“I said the whole thing was A~chan’s idea but I guess basically you could say I’m the only one to blame for this. I shouldn’t have agreed on it in the first place. But I was so sure that you wouldn’t mind it anyway, sure that there was no chance of you being jealous…but then it seemed like you actually minded it. Even if that’s a stupid thing to say but for a moment I was kinda happy about this. I started to doubt it again when you said you were just surprised and nothing more. When you told me for the first time I believed it but then you started acting like this. I know you tried to hide it but it was obvious that something was on your mind since then. I wanted to talk to you, went to your place some days ago to clear this up and make it okay again but you haven’t been at home…” Toru almost flinched at this because he remembered standing in the hallway, staring at the door but not opening it. So if he wouldn’t have acted like a coward and had answered the door he might have gotten an explanation already instead of drowning in his miserable feelings. Maybe this was the punishment for being the greatest idiot on earth. But more important was the rest of what he was told and what Taka continued to tell him now.

“I’m sorry for being this stupid and I’m sorry for yelling at you. It’s just that I can’t stand this sad expression on your face. I want you to smile again because I really miss seeing your smile and I miss talking to you. Furthermore I want you to know that…no one…is as important to me as you are.” The vocalist had started walking up to his friend when he apologized and was now standing only about half a meter away. He was obviously insecure but still kept his head up and was looking straight at Toru who could see un-spilled tears forming in the dark brown orbs. He had been listening to the slightly shaky voice of his friend closely and his heart was beating so fast, it was almost painful. The blonde knew this was the time for him to open his mouth and add something to this one-sided conversation but his brain was still occupied with processing all the information. Only when the shorter male hesitantly reached out and his slender fingers grabbed the material of Toru’s shirt, tugging at it ever so lightly, he finally found his voice again.

“There’s no need for you to apologize. I’m the one who has to ask for forgiveness because of my stupidity. I don’t know how this could happen to me and to be honest it also scares me a little that I could be like this. Especially after realizing what this feeling means, I was afraid to be found out and didn’t dare to face you…I never knew I could be such a coward.” Toru couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh but immediately felt the touch of a hand on his side and cause a tingling feeling because he could feel the warmth through the thin material of his shirt.

“I’m not mad at you anyway, it’s okay. I was angrier because I couldn’t figure out what this meant anymore. I couldn’t tell the reason of your behavior, whether it was because of jealousy or something completely different. But what you just said…it means that you…” The vocalist shifted a little closer without noticing it and looked up at his taller friend with a shy but hopeful gaze. This view truly managed to make Toru’s lips curl up to the hint of a smile and without thinking he lifted a hand to gently rest it on top of the shorter male’s head. He ruffled the soft curls playfully before burying his fingertips in the dark hair at the back of the other’s head. Somehow the guitarist felt a lot calmer now even though his heart was still pounding like crazy and he couldn’t believe this was really happening. Taka’s insecure behavior also managed to bring back his confidence that had disappeared days ago because the blonde could see now that he wasn’t alone in this anymore.

“What I just said? You mean that I realized my feelings? This means that I have a very weird taste because otherwise I dunno how it could happen that I’d fall for such a loud-mouthed nuisance like you. But honestly, I don’t mind it that much because actually you can be just as cute as you can be mean.” His confidence wasn’t enough for the clear three words love confession and not nearly romantic but the mix of indignation with the soft spark of happiness in Taka’s brown orbs made it totally worth it. Toru flinched lightly because his side was pinched and softly tugged at one of the curls in return.

“I didn’t know one could make such a weird confession and at the same time let it sound like an insult but thanks for showing me that it does work. You have to learn how to create the right atmosphere and don’t ridicule it. Unbelievable.” Taka’s scolding only caused a soft laughter from the younger and in the next moment Taka found himself embraced by the guitarist’s other arm and was pulled closer to the slender body in front of him.

“And you have to learn how to shut up once in a while or I’ll make you.” With this being said the blonde leaned in and carefully covered Taka’s fine shaped lips with his own, pressed a gentle kiss onto the silky surface and felt his cheeks heat up at the same time. He never expected another man’s lips to be this soft but this felt so much better than any other kiss he shared with a girl before. He noticed the vocalist’s fingers grabbed his shirt a little tighter when he started to return the gentle contact and even let out a soft sigh. All of Toru’s miserable feelings from the past days had disappeared completely by now and he could only sense comfortable warmth rushing through his mind and body. His friend loosened the kiss way too early and the blonde opened his half-closed eyes again to take a look at Taka. The elder’s cheeks where covered with a clearly visible blush and his slightly opened lips showed a loving smile but all of a sudden they changed to a cheeky grin and Toru knew this couldn’t be a good sign.

“There’s just one more thing I have to ask. Where the hell did you steal this horribly cheesy line? ‘Shut up or I’ll make you’ – you can’t say such a thing in this kind of situation. Couldn’t you come up with something more thoughtful? Gosh, you’re so weird…” The teasing sound of Taka’s voice and his amused grin caused the guitarist to let out a low growl before he grabbed the shorter male on both sides of his hips to lift him up and sat him down on the top of the table.

“You, my friend, are very weird yourself. If you think this was such an unfitting sentence to say, what is it that you would have said in my place?” Now Toru was the one who started grinning because he was pretty sure that the other one wouldn’t be able to come up with something better all of a sudden. Maybe the line had been stupid but his mind wasn’t able to come up with something more thoughtful because right now it was completely occupied with the being right in front him, there was no room to think of a romantic statement. But the guitarist preferred to keep this to himself because this would sound even cheesier.

“Well, considering the fact that I was complaining about your way of confessing before, I can tell you how I would have reacted in your place. First: an excuse for the unromantic confession. Second: leaning closer to my ear and tell me you’ll make up for it by re-phrasing what you wanted to express. Third and last: do what you said and come up with a short but proper sentence to make your feelings clear. Such as…” Taka lifted a hand to place it at the back of the guitarist’s neck and gently pulled him closer so he could easily reach Toru’s ear with his lips that were curled up in a smile. He pressed a feathery kiss to the younger’s ear and whispered a soft “I love you” that caused not only his cheeks to heat up a little more.

Toru should have expected that the vocalist would be able to come up with something much better because Taka knew how to express things the right way when he wanted to. Maybe the blonde had no chance to ever win against the shorter male but he never felt more okay with this fact than he did right now.

-the end-