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Kaoru feels tired as he sits alone on the school’s rooftop. So tired he doesn’t even feel like picking up his phone to text a girl. He usually has his daily date scheduled after school, except he forgot to make plans for today. So he’s stuck with an afternoon full of free time, which he is currently using to throw a pity party.
He doesn’t want to go home. He could easily pick up a date if he wanted. But today he doesn’t have enough energy to put on airs for some random girl, all because he just wants an excuse to be out of the house. He’s terrible isn’t he? Playing with their feelings just for that. How can he tell them all their dates are just superficial? That he can’t even remember what love is actually like?
He leans his head back against the wall of the school building. The slight wind feels nice against his face. He thinks about how he’s often compared to the wind, light and free. He doesn’t feel light and free though. He couldn’t feel more trapped.
School is better than home, but it still isn't good being here either. Kaoru supposes he has no one else to blame but himself for that. He’s the one who isolated himself. He skips most of his classes, he keeps everyone at more than an arm's length. His peers see as nothing more than a frivolous playboy who couldn’t care less about his classmates. He didn’t want to get close, so made himself disliked by them. It’s easier this way. It still feels lonely.
Incredibly lonely, that’s how he feels often. Ever since his mother passed. No matter how many dates he goes on to try to chase it away, that lonely feeling still catches him. It’s tiring.
He suddenly realizes his cheeks are wet. Which isn’t surprising, but incredibly frustrating. Crying has come too easily lately, he’s always been so sensitive to begin with. Thank god there’s no one else on the rooftop to witness it. It’s late and club activities should be over already - no one should come up to disturb him. So he continues to let the tears fall.
It’s better he lets this out here instead of at home, where he runs the risk of his father seeing.
His home hasn’t felt like a home in years. It feels more like a prison. He can’t relax there, he can’t even be himself when he’s alone in his own room. There is nowhere to escape the judgment of his dad’s expectations when he’s at home.
He has to be a good boy, the perfect son all the time there. Except he isn’t good or perfect at all, so things never end well.
He feels horrible at home, he feels horrible at school. The only solace he really has is dating but even that is just cheap comfort, it makes him feel guilty in the end.
He chokes down on the sobs, even if he's alone. He’s too used to crying silently, muffled into his pillow so none of his family can hear.
He’s suddenly cut off from his thoughts when he hears faint footsteps climbing the stairs to the roof. Frantically he does his best to wipe away his tears on his sleeve, and lays down facing the wall. If he pretends to be asleep, hopefully whoever comes up will leave him be.
He hears the door to the roof open. The footsteps continue to pass Kaoru to the other side of the roof.
He hears them stop, then the sound of a lid opening, and then a frustrated sigh.
The footsteps continue back, to the door of the roof and Kaoru thinks he might be in the clear. But then they stop, right next to where he’s “sleeping”.
Please. Please just leave me alone. I don’t want anyone to see me like this.
“Kao-kun?”
A nickname he recognizes, along with a voice he recognizes as well.
Izumi Sena, his classmate who gives him a sexuality crisis on a frequent basis, is really not who he wants seeing him right now.
He feels a foot dig into his side.
“Hey, wake up idiot. Clubs are over and everyone’s gone home.”
Maybe if he pretends to still be asleep Izumi will give up, Kaoru thinks. Except he knows Izumi is too stubborn for that.
Then Izumi kicks him. Not hard enough to hurt too badly, but definitely hard enough that it would startle any actual sleeping person. He can’t realistically pretend to still be asleep now can he?
“Ow! What was that for?! That was mean Senacchi!” He says as he fakes jolting awake, rubbing his back where the blow was dealt.
“Hah? You should be thankful I woke you up. So act grateful. It’s late, you don’t want to be locked in school do you?” He spoke with his nose up, but when he finally looked down at Kaoru's face his hard expression wavered for a second.
He knows what Kaoru looks like when he’s been crying. He’s seen it before after all.
“You’ll get sick if you sleep outside, you know? Go home.” Izumi’s voice is a little bit gentler when he speaks now. Barely noticeable, but it’s gentler.
Since he’s already been exposed, he might as well tell the truth.
“Don’t feel like going home.” He says honestly, though he tries to keep his voice cheerful to downplay it.
He looks away from Izumi’s eyes, a bit afraid of how he’ll respond. He mostly expects the other to brush it off, but he doesn’t.
“You too, huh?”
