Archive of Our Own

☀️

The halls are quiet at this time of morning. Hiyori walks them alone, heading straight for the kitchen, a small shopping bag dangling from his right wrist. He hears some noise coming from within as he steps up to the doors: running water, the clattering of utensils, and a faint, soft humming. He thinks he knows whose voice that is. And sure enough, when he walks into the room, the figure standing at the sink is a familiar one.

“Good morning, Tatsumi-kun ♪”

Kazehaya Tatsumi turns his head, a smile spreading on his lips. “Good morning, Hiyori-san.”

Hiyori comes up next to him, watching his hands work beneath the faucet. “Already finished with breakfast, hm?”

“Not yet. I was just cleaning some dirty dishes I found in the sink.”

Hiyori blinks at this. “You’re washing someone else’s dishes before you eat?” he asks, wanting to make sure he heard correctly. “That’s not your responsibility, is it?”

“It’s our collective responsibility to keep the dorms clean.” Tatsumi finishes scrubbing some congealed sauce off a plate and sets the dish in the rack, reaching back into the sink to retrieve a dirty knife. His sleeves are rolled up to the elbows; he’s in his winter uniform. “Of course, I won’t pass judgement on whoever left them. They might have meant to wash their dishes, before getting called away on some urgent business. Or perhaps they realized they were running late and had no choice but to leave them here. Either way, since first period is just a study hall for me today, I thought I’d clean up a bit while I was here.”

Tatsumi, Hiyori thinks, is like Tsumugi: always polite, always with a smile, and always hard at work on some task nobody ever asked him to do. “Well, while you’re finishing up with that, I’ll be the one to prepare us breakfast.”

“You’re going to cook today?” Tatsumi sounds surprised.  

“I wasn’t planning on cooking, really. But I do have something to share with you.”

Hiyori takes the jar out of his bag and holds it up for Tatsumi to inspect.

“Orange, Lemon and Earl Grey,” Tatsumi reads off the label. “I’ve never seen jam with those ingredients before. Did your private chef make it?”

“Nope. I came across it while shopping. I thought it’d be perfect to bring to FLAVOUR, but I want to give you the chance to try it before Eichi-kun and the others.”

Tatsumi smiles again. “That’s very generous of you.”

Hiyori leaves him at the sink to start rummaging through the pantry, already knowing what type of bread Tatsumi likes. “Is two slices okay?”

“Two is fine.” The faucet shuts off, Tatsumi reaching for a hand towel. “I was going to prepare some tea to go with breakfast—shall I pour you a cup as well?”

“Sure! I’ll have what you’re having.”

They’re seated by the window a few minutes later, two steaming cups and two slices of toast in front of them, the open jar sat in between their plates. Tatsumi gives his thanks to the Lord, to Jesus Christ, to the Holy Spirit. Hiyori lifts his teacup to his mouth and delicately sips. “Hm… is that peppermint I taste?”

“It is,” Tatsumi confirms. “Do you not like peppermint? I thought I recalled you enjoying a similar tea at one of our meetings, but I apologize if this one isn’t to your liking.”

“No, you were right about that. You did a good job paying attention to my preferences ♪” Hiyori takes another sip before setting the cup back down. “It feels fitting to be drinking this with you. Something about the taste of mint always makes me think of Tatsumi-kun.”

Tatsumi tilts his head a bit. “Is that so?”

“Yep~ I’m sure it’s partly due to your hair. But it’s also about the impression you give off—being around you always feels refreshing, like a cool breeze on a hot day.”

“Well, that is roughly what my family name means. But I’m glad to hear that simply being around me is enough to make you feel that way. In return, I’ll have to think about what sort of taste suits Hiyori-san.”

“Oh? Sure, I’d love to hear that!” Hiyori chirps, all smiles as he picks up his teacup again. “And then I’ll have to sample it. It’ll be something strong and flavorful, but still elegant, I hope?”

Tatsumi chuckles softly. “Of course.”

They lapse into silence, enjoying their breakfast and staring outside the window at the morning sun. It’s a nice day for late February, though as far as Hiyori’s concerned, the view outside isn’t nearly as interesting as the one across from him. He sees Tatsumi around the dorms a lot, walking around in practice clothes or threadbare sweaters, but seeing him in uniform still feels refreshing, somehow. A shame there’s only so much time he has left to appreciate it.

“It’s hard to believe the school year’s almost over.”

“It is,” Tatsumi agrees after finishing his bite of toast. “I’ve been having that thought frequently. It seems Jun-san is excited to be finishing up.”

