“Are you sure you don’t want me to walk you home?” Haruma asked Takeru for the nth time that night.

Takeru gives Haruma a weird look, “yeah, I don’t live that far, I’ll be fine by myself”

“Really?” Haruma questions, a little naggy as he looks doubtfully at the shorter actor, “what if you walk too quickly and then fall over because of a painful stitch in your stomach…since you ate so much just before…”

“Haruma”, Takeru stops in his tracks and looks at the taller, “Haruma, you’re acting strange today”, Takeru placed a hand on the other’s shoulder, “are you feeling okay?” Haruma never really was so persistent about walking Takeru home. It was strange to Takeru’s ears.

“Like, what if you suddenly get attacked by a stalker? By a ert?” Haruma waved his hands around, trying to find a viable excuse to walk Takeru home.

Takeru was a little taken aback by Haruma’s comment, of course, there was always that possibility…but…”but I always walk home like this…you should know, I do it every time we meet up”, Takeru was just about to start walking off again when he realised there was something else he needed to say, “and it’s not like I need you to protect me, I’m a guy too you know?”

“Take-chan~” Haruma called, “that’s not really what I meant”, well, he did mean it a little in that way, but it didn’t make up the main point of his reasoning, “Takeru~ I’ll just walk you home and then go straight back to my place okay?”

“No”, Takeru shook his head, “Haruma, you’re filming tomorrow, you should get home as fast as possible.”

“Takeru, just this once?” Haruma almost pleaded.

“Haruma, why?” Takeru was still puzzled over why Haruma wanted to walk him home, “is there something you want to talk about?”

“Um, yes?” Haruma smiled sheepishly and rubbed his head a little.

“Liar”, Takeru sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets., “well nothing of immediate importance anyway, right?”

Haruma sighed, deflated, he wondered how else to convince the other.

“I know I’m totally irresistible”, Takeru joked with a smile, “to the point where you can’t but want to spend more time with me”, Takeru lightly punched the taller man’s shoulders, “but I know you have a full day tomorrow, I shouldn’t keep you up any later.”

“Takeru~”

“I’ll text you when I get home safely okay? Don’t worry~” Takeru smiled and waved his phone, “make sure you get home safely too.” With that, Takeru continued walking home.

It was only a couple of minutes after he had split ways with Haruma when Takeru noticed that there was someone following him. Paranoid, Takeru kept looking behind him, trying to catch a better glimpse of whoever it was following him. Subconsciously, Takeru’s grip on his phone tightened; it provided a small sense of security for him. What if Haruma was right about being stalked? Taking a deep breath, Takeru’s footsteps quickened in the dark night. And even when he no longer noticed the presence, his footsteps were still quick all the way till he reached the door of his house.

Takeru opens the door to his living quarters when suddenly someone pushes right by him into his own house. Stunned, Takeru looks at the figure who had busily pushed into his own house.

“Haruma?” Takeru looked at the taller boy with wide eyes and a very confused expression, “wha-what?”

“Takeru”, Haruma smiles as he closed the door shut behind him and takes off his shoes, “sorry for intruding”, he mutters as he walks into Takeru’s house, “Takeru, didn’t I tell you that it’s dangerous to walk home late at night?” Haruma turns around to look at the older Amuse member, as though he had just proved to the other how easy it was for someone to break into his house, “you might just get mugged.”

“The only person who’d do that is you!” Takeru playfully threw a slipper at Haruma before pulling the boy back, preventing Haruma from going further inside his house, “what are you doing?”

Haruma gave Takeru a confused look before pointing down the small hallway of Takeru’s living quarters, “going in?”

“Haruma!” Takeru stressed, “why did you stalk me home like that!?” He wasn’t going to tell Haruma that he was worried about Haruma walking around so late at night. He wasn’t going to tell Haruma that he had felt that someone was following him home and that he had felt creeped out by that, but felt a lot better when he noticed that the presence wasn’t there…

“Wow”, Haruma raised his hands as though to prove that he was innocent, “I was not stalking, I just followed you home, just in case something happened.”

“Like you pushing your way into my house?” Takeru raised an eyebrow before he crossed his arms, “good kids don’t lie, spill the beans already.”

“I’m not a kid”, Haruma stated, unhappy.

“Neither am I”, Takeru sighed, “look, if you’re not going to say anything, I’m going to kick you out of here right now”

Haruma merely rolled his eyes, he knew that it was almost impossible for Takeru to kick him out, he just didn’t have the strength. But nothing good came out of angering Takeru. So Haruma compromised, “so if I tell you you’ll let me go inside?”

There was something suspicious about Haruma. Takeru knew this for a fact. Before Takeru could even think about what his opinion was, Haruma had already started talking.

“I just wanted to visit your place”, Haruma stated honestly, “you never let me go to your place, always telling me it’s too messy for me to step inside…”

With those simple lines, Takeru could understand why Haruma had followed him home. He was just overly curious. Takeru took a glance into his house before he continued to stare at the younger man.

“Takeru~” Haruma whined a little, pouting, “we’re close right?” Haruma lightly shook the other’s shoulders, as though by doing so, Takeru would understand what he was trying to say, “I know you let other people come to your place…so why not me?”

Biting his bottom lip, Takeru’s cheeks immediately flushed with embarrassment. Haruma’s words really made it sound as though Haruma really were a stalker, “Haruma…”

“Take-chan!” Haruma gripped Takeru’s shoulders tightly, “why is it just me?”

“Haruma…” Takeru says again, this time his voice a little firmer.

“Ryu-kun comes here, I know it”, Haruma’s expression contorted into disappointment, “Takeru, I’m a precious friend too, aren’t I?”

“That’s not it, Haruma.” Takeru sighs when Haruma weakly removes his hands from Takeru’s shoulders. A little nervous, Takeru grabs onto the other’s hands, he wants to reassure the other, “you are precious to me too.”

Haruma looks at Takeru with a little disbelief, a little doubt, “then why?”

Takeru takes his hands back and looks down, he lightly scratches the back of his head and stares at the floor, grinning a little awkwardly, “it’s embarrassing.”

“What?” Haruma asks quietly as he tries to think of reasons as to what could be so embarrassing between two such close friends.

Hesitantly, Takeru glanced up to see Haruma’s expression, he wasn’t surprised by the confused look, “well”, Takeru began, “my place is so messy, it’s totally degrading if someone who is as neat as you comes…”

“I could simply help you clean”, Haruma responded, a little soul-lessly, dejected that their friendship couldn’t even overcome such a reasoning that put too much of a distance between the two.

“Haruma!” Takeru looked up with annoyance at the taller actor, “stop interrupting me”, the thought of Haruma helping him clean was mortifying.

“Sorry”, Haruma dropped his head.

Pressing his lips together, Takeru sighed before he started talking again, “the thing is, to me, you’re not a precious friend, you’re a precious person to me”

“I am?” Haruma sounded surprised.

“You are”, Takeru nodded before he averted his eyes so that he was looking at the wall, “that’s why, it’s embarrassing for me if you see how messy this place is, and I don’t have the time to constantly clean after my naturally lazy self…and if you helped me clean, I think I’d die of embarrassment.”

“Takeru”, Haruma suddenly lifted his head so that he was no longer looking at his feet, but at the other instead, “do you like me?”

“What?” Takeru looked at Haruma with shock, “I…”

“Because I like you”, Haruma stated with confidence as he gently held the other’s hands, “I really, really like you.” Slowly, but without hesitance, Haruma lifted Takeru’s hand and gently placed his lips on the back of the other’s hand.