfounded for a bit when they see him come in, he attracts too much attention"

Rui sighs slowly, draining his lungs, he's about to open the doors anyways, just to make them jump a little and go on with his day until a familiar name sends chills down his spine "I've heard it's all thanks to Tenma from 2-B, I think he managed to convince him to come to class"

"He's lucky he didn't get infected with Kamishiro's weird personality. He still gives me the creeps."

"So he's been tamed by Tenma… that hall monitor is truly no joke, wonder if he got tired of calling him out on the rooftop…"

A vine traps his lungs, suffocating him and they laugh in between their sharp teeth, looking for the perfect moment to gnaw at his heart. Whatever they're saying next gets lost to him as he retracts his hand from the doorknob, exiting as fast as his body allows him. There's a small opening in the school gates, one he crosses now and then just to escape.

He wants to cry out every profanity that he ever heard from unfamiliar mouths on his shows. Already used to the occasional snare thrown at him but his blood boils when those insults are thrown at Tsukasa. Tsukasa who's never looked at him with anything but curiosity and wonder, who does his work diligently yet allows Rui to break the school rules and breaks them with him at his side, who shares his food with not even a second thought, always making sure to leave the vegetables out. Nails dig into his palms, he'll think about it later. He'll let himself drown in his self-pity once he's away from everyone else. His mind wonders if Tsukasa would also be so nice as to stab him from the front instead of the back.

Maybe if he disappears, they'll leave Tsukasa out of their foul mouths as well.

He's almost at the main door when he hears a voice coming from the director's office to his side and that immediately stops his tracks as he rests on a nearby wall as swiftly as he can. He's sure to be noticed if any authority figure sees him skipping classes and he doesn't want to justify himself to his parents again. I can still get to the gym exit, if I find a maintenance worker I'll just say I'm going to the infantry because I don't feel good, they won't mind.

"You've been doing great bringing him down from there, Tenma-san, but Kamishiro still needs to come more often to make up for his absences and he skipped yesterday as well. Can you get him to class again?"

"I thought he got over skipping classes already. I'll take care of this, professor"

"That's good then. And another thing…"

Rui can't help but chuckle at his predicament. God, the sun isn't yet at its highest point and the day got too long already. The path he longs for is right the other way, thankfully. He allows his feet to carry him up the long set of stairs, to the only place he feels welcomed. This school bag weighs like a thousand bricks in his back and his steps fumble with it, the few hours of sleep he got today manage to settle heavily on his body.

As he opens the rooftop doors the wind greets him by ruffling his hair, only then does he allow himself to breathe. As he looks at the scenery below him he notes that he's also missed the blooming cherry blossoms this year, splashes of pink and white showing everywhere. It's high enough, I calculated it the first time. It's magical, it's wonderful and he dreads every second of it. He can see them close if he just–

"Rui! I'm here again to–" a bright voice says behind him, stopping not long after, noticing that Rui’s not in his usual sitting place, working on something or reading something. Ah, I didn't close the door behind me. He should feel ashamed that he let himself open up to the point that even a small change can alert the other of any unusual behavior "Rui…? Did something happen?"

"What brings you here again, Tenma-san?" He makes his voice sound as cynical as he can muster. He needs to drive him away, so won’t get damaged by Rui, so he can leave him as everyone else did. Maybe if he lets him go now it won’t hurt as much as letting him stay. “I’d thought you had already finished your work for today, no need to come here out of obligation anymore, right?”

Rui hears the door close behind them and light footsteps coming towards him, he intends on staying and it makes his head dizzy, the same question spinning inside over and over.

“What I mean is that you won, I’ll come to class more often and I’ll lessen the burden on your shoulders. Then you won’t need to worry about me, you can just keep and stop hanging around me just because you pity me” Cutting off whatever Tsukasa had to say before he keeps blabbering around, his own words don't even register in his mind. Please stay away. “After all, staying close to me will only taint you” Please don't leave me.

The vines from earlier wrap themselves to his neck and drag him further and further into the deep ocean, away from the surface, to the point that the light reflected on the calm waves above him barely reach his fingertips, and his lungs fill with murky water and he begs. Begs for anything, anyone.

"I've been coming here not out of obligation but because I like being around you even if you tease me and get too much into my comfort zone" Tsukasa starts calmly, urging him to turn back yet Rui doesn't face him, he distantly wonders if he's used to fixing this issues as well "The teachers tell me to bring you down all the time and I do, but I stay here during lunchtime and even before that because I like talking to you and being with you!"

His voice carries a kind of sincerity unfamiliar to him and Rui finally turns around to look, locking eyes with the same person that for some unknown reason keeps coming back to him. When did he get so close?

"But why? Do you know how our classmates talk about you? They'll attack you as they do to me… I can't ruin your reputation like this…" The moment those words leave his mouth he already regrets them as Tsukasa’s brows furrow and he steps back a bit, like he personally attacked him.