“He says he’s tired of studying. Not that I blame him too much—school wasn’t hard for me, but it’s nice to have the freedom to focus on other things. Like shining brightly in front of the camera… ♪”

“Will you be attending the graduation ceremony?” Tatsumi asks.

“That’s the plan,” says Hiyori. “I’ll go unless there’s some job I can’t get out of. I want to be there to tell Jun-kun, ‘Good job making it this far.

Tatsumi’s eyes crinkle at the corners. “I’m sure he’ll be happiest hearing that from you.”

“Yep, as he should be.” Hiyori lifts his teacup up to his lips one final time and drains the rest of his tea, setting it down with a soft clink. “It’s good that you’re almost done, too. Soon, we’ll be fellow graduates…♪” 

“It is good,” Tatsumi agrees, “though I’m a bit surprised they’re letting me graduate now.”

“Oh?” Hiyori idly loops and unloops his finger from the cup handle. “And why’s that?”

“As I’m sure you already know, my attendance wasn’t the best at the beginning of the year.” Tatsumi speaks with the same unfaltering smile, eyes gazing out somewhere into the distance. “Even as a first-year student, I’d sometimes miss class for work. And then my second-year was cut rather short by my hospitalization.”

“Mm, well, it’s no secret that schools like Reimei and Yumenosaki aren’t focused on academics.” Hiyori keeps his tone light and neutral, staring down into his empty cup. “I heard from some of my circle members that Yumenosaki instated a new policy this year allowing students to miss class as long it’s work-related. Perhaps Reimei has become more lenient as well?”

“You’re probably right,” says Tatsumi. “Still, considering the amount of trouble I caused during my second year, it seems fortunate that I’m able to graduate without any issue.”

Something hot bubbles up inside Hiyori’s chest. “You only caused trouble because they created that hellish environment,” he hears himself say.

The words come out more forcefully than he ever would have intended. He darts his eyes up to find Tatsumi staring, looking more than a bit taken aback, and he can feel the pleasant atmosphere dissolve like sugar cubes—a foul weather. Silence follows, and Hiyori opens his mouth, needing to say something, anything, to lighten the mood. But before he gets the chance—

“… thank you for saying so, Hiyori-san.”

Tatsumi speaks first.

He’s smiling again. Hiyori sits there, blinking at him perplexedly, watching him get up from his seat. “I should be heading off soon, but first, let me take care of those dishes.”

“… you’re the one who has somewhere he needs to be.” Hiyori stands up as well, gathering his own dirty tableware. “I’ll take care of that this time.”

Tatsumi’s eyebrows raise, but he doesn’t attempt to argue. “If you insist.”

Hiyori heads to the sink, casual, as though washing dishes is an everyday thing for him, rather than something he does every once in a blue moon when someone isn’t around to do it for him.

“The toast was delicious,” Tatsumi continues, warm and sincere. “Thanks for the jam, and for keeping me company.”

“And thank you for the tea,” chirps Hiyori back. “I’m happy to brighten up your day whenever you need me to, so feel free to come and visit me anytime.”

A soft chuckle issues. “I’ll keep that in mind. Oh, and Hiyori-san…”

Hiyori looks up from the sink. “Hm?”

“Does everything look alright?”

This—Tatsumi asking him to check his clothes—is something of a tradition. It became a habit starting from the day Hiyori first sent Tatsumi off to school. Hiyori isn’t sure why he’s kept asking ever since, if it’s just part of his routine, or if he really needs the reassurance each time, but his answer remains the same.

“All good,” he says, and tries not to think about being at Reimei after the transfer, about Ibara explaining the failed revolution, about his own laughter echoing up and down the halls.

(“Ahahahaha! What’s with that? There’s no way someone like that could actually exist!”)

“You look wonderful today as usual.”

🌊

Life at Reimei has, for the most part, borne absolutely zero resemblance to the depictions of high school life Jun’s seen in manga. Which makes sense, he figures, because there’d have to be something seriously wrong with you to even think up a school like Reimei, let alone draw a whole comic book about it. But one of the few “high school events” from manga that has been true, in Jun’s experience, is the mad dash for cafeteria food, especially cafeteria bread. Students always rush to grab the good bread before it’s gone, and he’s heard of actual fights breaking out. One more reason to avoid the school canteen, as far as he’s concerned, but today he doesn’t have much choice.  

Fortunately, there’s no one who’d pick a fight with him these days. Nobody wants to be known as the guy who left a scratch on a member of the Big Three, and as a matter of fact, he kind of feels like people are making room for him as he enters the canteen, taking care not to get between him and the food. It feels weird and a little of-putting, but he can’t deny it makes things easier for him. He’s just grabbing a sandwich when someone approaches him from behind, a familiar voice resounding over his shoulder.