Izumi let’s out a little huff before sliding down to sit next to him. Kaoru definitely wasn’t expecting this.
They sit in silence for a few moments as Kaoru desperately racks his brain for something to say. Luckily Izumi speaks up first.
“Hey, are you hungry?……You look awful so you should probably eat something.” Izumi hides his concerns behind an insult as usual.
Kaoru gets brave enough to look over at him, and notices he’s holding a bento box and chopsticks in his hands.
Izumi responds to Kaoru raising an eyebrow at him quizzically, “Look, I made it for Yuu-kun but he obviously didn’t eat it.…It’s been sitting in the shade so it’s probably still good. And I’d be a shame if it went to waste……though I guess it’ll be wasted on you anyways. But still, I guess even you eating it would be better than no one eating it at all.”
He holds it out to Kaoru, eyes begging him to take it. And while he’d like to tease Izumi for the blush he currently has on his cheeks, he opts for taking the box quietly.
Upon opening it, it’s easy to see that Izumi made this himself - everything beautifully arranged in perfect place. Lots of veggies, tamagoyaki, but some cute things as well that you wouldn’t really expect from him. Like tako sausages and some carrots cut into hearts. Even the rice is formed into a heart - and that makes his own foolish heart flutter a bit, even though he knows this wasn’t even for him.
“You made this for another guy….that’s kinda gross.” Kaoru jokes, because this situation is suddenly too romantic and he needs to defuse it before he does something stupid.
“I know. It’s gross right?” Izumi laughs bitterly.
Self deprecation is rare to hear from Izumi.
Kaoru, feeling guilty, immediately attempts to back track. “Geez, I was just kidding so don’t get all sulky on me! This is actually really….cute? Like if a girl made something like this for me I’d go crazy.”
Thankfully the small compliment makes Izumi perk up a bit. “Heh. Maybe I’ll actually make one just for you then, Kao-kun~. Watching you lose your mind sounds pretty funny.” He says teasingly, probably expecting Kaoru to be disgusted by that suggestion.
He is in fact, quite the opposite of disgusted. He can feel the heat rising to his cheeks at even the thought of Izumi making something like this, just for him.
“I said I’d lose it if a girl made it for me though. And you’re definitely not a girl. Even if you are really pretty.” Shit. Maybe he’s already losing his mind if he let that slip.
Blurting that out was worth it though, just to see the blush spring onto the model's beautiful face. “O-of course I’m pretty! Now are you gonna eat it or what!?”
“Yep! Thanks for the food!” he says with a wink before digging in.
He picks up a piece of the rolled egg, his eyes going wide immediately after he popped it in his mouth.
“Woah, this is delicious! You’re a great chef Senacchi! You’re quite a good housewife aren’t you? If you were a girl I’d marry you in a heartbeat~ too bad.” More joking, because Izumi seemed a bit down too and being playful is the only way Kaoru knows to lighten the mood right now.
“Now you’re the one being gross. I’m nothing like a housewife! Just shut up and eat alright?”
“Yes honey.” That earns him a smack on the arm. He continues digging into the delicious food while Izumi death-glares him.
The talking stops while Kaoru eats, but luckily it’s a comfortable silence. He tastes all the other items in the lunch, all of which are equally as good. He didn’t even realize he was that hungry, the bento really hitting the spot. As he’s happily munching away he notices Izumi’s eyes still on him.
He glances over through his peripheral vision as subtly as he can. Izumi is watching him eat, a rare soft smile on his face. A very similar expression to the one he gave another time Kaoru came to him puffy-eyed from crying. He smiled at him so genuinely as he did his makeup to conceal his red eyes. He ran a brush and his fingers ever so gently through the blonde’s hair. He seems to really enjoy comforting people. Kaoru wants to try returning the favor.
“Uh so, how are you?” Kaoru asks. Great. Not awkward at all. He has all the skill in the world for smooth talking girls but when it comes to boys, he finds himself at a loss.
“Fine.” Izumi quips, very obviously agitated and not fine at all. For such a dishonest person, he’s a pretty bad lair.
“Well, you don’t seem fine. This is about that Yuu-kun guy you talk about all the time, yeah?” Which is true, Izumi usually has no problem talking about Makoto whenever he can in class. He’s ranted to Kaoru about him several times before, so maybe Izumi wouldn’t completely shut him down if he asked about him.
