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There was a chocolate box on his bed.
It could have as well been a bomb as far as Seiji was concerned.
It looked innocuous enough. Pale blue with a white ribbon wrapped around. Small, square shaped. Seiji had seen that exact model in many stores in the last few weeks. It wasn’t a high-end product but it was of a decent quality – the producer was known for good-quality goods at affordable prices. There was probably, what, a dozen of truffles inside? Enough bites to enjoy while not making people too guilty about eating them in one go should they let themselves tempted.
It was a little over the type of box Satsuki could have bought for her male classmates as a middle school student with decent pocket money (his sister had a preference for bars over boxes as to leave no ambiguity) but it was way under the type of box that, say, Yayoi as a college student from a good family would have bought for her university friends (because Yayoi took her obligations Very Seriously).
For high school students like Seiji, though?
It was probably branded as the perfect for a gift on Valentine’s Day for your male acquaintances and friends. He had overheard many sales lady say the exact words to giggling packs of young, teenage-aged or older girls that Seiji had avoided very hard to look at as he hastened to leave their vicinity before they could notice him.
Give him Youja to fight any day over teenage girls.
He kept staring at the box. It could have been seconds like it could have been minutes.
He couldn’t help it.
His very own room and bed were the last places in the world where he would have expected to see such… such abomination!
Oh, he liked chocolate, of course he did. Perhaps not as much as, say, Shuu who had once gotten in trouble with Nasutei for finding and working his way through her Secret Reserve (and damn, the pure drama here!) but he liked it well enough, especially in desserts. Chocolate ice cream, notably, was among his favorite treats to share with his sisters. Nothing like a chocolate ice cream in the summer while keeping Satsuki to steal his share, that what Seiji said.
But that wasn’t ice cream. It was a chocolate box, in his ‘sanctuary’, on one of the worst days of the year as far as he was concerned.
Seiji stared at it long and hard, dread slowly filling him. No, surely not…?
“Oh, hey, look like Nasutei thought about us after all!” Touma declared cheerfully as he came up behind him, holding an identical box with one hand and the biggest, silliest grin ever on his face.
The knot of tension that had been building in Seiji’s shoulders immediately loosened.
Right.
Nasutei.
It was her house. She wouldn’t have let any strange girl enter her home, let alone one of the Troopers’ room – and whoever managed to slip past her wouldn’t have managed to pass Byakuen. The tiger was the best watch-dog ever and very protective to boot. Sure, he was fonder of Ryo and Jun but he still looked out for the other Troopers as well.
He breathed out.
It was just chocolate that their older friend/older sister figure/landlady had decided to gift them as a friend, because it was the done thing on Valentine’s Day for the men and boys you were close to. Hell, Nasutei had likely even gotten a box for Jun too!
Nothing to worry about.
"Seiji? You're alright there? You're very pale," Touma asked, and the seriousness in his voice made the blond Trooper wince.
"Y... yes," he said, annoyed at the light stutter. "Perfectly well. I just... it was unexpected."
Touma looked at him carefully, as if Seiji was one of his puzzles, before realization dawned in his eyes and he snapped his fingers. "Oh, I get it. Bad experiences with previous Valentine's Day, uh?" he asked with that knowing look of his that made Seiji smile despite himself.
"That's a way of putting it, I suppose," he allowed, passing a hand through his hair as he sat on the edge of the bed – a good distance away from the chocolate box. Damnit. "I... don't particularly like to talk about it," he said reluctantly. Yet, he had to explain to Touma…
"You don't need to," the archer stated calmly, sitting next to him though keeping enough distance to not make Seiji uncomfortable. Though he often acted as if conventions didn’t quite apply to him and he could be very blunt and to the point rather than indulge in small talks, he was always mindful of personal boundaries whenever someone was on edge. Seiji suspected that the archer had learned from dealing with his parents' fights before their divorce. Nothing could teach a growing boy how to stay out of reach like adults trying to use him as a tool in their disputes. Not that Touma had ever admitted as much but, well, he sometimes spoke in his sleep and what he said in those moments was telling.
"I think I can guess the gist of it. You can nod or shake your head if I'm wrong." Touma gave Seiji a pensive look. "I think you're a pretty boy and always have been – yeah, no need to deny this, we both know it’s true,” he added before Seiji could open his mouth and the blond sighed. “Nothing shameful about it; I do like staring at a pretty boy myself,” the blue-haired Trooper joked, making Seiji’s lips twitch. “Only, I don’t think that all the girls around you ever did. Staring, I mean. It’s not exactly great but it wasn’t that bad either, right?” There, Seiji nodded carefully and Touma smiled encouragingly. “See? I bet half of them didn’t even think all that much about the fact you were a cute kid then a handsome-looking preteen! But then, they grew too and once hormones got into the mix when they reached puberty, girls started to notice you a little too much, uh?"