“—Jun-san?”

Jun turns his head to meet a familiar pair of eyes.

“Hey,” he says, feeling a little startled but not the least bit displeased. “Did you need something? If you were eyeing this sandwich or something, you can have it.”

“No, that’s quite alright.” Tatsumi steps up next to him, starting to browse alongside him. “I was just surprised to see you, since I don’t believe we’ve run into each other here before.”

“Well, I usually bring my own lunch. But someone must’ve eaten my leftovers from last night, cause when I checked the fridge this morning, they were all gone. Guess that’s the problem with dorm life.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Perhaps if you wrote your name on the container next time, the others would realize you’re saving it?”

“You’re right,” Jun rushes to agree with him, “I’ll definitely remember that for next time!”

They each select a lunch and walk up to the check-out counter, Jun going ahead of Tatsumi at Tatsumi’s insistence. When he sees the number on the register, he blinks. “Huh. That price is…”

“Do you not have enough change?” asks Tatsumi.

“Nah,” Jun shakes his head, “it’s not that.”

He gets out his wallet and pays for the sandwich, then waits for Tatsumi to pay for his own lunch. “Since we’ve already come this far, shall we eat together?” Tatsumi asks once they’re done.

“If that’s what you wanna do, then sure,” says Jun, feeling secretly glad.

Other people’s heads turn as they exit the hall and step out onto the grounds. Whether people are staring at him or Tatsumi, Jun can’t be sure. It had taken weeks for him to stop doing a double-take every time Tatsumi passed, months for his heartrate to stop spiking each time he caught a glimpse of him. He’d end up staring just like everyone is now, struck by the sight of Tatsumi at Reimei after all this time, his formerly long hair trimmed short and his black jersey exchanged for the striped tie he should’ve been wearing all the time. It had taken a long time. So long, in fact, that when Jun finally had adjusted, the year was almost up.

They find a quiet spot outside after some searching, sitting down at an empty table on the far end of the garden terrace. Hiyori used to take his tea here, his loud laughter filling up the whole courtyard. There’s not enough time right now for a leisurely tea party, though, so Jun goes ahead and fetches two drinks from the nearest vending machine. Tatsumi thanks him, accepting the bottle of tea with one hand, rifling through his wallet with the other.

“… my apologies. It looks like I didn’t bring enough change today, so I won’t be able to pay you back until later.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Jun pops the tab up on his drink and sits back in his seat. “I can afford to treat you.” He’s glad for the opportunity, in fact, though he doesn’t say so out loud.

“That’s very kind of you,” says Tatsumi. Jun can hear the warmth in his voice.

“It’s not much money. Lunch was cheaper than I thought it’d be, too. I figured it’d be as much as it used to cost me, now that they’ve gotten rid of the Special Student discount.”

“Yes, the price surprised me as well. But it seems they’ve lowered prices for all, rather than making everyone pay the higher price. I’m glad they’re doing things more fairly. Though, I believe there are students who’ve expressed discontentment about the discount being removed…”

“Course there are.” Jun recalls similar gripes from his own classmates about the recent changes at school. “Even though they’ve got nothing to complain about, since the prince is still the same, they’re still gonna be upset they’re not being treated like ‘Specials.’ They just wanna lord their superiority over someone.”

“Unfortunately, that sort of thinking might be inevitable, given how the system was designed at Reimei,” says Tatsumi sadly. Almost apologetically, like he’s the one with anything to be sorry for. “But I’m sure they’ll come around eventually.”

There’s that optimism of Tatsumi’s—the same outlook that earned him so many followers, that made Jun want to believe in a kinder world. Jun can’t have that kind of attitude based on his own experiences. But when Tatsumi says it… he doesn’t wanna argue. Or maybe it’s more that he couldn’t argue, even if he wanted to.

“Well, it didn’t make much of a difference last year for me.” He peels back the wrapper on his sandwich, talking idly. “I never used that discount much at all. But I guess I could’ve been buying myself lunch instead of cooking all the time.”

“I think your self-reliance is admirable.”

“I kinda learned it from watching you,” Jun says. And as he says it, a bunch of different memories float to mind—afternoons spent in the “Labor Camp” where Tatsumi’s figure was a reliable presence, brewing tea at the stove, distributing hot meals. Always with a smile on his face, a kind word, a prayer. “Then Ohii-san picked me up, and he made me do stuff for him all the time. So it was just easier to make food for two people while I was already cooking.”