“That Yuu-kun. I came to give him this at lunch. He was up here with those Trickstar nobodies and he rejected it immediately. I thought that maybe if I just left it for him he’d eat it, even if just out of politeness. But he’s a cheeky kid huh? He probably didn’t even open it. Even after his oniichan lovingly made a balanced meal for him! How annoying!”
“His loss. Because this bento was incredible. I got lucky~” he says as finishes the last piece, handing the empty bento and chopsticks back for Izumi to put away in his bag.
“Obviously it’s good. I would only feed Yuu-kun the best.”
Kaoru wonders what this Yuu-kun must be like, for him to not be able to see the appeal of Izumi Sena.
“Is this guy really worth it? Seems like he doesn’t appreciate anything you do for him.”
Izumi glares at him, “You’re the last person I wanna hear that from. Don’t you chase Anzu around all the time only for her to keep rejecting you? I know she’s cute, but if you keep giving her a hard time I’ll be forced to step in and protect her.”
“First of all, ouch. Second of all, have you finally seen the appeal of Anzu-chan? Man, I should be worried, you’re serious competition. I didn’t think you were even into girls too.” Kaoru teases.
“It’s nothing like that! Seriously, is everything about romancing girls for you? Sooo annoying.”
“And what’s so bad about that? Romance is a beautiful thing Senacchi.” The idea of talking about romance with someone he may(definitely) have a crush on is getting him a bit excited. What’s Izumi like when he’s in love? Is it all manic smiles like how he is when he talks about his childhood friend in Trickstar? Or is it a softer smile, like the way Kaoru has seen him look when he’s taking care of someone. Kaoru wants to know.
“Is it? What good comes out of romance really?” Izumi says gloomily.
Almost as if he’s asking Kaoru to give him a reason to believe in it again. Wouldn’t Kaoru like to believe in it again too.
Maybe he shouldn’t be saying this idea. It’s probably a little selfish on his part to suggest Izumi look for romance elsewhere. But maybe this is exactly the reason why Izumi is still sitting here next to him, inviting him to talk about it.
“Well maybe you’re just going after the wrong person…..I probably am too, with Anzu and all. Maybe we should both focus on other people.”
Izumi stares at him with an unreadable expression for a few moments before he speaks, “Maybe you should focus on yourself. Seriously what’s gotten into you? You’re so meddlesome towards me today when you’re the one up here with the red eyes.” He says stiffly, but he doesn’t actually sound angry.
Kaoru tries his best to shrug it off casually, “You know that even I care about my classmates sometimes right? Just trying to help.”
The model gives him a disbelieving side-eye.“I didn’t ask for you to care about me, or for your help.” Harsh words, but once again his tone is neutral. Kaoru wishes he knew what he was honestly thinking.
“Well I gotta repay you for feeding me somehow.”
“No you don’t. This wasn’t even for you.”
Now would probably be a natural time to end the conversation. For Kaoru to say ‘Well thanks for the food anyways! See ya then!” , and for them to go their separate ways. For him to get up and whisk away like the breeze he’s so often compared to. For him to go home. Kaoru isn’t ready yet. He still feels indebted to Izumi, and not just because of the bento. Just sitting up on the rooftop with him has brought him comfort. Talking to him has helped him forget, even for just a few minutes, the reason he was up here alone in the first place.
Plus his shoddy attempt at advice didn’t feel like enough. He wants to treat Izumi to something too.
“Say Senacchi, do you like aquariums?”
“Hah? Why are you asking that out of nowhere?”, he looks thoughtful for a moment, “But I guess I do. They’re pretty to look at.”
The smile widens on Kaoru’s face. “Perfect! I have something to show you then. Follow me~”
Grabbing Izumi’s bag and slinging it over his shoulder, he gets up and starts walking. Holding his bag hostage and giving the model no choice but to follow.
Izumi is not very happy with the sudden change of pace. “Oi! Where the hell are you taking me!?”
————————
“Woah…I’m actually surprised Kao-kun. I had no idea the school had something like this.” Is what Izumi says as he first steps into the marine biology club room. And it’s quite impressive for a school club - with several fish tanks lining the walls, even a large cylindrical tank housing jellyfish. Almost like a mini aquarium.
“I know, pretty cool right?” Kaoru had always fantasized about sneaking a girl into this room. Never did he expect himself to be so excited about bringing another guy, yet here he is. “Come on, I’ll show you around.”