“A lot too much,” Seiji muttered, dipping his head and staring at his hands.
“And they started to giggle, or look away quickly while blushing when you did so much as glance their way, wondering what the fuss was all about, right?” Touma continued, looking full of sympathy. “I’d like to say it’s not typical girl behavior but I have a few like that in my school who are all,” he made a gesture with his hand, “around one of our sempai. Weirded me out once or twice because I never understood the fuss or how relatively smart girls I had known all my life could turn into… that,” he grimaced.
Seiji just shrugged. He had no idea either and he thanked the Gods every day his sisters had never let themselves devolve over a crush.
“Anyway, it didn’t stay to just giggles and wistful looks, isn’t that right? Because if it had, you wouldn’t be scared half-to-death by a box of chocolate.”
Seiji bristled. “I’m not…!”
“Seiji,” Touma looked at him with a raised eyebrow, his voice turning stern. “The last time I saw you looking so pale and fretful, it was when you helped carry Ryo home after that mess with Saranbou. Trust me, right now, you’re reeking of PTSD so don’t try and tell me that box isn’t triggering you.”
“… I wouldn’t say ‘trigger’, exactly,” Seiji muttered after a moment of silence during which he tried very hard to look at the chocolate box without flinching.
“Yeah?” Touma raised an eyebrow. “Could have fooled me. Can I take another guess? Somehow, you ended up with very persistent fangirls of the Yandere type and you ended up stalked or otherwise involved in an incident that left you mentally scarred over in subtle or not-so-subtle ways.” He blew his forelock away with a frown as Seiji stayed silent and still. That seemed to be answer enough for the archer. “Man, I KNEW your sisters’ teasing couldn’t be the only reason you’re so uncomfortable looking with girls you don’t know!”
“Oh, it was enough to make me self-conscious, trust me,” Seiji mumbled. “But I admit my first two middle school years added a few layers on top. You’re right… about the stalking part. I could deal with girls trying to flood my shoes locker with chocolate bars and boxes, even if I studiously avoided to mention it or react in any way, but then one of them tried to follow me home and get into my room. So she could ‘give me her gift personally’,” he quoted, making a face as Touma’s eyes widened.
“Oh, shit. What did she…?” he asked, clearly worried.
“Nothing. She did nothing. Yayoi caught her. My sister was… unamused,” Seiji smiled thinly. “And so was Satsuki when Yayoi called for help over a ‘burglar’. Did you know? My younger sister has no interest in kendo or the family’s legacy but she adores softball and is part of her school’s team – and she has a bat in her room.”
Touma let out a nervous giggle. “Oh my. Did Satsuki-chan…?”
“She didn’t directly hit our intruder,” Seiji temporized. “But she did chase her through the corridors while yelling and swinging her bat aggressively – and that was before Grandfather interrupted the kendo lesson and came from the dojo to see what the commotion was about.” He smiled thinly again. “Suffice to say, if Yayoi was unamused, then HE was downright furious. I’ll spare you the details of the aftermath but my Father had to get involved as well as the school and while the incident was hushed over, one can say I never looked at Valentine’s Day quite the same. It’s silly, you know? She did nothing to me personally, but…”
“But ‘nothing’,” Touma grunted. “You were simply lucky. She did ‘nothing’ because she had no time to. She illegally entered your house and planned to enter your bedroom and while you’re not saying anything, I doubt she’d have just stayed quietly sitting on your bed while holding a box of chocolate while blushing over admitting her feelings to the boy she ‘loved’. Not to mention, she could have put anything in those chocolates she wanted to give you!”
Seiji shuddered. Yes, he had thought so as well, though not on the moment. Back then, he had been too frozen by the presence of an intruder in a place that to him had meant privacy and safety. Nobody ever came in his room aside of his family. Even his few school friends had never gotten more than a glimpse. And here had been a girl he hadn’t even recognized and had only tentatively identified as a schoolmate because of her uniform, grinning at him and lounging on his bed as if it was the most natural thing in the world!