“I see. So it was thanks to Hiyori-san.”

“Thanks to him being lazy, yeah.”

“Hiyori-san told me you cooked three meals a day for him,” Tatsumi speaks between bites. “That sounded like quite a lot of work on top of your studies and your idol activities, so I was impressed.”

“It’s not really that impressive.” Jun scratches the back of his neck, which feels a little hotter all of a sudden. “You get used to waiting on people when you’re a Non-Special. Plus, it’s just easier to go along with him, since he’s real insistent about getting what he wants.”

“Are you sure that’s the only reason you cooked for him?”

Jun turns his head and stares. “What do you mean?”

Tatsumi is smiling softly, something glittering behind his eyes. “I can only speak for myself, of course. But whenever I prepare meals for everyone in ALKALOID, I feel happy and fulfilled afterwards. It brings me great joy just to take care of them. So when Hiyori-san told me you did that for him, I assumed you were devoting yourself with all your heart.”

When Jun does nothing but sit there blinking stupidly at that, Tatsumi starts to look uncertain. “Er, did I say something strange? I apologize.”

“Nah.” Jun shakes his head after a moment, managing to recover from the shock. “It’s just that what you said about ‘devoting myself’ through cooking or whatever sounded exactly like something Ibara said once. Like, it was almost word-for-word.”

Tatsumi’s smile returns. “I see. Perhaps there’s some truth to the idea, then, if two of the people close to you have both said it.”

Jun’s breathing stutters to a halt.

“… did I say something strange again? I’m sorry if that sounded overly familiar.”

He swallows. “Nah,” he manages, shaking his head a second time, feeling slightly lightheaded. “You don’t hafta apologize.” Everywhere, his skin prickles with warmth: it’s on the back of his neck, the tips of his ears, his cheeks. “I’m glad to hear you say it, actually.” He can’t fight it—not that warmth, or the grin that spreads on his lips. “Real glad.”

☀️

Another day, another jar of jam from the department store, and another four slices of bread in the toaster make for another pleasant morning. One thing, however, is different from last time.

“Ah, Tatsumi-kun—your tie is crooked.”

He doesn’t need to ask this time—Hiyori noticed it from the moment they sat down. He opts to fix it for him now, as they’re getting up, stepping forward to close the distance between them and place his hands on Tatsumi’s clothes. One straightens the knot at the top of the tie, while the other hand smooths down the length, fingers trailing over horizontal stripes.

He did this for Jun in the morning, sometimes. Jun usually complained. “I’m not a little kid,” he’d say, like he was being babied. Tatsumi takes a different point of view.

“Fufu.” Tatsumi’s laughter is soft like his smile, like the look in his eyes, like his heart. “You’re like a wife tending to her husband.”

Hiyori is dumbfounded.

“… is that how you see me?”

Tatsumi chuckles again. “I’m only teasing.”

The dishes get moved to the sink, rinsed, and scrubbed clean.

“Thanks for another lovely morning… ♪”

Tatsumi is out the door with a wave, and Hiyori, still bemused, watches him leave.

“He has no idea how he comes across, does he…?”

🌊

Maybe it’s the lack of sleep.

After getting back from a job late, Jun already felt tired. But he tried to stick it out and study for today’s test, anyway, not because he cared about the score he got (he doesn’t), but because he wanted to set a good example for Kohaku, who’s set to make his debut as a high school student next month. Maybe it’s lack of sleep from that, or maybe it’s the fact that Jun tried to make up for his lack of sleep by shotgunning one of those 24-hour energy drinks from the vending machine first thing this morning, then downed another one when he got to school for good measure. Either way, he feels like absolute garbage, and by third period he’s finally given up and asked to leave the room, slouching towards the nurse’s office and feeling more glad than ever that the school year’s almost done.

The nurse is the same bored-looking man in a white coat whom Jun remembers from his first and second year. Someone with failed dreams of becoming an idol himself, probably—a lot of teachers at Reimei are like that. Jun walks up to his desk. He barely looks up from his laptop, but their eyes meet for a second, and in that moment Jun remembers being a first-year and walking into this same room with a gash across his right cheek from being shoved into a wall by some Specials. The nurse hadn’t asked any questions then, hadn’t even looked at him—just handed him a bandage and some antiseptic. This time, he hands Jun a painkiller. Jun takes it and sits down on one of the beds.

He doesn’t draw the curtains. Since his stomach feels kinda weird, he doesn’t feel like lying down. And there’s no one else here, anyway, or at least that’s what he thinks until he hears footsteps approach from out in the hall.

“Excuse me.”