To his surprise, Izumi immediately finds something he wants to see and walks over to one of the tanks. “Ah, you have shrimp in this one! Looks cute…..and tasty too~”
“Haha, so that’s what got you excited? Sorry to disappoint you Senacchi, but that one wouldn’t taste very good. Also saying it’s cute and then immediately talking about eating it is pretty scary you know?”
“Huh? Isn’t it sakura ebi?”
“Nope, that’s a red cherry shrimp. They look similar but they are completely different species. Sakura ebi are a saltwater species and this one’s freshwater.” Kaoru says casually, before realizing that it’s probably off-character for him to admit knowing so much about this.
Sure enough when he looks over, Izumi is staring at him with his eyebrows raised. “Wow, that’s the most sophisticated thing I’ve ever heard come from that frivolous mouth of yours. Do you actually show up for your club activities or something?”
“Nah….not really.” he shrugs off. Luckily Izumi doesn’t press on and averts his attention back to the aquarium.
He points at a tiny blue fish with white stripes marking its sides. “That one kinda looks like the Knights uniform pants.”
“That’s a zebrafish. And you’re right, it totally does.”
A fact about this particular fish pops into Kaoru’s mind, but he decides it’s best to not share it. Zebrafish have an amazing regenerative ability of the heart. Even if you take a chunk of their heart away, they're able to grow it back. An ability Kaoru wishes he had.
“So you know what all these fish are?”
Kaoru does, but he acts casual about it. “Probably, more or less.”
“Prove it.”
Izumi points to another fish swimming by.
“That’s a Discus.” Kaoru states.
He points to another.
“Angelfish.”
And another.
“Tiger Barb.”
Izumi actually looks mildly impressed. “You’re actually super into this huh? Where’d you even learn all this stuff?”
And usually he would brush it off and say he learned it to impress girls. But something about being alone with Izumi makes him want to be honest. “My mom…she was a marine biologist. That’s why I love the ocean, and that’s why I joined this club. This stuff is one of the few ways I can still feel connected with her.”
And he could say even more about his mom and how he learned. How when he was a kid she would take him to the aquarium and point out all the fish in the tanks and tell him about them, just like this. Or how he used to read up on marine biology books just so he could impress her with his knowledge, and she would tell him how proud she was of him and pet him on the head. That even though she was a marine biologist, she encouraged his unscientific childish wonders like believing in mermaids. Because she wanted him to believe that anything was possible, and that he could be whatever he wanted to be. He wishes he could still hold onto that childlike dream, believing that he didn’t have to live up to the weight of his father’s expectations and he could still become whoever he wants.
He could go on forever about his mom and how amazing she was. But he stops himself there, because he can already feel his throat tighten and he won’t be able to stop the tears from coming if he continues.
It’s obvious that Izumi got the message, given the condoling look in his eyes.
It’s Izumi Sena, so he’s not going to say “I’m sorry for your loss.” or anything of that sort. He simply points to another fish in the tank and says, “Tell me about that one.”
And it makes Kaoru smile, because he knows this is Izumi’s way of indulging him. And overall, it really does make him happy to share the things his mom gave him with other people.
“That one? It’s called a Green Terror Chichlid.”
“What a scary name for such a pretty fish.”
“Pretty and scary? That sure reminds me of someone.” he jokes, clearly pointed at Izumi - who shoots him another glare.
Karou continues unbothered, “Anyway, they get that name because they can be quite aggressive. But if you put two in a tank together they can bond and fall in love. Then they’ll mellow out and become less aggressive to the other fish. Isn’t that romantic?”
“Romantic? I don’t think fish ‘fall in love’ Kao-kun. How many girls have you brought here and used that line on?” he says brusquely, but there’s teasing in his tone too.
Naturally, Kaoru turns the tables by teasing him back. “Geez, well I hope you become less aggressive when you bond with someone.”
“Shut up.” Izumi tries to sound annoyed. But you can hear a bit of laughter in his voice, and see a bit of smile that he’s trying to hold back.
Kaoru can’t help but chuckle a little too. Maybe it’s because he’s already been a bit vulnerable, or maybe seeing Izumi hold back a laugh at his joke has given him confidence - but he decides to say something a bit bold. “And to answer your question, I haven’t used that line on any girls, just you. You’re the only person I’ve ever brought here, so that makes you pretty special Senacchi.”