"I don't care about what other people say about me or whatever reputation I have! I can defend myself well enough!" His voice raises exponentially before he catches himself and clears his throat, the next words come almost like a whisper, loud enough for Rui to hear "I care about your attendance but I also like that we can skip together and just stay here every once in a while. I care about you… you're my friend, Rui"

Tsukasa’s an odd one, with the same grace in which he does his tasks every day he manages to stun Rui into silence once again just by simply being his own person, earnest and sincere in every action, eyes that shine with the need to be discovered, free. Rui’s scared, hell, he’s terrified of the strong presence that settled itself so easily into his heart.

He breaks eye contact for a second as his eyes damper, but he won't allow himself to cry, he hasn't done it in so long and he won't do it again now. Not when he wants to spend every second looking at Tsukasa with as much clarity as he was granted.

"... I'm so sorry Tsukasa-kun. You're the most genuine person I've ever met. I don't know how I could ever doubt your intentions and speak to you like that…" He hopes that this will be enough, his heart knows it isn't but he can't put into words whatever is going on down there.

"I don't accept your apology”

Yeah, I should've expected it. He already broke the trust they built up in these few weeks they spent together. He's right about wanting more from him. Tsukasa seems to catch the self-depreciation emanating from every pore of his body because his next words come rushed.

"If you want me to accept your apology then you'll have to grant me a small request" Tsukasa explains quickly, a mischievous smile shining bright.

Rui's shoulders relax, the faraway sun behind him might set in a few more hours, but he won't have to worry, as the one in front of him never stops his steady rise "Whatever you desire"

☆

"Can you stop looking at me so intensely?" Tsukasa averts his eyes for the thousandth time since he started brushing Rui's hair with his delicate hands.

He finds himself in a peculiar spot, resting his head in Tsukasa's folded legs and looking up at him. Tsukasa's pink face is beginning to match the tips of his hair and Rui wants to watch every second of it "Fufu, Tsukasa-kun requested this and yet he's so shy about it"

"Just close your eyes! You're ruining my concentration"

"What's so special about my scalp that you need to concentrate so deeply?" Tsukasa pulls his hair in protest, not hard enough for it to hurt but the unexpected action makes him grin widely, small crinkles appearing next to his eyes. He should get bullied by Tsukasa more often.

"Do you want me to accept your apology or not?!"

He feels compelled to stop teasing and give in "Sorry, sorry! I'll close them~"

The moment his eyes close to indulge the other, he hears Tsukasa breathe out softly and move his hands in the petting motion from before, somehow hesitant yet retaining the firmness that is so characteristic of him. Not being able to see enhances the feeling more than he expected. He wonders if this lightness is what Tsukasa felt like when he first brushed his golden hair those weeks ago, he should do it again soon.

"Why is your hair so funky…" Tsukasa wonders aloud. It’s more than obvious that those words were not meant to be heard and Rui cannot stop himself from chuckling.

"I think that's the first time I've heard the word 'funky' being used in a sentence" He stops for a bit, relishing in the small groan that comes from upwards "These are a combination of my parent's hair colors. I'll leave the rest to your imagination."

Rui thinks about his parents, a pair of caring and loving weirdos, always busy with work yet still showing that they care about him in any way they can. His dad makes him breakfast to this day, even if it gets him late to work sometimes, and brings home his robots so he can demonstrate how they work to him. His mother leaves him small reminders in the form of post-it notes and brings home new shows and novels that she bought on the way home. Every once in a while he'll get greeted by a new beetle on his desk and he'll know exactly where it came from. They might have given him their perspective on true love, devotion, and sincerity and that only happens once. He misses them when they're not home for days, weeks even.

Tsukasa hums in agreement "I kind of get it. Saki's tips are pinker than my own, like my dad's hair and she has the curls of my mom. We're both a weird combination of them, too" his voice falls silent gradually. Rui fights the urge to open his eyes, to see exactly what kind of expression is adorning Tsukasa's face, to figure out what's making his voice flutter like that.

Instead, he decides to let his curiosity get the best of him, tackling it directly and hoping for the best "You've mentioned your sister a few times and it's always been with this melancholic tone in your voice, Tsukasa-kun"

Calm fingers stutter for a moment and he feels a shift on the legs he's resting on. Rui swears he can feel time stop when Tsukasa stays silent as if nature itself stopped just for him to take a pause, to let himself be.

And even if time's unforgiving to them, Rui will find a way for Tsukasa to exist without having to worry about being left behind.