Because he had lied. Yes, Yayoi had caught the intruder and raised a commotion… but only because she had been coming behind Seiji as he entered his bedroom – he didn’t even remember why. Perhaps it was because he had asked her to check one of his homework, or perhaps she had wanted to talk about an upcoming tournament. Whatever.
In all cases, Seiji was just happy she had been there and that, unlike him, she hadn’t frozen.
No.
Instead, Yayoi had exploded into protective fury the moment she had understood what was happening.
He didn’t dare to tell Touma what his ‘classmate’ had been wearing… or NOT been wearing in that case. The memory still disgusted him. There were things he had NOT wanted to see.
It had been understood that the girl in question had been mentally unwell and had shown signs of abhorrent behavior with other boys before Seiji, but that had done little to reassure him.
Seiji had only been thirteen and no interest in getting a date or a girlfriend. He could deal with giggling girls and attempt at confessing a crush – he had become quite the expert in politely rejecting a declaration by now – and even be patient with girls he made overly shy instead of giddy.
He could not deal with being the target of obsessive love and adoration.
Touma was right.
Seiji had been lucky. Lucky he had been delayed coming home. Lucky he hadn’t been alone. Lucky his sisters, for all they had always loved teasing him, were both extremely protective of him.
“And people wonder sometimes why I don’t like girls,” he couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly. Not that he didn’t think other boys couldn’t be as demented. He just had never met any before.
Touma slipped his hand over his and leaned to kiss him at the corner of his mouth. “Well, I, for one, will not complain about it,” he said softly as Seiji kissed him back – just a peck, but still a kiss that made Touma beam and made Seiji feel better. Trust his boyfriend to lift his mood with just a smile. “I should thank your schoolmates for turning you gay,” he said with humor, making Seiji snort.
“Please, I’m sure me being gay is not related to that trauma,” he declared. “Not completely, anyway,” he amended. He had looked at girls a little before then, though only of a specific type. If anything, he might be bisexual. A little.
“Probably not,” Touma nodded, “but just imagine their faces if you went fully out, kissed me in front of them with the tongue and all and then loudly declared they turned you gay by their unwanted attention? Imagine the wave of broken hearts! The soul-crushing wails of despair! The oceans of agonized tears! The…!”
“Touma, I’m not making out with you in front of a crowd of my classmates and that’s final,” Seiji declared firmly. Though he had to admit a small, vindictive part of him was very much interested in Touma’s ‘plan’.
“Aww, why do you always have to shoot down my ideas?” Touma groaned before looking at Seiji’s still untouched box of chocolate. “We should talk with Nasutei about that.”
“There is no need,” Seiji shook his head. “She couldn’t know. It’s not something I ever shared with anyone who didn’t already know – and yes, I know, I’m a very bad boyfriend for not mentioning I had issues with Valentine’s Day or chocolates before,” he rolled his eyes, cutting Touma before he could open his mouth. “Nasutei probably thought it’d be a nice surprise for us given she won’t be home until very late tonight. I don’t blame her. She thought she was doing something nice – and she did,” he insisted. “It’s not her fault that I am… not fond of chocolate boxes,” he sighed.
“Still, we should say something, avoid a repeat in the future,” Touma insisted and Seiji dipped his head. The other Trooper was right, of course. Yet, he didn’t think he was ready to open up about it to more people just yet. Nasutei was dear to him, like another older sister, and he didn’t want to accidentally hurt her either by confessing that her gift had been badly received.
In a week or two, maybe. It’d give Seiji time to prepare and for Valentine’s Day to be a memory.
“In time,” he simply said and Touma nodded and let it at that. Once again, he was respecting Seiji’s boundaries and desires which was… nicer than Seiji could have ever imagined.
“Hmm. Say, in the meanwhile… are you going to eat those chocolate?” the blue-haired boy asked, head tilted to the side, eyes shining in a way that instantly made Seiji wary.
“And you ask because…?” he asked, vaguely suspicious.
Touma grinned. “Well, I was just thinking that if you don’t want them and since it’d be a waste to throw them away AND boyfriends should share everything when it comes to sweets, then it just so happens that I have those really nice fantasies involving my scantily-clad boyfriend hand-feeding me chocolate truffles while I lounge on the bed…”
Seiji blinked. Processed the information. Blushed.
Then promptly pushed Touma off the bed, making the archer yelp and laugh at the same time while he himself groaned in embarrassment.
Trust Touma to spin the mood in the most ridiculous way possible!
(Even if his idea was put into careful consideration for the time being.)