Red immediately rises to Izumi’s face, as he looks back at him with widening eyes. He partly looks like he’s trying to analyze if what Kaoru said is true, and partly like he’s trying to come up with something to retort with. Kaoru just stares blushing back at him, because Izumi looks absolutely stunning right now. The glow of the aquarium lights illuminating his face beautifully, and accenting the blush on his cheeks adorably - it’s no wonder this guy’s a model. And Kaoru has never wanted to kiss anyone more in his life.
But he doesn’t know if it’s the right moment to do that, so before he can act foolishly on that impulse he moves things along. “You like shrimp right? We have a really cool one in the saltwater tank over here. Come on~”
However, he does give into the impulse to put a hand on Izumi’s waist as he guides him over to the next aquarium. Surprisingly Izumi lets it happen without any protest.
————————
He shows him around all the tanks, getting more smiles from Izumi along the way. Each one adding a bit more warmth in his chest.
Then Kaoru gets a sneaky idea for an excuse to get closer to the other. “Senacchi, let’s sit down and relax for a bit - that’s the best way to admire the jellyfish.”
He walks over to the clubroom’s couch, which thankfully already has the blanket he often uses for naps folded on top of it. Picking it up and draping over himself he sits down and looks to see the other’s reaction. Izumi stares back at him, unreadable again.
“I know we keep it pretty cold in here for the tanks, but don’t worry I’m nice enough to share the blanket~” He lifts a blanketed arm up, inviting Izumi in.
And Izumi deliberates silently - and the more moments pass, Kaoru starts preparing himself for rejection. But then Izumi answers him. “Fineee. I guess it is pretty cold in here, so I’ll let your playboy moves work on me just this once.” he says before he walks over and sits completely pressed up against him. Crossed arms and legs, leaning back into Kaoru’s chest.
Izumi is actually extremely resilient to the cold, he likes it even. He’d be fine even without the blanket. But Kaoru doesn’t have to know that.
Having Izumi’s warmth against him feels so nice, Kaoru has to resist the urge to cling onto him. Izumi is like a fickle cat that he’s managed to coax in close, he can’t risk scaring him away now. He’s lucky Izumi is even allowing him to currently have one arm around him. He’s positive the other can feel his quickened heartbeat against his back, but thankfully he doesn’t say anything.
“Why don’t you show up to your club more? You’re clearly good with this stuff.” Izumi says out of nowhere.
“You think I’m good at it? Ah, a rare compliment from Senacchi! How lovely of you~”
“That wasn’t a compliment! And it’s super annoying how you avoided my question by flirting. Answer it.”
Kaoru doesn’t know if he’s more shocked about being forced to answer, or about Izumi calling him out for flirting. Either way an answer must be said, and he goes for the easier one. “Too much work. Man, I’m kinda jealous of these jellyfish, floating around without a care in the world…”
“You know, some people get fulfillment from hard work. You should try it sometime.” Izumi’s scolding continues on. “ And you should be showing up to class more. You’re not gonna graduate at this rate.”
“Geez, so much nagging. Want me to show up to class so you can see me more? You must really care about me, don’t you?” Kaoru teases, knowing the exact tsundere reaction he’s gonna get.
Izumi whips around to stare daggers into him. “I don’t care! Don’t get the wrong idea!” And he clearly does not like the smug, knowing grin Kaoru is giving him so he starts trying to get up. “Ughhhh let me go! You’re so irritating!”
Kaoru uses it as an opportunity to playfully wrap both arms around his waist, keeping him from getting away. “Nope you’re not going anywhere Senacchi~ you signed up for this by hanging out with me.”
Izumi gives up on struggling fairly easily, but acts disgruntled when giving into Kaoru’s hold. “I don’t remember signing up to hang out with you?? You literally didn't give me a choice. ”
“Alright, alright - I’m sorry. I promise I’ll be nice okay? So stay a bit longer.” Kaoru has a hard time imagining Izumi didn’t also have fun today, so hopefully that in itself will convince him to stay.
Izumi doesn’t respond. He just clicks his tongue and snuggles back into Kaoru again, the tips of his ears noticeably red.
‘God, he’s so cute.’ Is all Kaoru can think.
They get comfortable again, and sit in silence for a bit. Kaoru is surprised at how comfortable silence with Izumi is. It’s so peaceful in the aquarium-lit room, watching the jellyfish slowly float around, with Izumi in his arms. He wants to stay like this forever, but of course this moment has to end at some point.
Izumi is the first to speak up again. “We should head home soon.”