"Saki…She's always been an energetic kid but moving too much made her develop a fever and even putting spices in her food would give her a strong stomach ache. She's being treated far away from here and I visit her frequently to put on shows for her so I can see her smile" His voice lowers with every word, acting as if every sentence will inevitably get carried away by the wind and leave nothing behind. Rui can't help it and he opens his eyes, Tsukasa stares right back at him, seemingly forgetting that he broke his promise "I can keep going like that forever but I know she can't. She's tired of being deprived of her youth, her smiles are few and far behind, and I can't help her"

In the back of Rui's mind, there's a small wooden box that he uses to store his small memories, things he doesn't ever want to forget. His most memorable family trips, the time Nene moved next to them, the first time they saw a show together and how it moved them both, when Tsukasa first came to the rooftop, the feeling of holding him close, Tsukasa's bright eyes. Tsukasa.

He might not be able to stop the box from overflowing. What shall he do then?

For now, the only thing that makes sense is extending one of his hands towards one of the other’s hands that’s still threading his hair and interlacing their fingers above him. Tsukasa’s eyes widen but his breathing never weaves and his hand accepts the touch, longing for it. Rui caresses the warm skin with his thumb as tender as he can make it, hoping his feelings will be conveyed. I'm here, for whatever you need. Tsukasa smiles, tightening their hold for a second, his chest grows warm and he can't find it in himself to blame it on the descending sunlight hitting his back. He knows this is all Rui's doing.

They don't speak much after that. They don't need to. Rui simply closes his eyes again and firmly holds Tsukasa's hand over his head, the other's hand keeps brushing his hair lightly, tracing over his locks with care. He wishes they could stay like this forever, and even if he knows they can't then he’ll memorize his hand’s pattern like a formula and keep them in that small box for the rest of his life. If he pays more attention to that fourth finger than the others; then nobody else but him needs to know.

Eventually, Rui breaks the silence "Tsukasa-kun, are you free after school?"

"I usually just go home after school so yeah…" Tsukasa hums.

"Would you like to go to the arcade with me? There's this small show close to it that I like to see whenever I'm free, but we also can go just to play games" He feels his voice come a little too fast, a little nervous from the sudden invitation, he hopes Tsukasa won't catch that small waver in his voice.

"... sounds nice" yet if he catches it, he'll let it go easily because he's caring like that.

Tsukasa goes back to class not long after but their presence lingers between them, a small reminder that they aren't alone.

When classes are over, they meet close to the school's main gate, a flowery vine covers a small opening, where the fence has been cut off perfectly by none other than the boy who's looking at Tsukasa with a playful smile. Tsukasa goes over the school rules in his head, yet he smiles as promises not to tell anyone.

☆

"I expected a lot of things from you, Tsukasa-kun. But I didn't expect you to suck this badly at games" Rui grins at the big "DEFEAT" announcement on the machine's screen as Tsukasa groans in front of it, defeated indeed.

"You don't need to say it like that! It's just that this isn't my kind of game, let's go to the next one!" Loud words carried over throughout the place, he didn't think his voice could get this loud even. His voice is usually low and collected, with the occasional raise in tone when he's getting teased. He got to see another part of him today too. Rui's glad Tsukasa's relaxing enough around him to let his voice shine, it suits him, somehow. He likes this Tsukasa-kun better than the prim and proper hall monitor he usually sees at school.

Rui rests one arm on the arcade machine and looks over at the other with his eyebrows raised "I think we tried every single game that's available to us in this arcade…"

He knows they didn't, but he won't let Tsukasa stress himself any further with that knowledge. He still doesn't know if he should disclose the fact that the show they were supposed to watch ended 40 minutes ago, because as much as he'd like to see a sulking Tsukasa, that'd probably bring his spirit down even more. This level of softness probably isn't good for me, either.

"Hah… I'll go buy something to drink, do you want something, Rui?"

At the shake of heads Tsukasa goes on his merry way, Rui watches his back as he breaks through multiple colorful arcades and vending machines. He looks back at the game that tilted him so much he had to take a breather. So, how can he improve the gameplay so that it benefits Tsukasa? Will he be foolish enough to fall for Rui's plan? Would he be angry? He's about to take out his small toolbox that rests on the end of his backpack when he sees something move quickly in the corner of his vision, the figure hides swiftly behind a machine. His heart skips. Of course, he knows, he could recognize her anywhere.

But even noting that familiarity, it still doesn't help that his voice comes out higher than he expected when he speaks.

"Nene?"

The fingers that stay visible twitch by hearing her name and she slowly comes out from hiding, although only her head and a small part of her body show.

"Ah, y-yeah, it's me…" She visibly cringes. Rui notes she's still in her middle school uniform, how long has it been since he saw her outside her house?

He's about to ask about her past theater troupe, the one she told him to join but he rejected. He knows something must've happened there that made Nene even more reclusive than before and it's been eating him from the inside. But before he can open his mouth, Nene speaks, hushed "Hey R-Rui… that guy that was here just now, is that your friend?"