Which is perfectly reasonable since it’s getting late, and they have been sitting here quite awhile. And yet Kaoru has to fight the urge to tighten his grip on the other and not let go. Because no, he’s not ready to go home. He never really is. But eventually he will have to let go of Izumi and face his life again. “Hmm, give me a few more minutes.”
“Ugh, you’re so lucky I have nothing else to do today.” Izumi says in that more gentle tone.
‘I’ll stay as long as you need’, is what that means in Izumi-speak.
Grateful, shocked, touched — Kaoru can’t even find words to describe his feelings about how Izumi has treated him today. He’s been aware of Izumi’s kindness for a while now(it’s the thing that made him start to fall for him after all), but being on the receiving end of it always feels so special. Even if his methods of comforting aren’t traditional, it’s effects aren’t lost on Kaoru.
Both of them have a hard time letting other people in, and yet here they are so physically close to each other. They may not be that emotionally close (yet), but this is the most vulnerable with someone else Kaoru has let himself be in so long - even if it’s only a little bit. He knows this must be a challenge for Izumi too, they both probably brought some walls down around each other today. When was the last time he’s let anyone this close? He can’t even remember.
The emotion wells up inside of him like a tidal wave he didn’t see coming. A tear sliding down his cheek before he can even feel it. And he curses his brain because really, really, does not want to do this right now when things are so peaceful and going so well. So he tries his best to calm down silently.
But one little sniffle is all it takes for Izumi to notice and snap around to look.
The blue of the tanks illuminated the bit of panic in Izumi’s also blue eyes. The situation just got awkward, of course Izumi doesn’t know how to handle it. Neither of them are good at dealing with such candid feelings.
Kaoru is feeling panicked too, because there’s really no way he can play this one off cool is there? But he desperately tries anyway.
“Sorry ... .I'm fine, don't worry! I don’t even know why I’m crying, haha…..I honestly feel a lot better now that I’m in your company.” he tries to muster up a teary smile.
“Kao-kun…”
“Don’t worry seriously! I’ll be fine in a minute! I don’t—“ And thankfully Izumi cuts him off before he can frantically finish that. Kaoru doesn’t even know what he was going to say if he continued talking.
“You’re trying to keep that carefree smile even through tears? That look doesn’t suit you. So stop it.”
Kaoru averts his eyes, so embarrassed over losing control over his emotions. He doesn’t see it coming when two hands come up to cup his cheeks.
“You’re gonna make your eyes look worse if you keep crying.” Izumi says, and he brusquely wipes the tears away.
The hands on his face are so gentle, and yet the motion of wiping his tears is so curt. The action is so very Izumi. Kaoru can feel a little bit of a genuine smile pull on his lips - simultaneously as a sob chokes in his throat.
“D-don’t start crying more! Are you even listening to me?”
And even though Kaoru’s currently going through it, he appreciates the cutely frustrated look on Izumi’s face. All pouty because his comfort tactics don’t seem to be working. He shakes Kaoru’s face in his hands a bit.
“I said stop.”
Kaoru lets out a little laugh, but it sounds a bit broken and wet. “Senacchi…I can’t really stop just because you demand it.”
His frown deepens. “Then what’ll make you stop?”
“I don’t really know…just distract me?”
When Kaoru asked for a distraction, he was thinking of maybe talking. Talking about anything really, just to distract him from his own thoughts. Maybe even more cuddling if he was extremely lucky. The last thing he would have expected was for Izumi to kiss him. But Izumi surprises him once again today, leaning forward and planting his lips right on Kaoru’s.
And the tension that’s been pulled tight between them, suddenly gets released.
A few seconds later Izumi freezes, letting out a muffled noise in shock, like he wasn’t expecting Kaoru to kiss back. Let alone kiss back with such ferocity.
But it only takes Izumi another few seconds to melt back into it, moving the hands that were cupping Kaoru’s face to wrap around his neck - and kissing back with the same level of intensity. Refusing to let Kaoru outclass him in anything of course.
And even if this was not what he was expecting, Kaoru can definitely say he is well and thoroughly distracted. Tears drying up recordly fast - he can’t even remember that he was crying a few moments prior. He’s unable to think of anything else when his brain has been completely taken over by only thoughts about kissing Izumi.
Maybe it’s because he’s so into him, but Kaoru doesn’t remember kissing ever feeling this good before. Both of them snapped onto the same wavelength immediately, mouths moving against each other like they were dancing to the same rhythm. Izumi’s lips are so soft, his hands tangling in the hair at the nape of his neck - god, Kaoru is about to lose it.