Nene looks at his eyes for a brief second but it's quick as a gasp of wind. It's been so long since he called someone other than Nene his friend, and he knows she can see it. There's no one else that understands his fear of opening up more than her and that's precisely why it hurt when she came to ask him to join her troupe, when she stopped talking to him, when she stopped showing up at his house to show him her performances and playing video games, when he asked his mother if he could visit her after a long time but she declined, saying Nene was busy. Rui nods, anyway, because there's no point in dwelling on his sadness now.

Tsukasa's his dear friend even if his heart wants to lead him in another direction.

"I'm glad then… I'll go now. I hope you enjoy yourselves…" She quickly turns around and Rui needs to act immediately.

"Thanks, but Nene…" he grabs her blazer lightly to not scare her, Nene doesn't look back but she waits for Ruis's next words "Hope you enjoy yourself too. I don't blame you"

Nene flinches and runs away. As Rui watches her leave he feels something growing inside of him, small waves of emotions crashing with one another, tossing his body around and making him seasick but before he can get too lost in them, a cheerful voice comes from behind him and picks him up from his mess.

"I'm back! I've been thin- okay, something else happened this time" Rui turns around and finds a more relaxed Tsukasa enjoying a grape soda and holding another in his hand.

Rui can't help but smile "You can read me like an open book, Tsukasa-kun…" he looks back at the arcade's automatic doors, he knows he shouldn't expect her to walk back but he can't help it wishing it would happen anyways "I crossed paths with an old friend, nothing to worry about"

Tsukasa crosses his arms and rests his body next to an arcade machine, Rui thinks of it as the 'big brother stance' "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really. She didn't do anything bad but she might still feel guilty… You were talking about something when you came back, what was it?"

Tsukasa frowns, it's gone as fast as it starts. Rui mentally thanks him for that. "I was thinking we could take some photos at those photo booths, I saw them a lot on TV but I never went inside one"

The photo booth instructions are simple enough yet both of them stay far too long analyzing the stock poses it has to offer. Tsukasa knows next to nothing about what poses are 'trending' and Rui mostly spends his time watching nature and science documentaries that he finds on his beloved unsupervised personal computer, this is completely new territory for both of them.

As they get inside, they get greeted by the screen showing Rui’s hair is more disheveled than usual, the ghost touch of Tsukasa’s hands haunts it faintly and the corners of his lips turn upwards.

Click the sound of the device in front of them and asks them to pose and Tsukasa flinches so hard he accidentally hits Rui in the stomach and he apologizes immediately, because of course he would. Rui takes that opportunity to tease him and covers his stomach with his arms, feigning being hurt but as soon as Tsukasa gets closer he strikes, wrapping his arms around Tsukasa’s sides and curling his fingers around him repeatedly. Tsukasa erupts in unexpected, high-pitched laughter, and Click if that’s not one of the most wonderful things Rui’s ever heard.

As much as Rui would love to continue, it eventually stops by Tsukasa’s command, he finds it fitting. His eyes are filled with unshed tears and they glimmer like the stars in the sky and his face is as red as the blood that quickly rushes through Rui’s heart. The warmth on his face shows that he’s probably as red as him, too. He doesn't mind getting caught in Tsukasa’s storm.

Their combined laughter resonates in the almost empty arcade, carrying over their joy as they pose for the low-quality camera in front of them, competing over who makes the weirdest poses and expressions and nudging a bit closer to each other with every click of the machine.

"Stop getting so close to me, you'll ruin our photos!" Tsukasa complains as Rui tugs one of his cheeks. Click. Oh, Rui definitely needs to see that picture once they’re done.

"It's not my fault that you give me the cutest reactions"

"Argh, you're so unfair!" Tsukasa puffs out his cheeks as Rui laughs and continues poking his cheeks. He plans out his attack as quick as light and holds one of Rui's incessant hands close to his heart and musters the most earnest look he can give "Rui! I really appreciate having you as a friend and I want us to keep going like this for a long time!"

They convey too much hope inside them and fill Rui’s heart with a warmth he doesn't think will be getting out of his heart any time soon. Click. Rui hides his blushing face with his other hand.

"You're— really unfair as well, Tsukasa-kun"

"Look who's talking now!" Tsukasa’s laughter is contagious, Tsukasa’s whole being is incredibly contagious, and as much as Rui’s afraid of biting more than he can chew, he’ll enjoy what he has for now.

Giggling away as the machine prints their photos outside. Even as they are choosing their preferred photos to take home, they keep their hands interlaced. He finds that he doesn't want to let go.

That night, splattered on his work desk and resting on top of dozens of blueprints and not-yet-discarded ideas, Rui sleeps peacefully. A set of colorful photos displayed next to his monitors on the wall, pasted with heart stickers (Tsukasa swears he only bought them because they were the last ones on display, they both know it's a lie).