At some point Izumi falls back on the couch and Kaoru follows after him, not wanting to part lips with him for a second. Thankfully the blanket falls off his shoulders in the process - it was starting to get unbearably hot. Or maybe it was the new position of now straddling one of Izumi’s thighs that was making things seem hotter. Either way he’s happy for the opportunity to now be completely pressed up against each other, extra heat added and all.
He wants to feel more of him, Kaoru can’t help but take things a step further, teasing the part of the other’s mouth with the tip of his tongue. Izumi gasps at the sensation, giving Kaoru the opportunity to sneak more tongue in. And something flutters in his chest in response to the noise Izumi makes as he parts his lips nicely asking for more. Kaoru is happy to oblige, exploring Izumi’s mouth, and trying to figure out what’s gonna get more of those noises out of him.
He doesn’t even know how long they get caught up in kissing each other, all sense of time sucked away in the heat of the moment. And that heat continues to spread from Izumi’s mouth, from his body - his warmth feels so inviting…
Kaoru forces himself to pull away, both for air and before he takes things any farther. As much as he’s very tempted too when he has Izumi so pretty and panting beneath him, he doesn’t know if he likes the idea of getting sexy in front of an audience of dozens of fish. He really wouldn’t be able to show his face in the marine bio club then - and he would definitely be impaled on Souma’s sword if he ever found out. And that doesn’t sound like a fun time at all.
He noses Izumi’s cheek. “That was unfair Senacchi. I was supposed to be the one to kiss you first.”
“You took too long. Hurry up next time.” he huffs.
“So impatient~”
Izumi’s glare turns into a bit of a pout when Kaoru gets off of him. He really is impatient, how adorable.
Now that he and Izumi have crossed this line, surely there'll be another opportunity to give Izumi what he’s pouting about later. And considering how much he truly likes him, he’s willing to take his time to do it right.
“We should really get home”
Izumi rolls his eyes. “That’s what I said like forty-five minutes ago. Learn to listen, Kao-kun.”
———————-
Thankfully things aren’t awkward as they walk side by side out of the school - they don’t let the embarrassment of desperately making out in the empty club room get to them. The pleasant banter and bickering still flows naturally. But the energy between them has shifted slightly, both a bit giddy with the feelings and anticipation of a deeper developing relationship.
By the time they get to the school gate the sky is already dark. The remaining orange of the sunset almost melted into the twilight.
“It’s getting dark, huh? Text me when you get home alright?” Kaoru says when they’re ready to go their opposite ways.
The shorter boy scowls up at him. “Hah? Don’t patronize me, I can get home just fine.”
“I know you can. Maybeeee that was just an excuse to get you to text me. Bye~” And with that Kaoru quickly leans in to give Izumi a peck on the cheek, then turns on his heel and flits away before Izumi can retaliate.
“H-hey! Wait!” Izumi shouts, bringing a hand up to his cheek. But no one was there to hear it, Kaoru already turning the corner and out of sight. Disappearing just like a breeze on a warm day.
———————-
Kaoru finally gets home, walking through the door not feeling quite as dreadful since his mind is still very much on Izumi. Not even being in the house can ruin the happy feeling he has right now.
He’s laying in bed getting ready to sleep when his phone dings several times.
Senacchi: I’m home
Senacchi: Listen, DON’T get the wrong idea here
Senacchi: But I don’t want to be in your debt from today or anything so, I’ll make you lunch tomorrow.
Senacchi: So you better show up to class! Got that?
Kaoru's heart absolutely races reading the messages. And it’s a poor excuse to make him lunch since if anything he’s the one indebted to Izumi for today. Still, he’ll take it, but not without teasing Izumi first.
Kao-kun: wow senacchi really does like me ;) can’t turn that down, I’ll see you tomorrow then~
Senacchi: Shut up. I just said not to get the wrong idea??? Idiot
Senacchi: Whatever. I BETTER see you tomorrow.
And then three dots indicating Izumi is still typing. Kaoru watches them disappear and reappear, as if Izumi is debating on whether or not to send the next message. A few minutes later his phone dings again.
Senacchi: Goodnight
Kaoru grins to himself like an idiot. He can see Izumi being in inner turmoil over a simple ‘goodnight’ text. He’s so cute it's unfair.
And for once he can’t wait for school the next day, now that he has something to look forward to. Maybe from now on things will be a bit less lonely for him.