The sound of a familiar voice jerks Jun’s head up. Their eyes meet.

“Jun-san?” Tatsumi looks surprised at first but is quick to turn friendly. “Hello.”

“Hey.” Jun raises a hand in greeting, trying to be energetic in spite of his throbbing headache. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”

“It seems like we’ve been seeing more of each other lately... Are you feeling unwell today?”

“I’m fine. My head just hurt a lil’ bit, but it’s already starting to feel better.”

“I see. I’m glad to here it.”

Tatsumi sits down on the bed next to his, not even checking in with the school nurse. The nurse had barely even looked up when Tatsumi entered the room, which doesn’t necessarily mean anything, given how little he seems to care about his job, but Tatsumi is being so casual about this, and Jun wonders if perhaps he’s in here a lot.  

He hesitates for a moment before deciding to come out and ask. “Is it your leg?”

Tatsumi nods. “It was bothering me a bit, so I thought I’d take a rest here.”

“Do you…” He pauses again. He’s not sure how to ask, not sure he even should ask, and the pounding in his head isn’t helping. “Is there anything you can do for it…?”

“I’m afraid not. While I was in the hospital, I of course underwent physical therapy. But I don’t believe there’s any medication that would be useful to me, or something of that nature.” Tatsumi’s smile isn’t sad; he sounds accepting rather than rueful. “The tissue is fully healed, after all; I’ve been told that the pain is psychological in nature.”

Jun blinks at him. “Uh—” This is news to him—he doesn’t know how to take this. “Really?”

He receives another nod in response. “At this point,” says Tatsumi, “you could say the pain is just in my head. Or rather, that it’s a figment of my imagination. I’ve heard of people with severed limbs experiencing a sort of ‘phantom pain.’ In my case, the pain seems to be triggered by particular thoughts, concerns, or memories and the like. Though I do still get it checked whenever I visit a doctor, and I’ll have to get it looked at soon, because there’s an upcoming job ALKALOID has taken which requires physical exercise.”

Jun thinks on that for a moment before asking the only thing that comes to mind. “Do you ever do any exercises?”

Tatsumi cocks his head. “You mean stretches?”

“Yeah. I mean,” Jun says quickly, “I heard what you said about the tissue being normal, and all that. But sometimes, when I’m alone with my ‘worries’ or whatever, working out kinda helps clear my head. I mean… it doesn’t always help. And there’s such at thing as overdoing it and all. But sometimes it’s just nice to have something to focus on for a while. Especially since it’s something you do have control over.”

Silence falls. Tatsumi is staring at him, looking faintly surprised, and Jun’s cheeks singe in response. He sucks in a breath, which turns into an awkward laugh.

“… sorry,” he says, staring down at his knees. “That must’ve sounded real dumb. I know you already get tons of exercise, since you’re an idol and all.”

“I don’t think it was dumb at all.”

Jun lifts his head.

“It’s sound advice,” says Tatsumi, smiling at him all sincere and friendly again, which doesn’t do anything at all to quell the warmth blooming in Jun’s cheeks. “Most medical professionals would agree with you, and I believe most mental health professionals would, too. Though, on this particular occasion, it would have been difficult to do exercises while class was still going…”

“Right.” Jun smiles sheepishly, still flushed, but a little pleased now, too. “That advice wouldn’t work for during the school day at all, huh. It’s probably better advice for when you’re back at the dorms.”

“Indeed. But sometime when we’re both available, I’d love to hear more about which stretches you recommend, as long as you don’t mind sharing.”

“Huh? Jun’s eyes widen. “Really…? I mean, of course I don’t. I can recommend you tons of ‘em. I can even lend you some of my equipment, if you want.”

Tatsumi’s smile grows softer. “That’s very kind of you.”

It’s almost dizzying, how glad he feels now that the heavy atmosphere has dissipated, leaving behind a light and buoyant feeling in his chest. He doesn’t even notice his headache anymore—that too has gone away, and he just knows he’s grinning stupidly now. “I’d be glad to hit the gym together anytime. Just lemme know what time works best for you~”

“I’ll be sure to do,” says Tatsumi. “Hiyori-san told me how hard you train, so I look forward to seeing you in action.”

Jun’s smile slips. He stares in disbelief. “Huh? Ohii-san said that?”

“Yes. Rather than taking public transit, he told me you jog to school each day. I thought that was impressive.”

“Oh, that’s all?” Jun’s heart skips a beat at the light praise, but he tries to ignore it. “For a second there, I thought you were going to say he was bragging about my muscle training or something, which would’ve been way weird. He always complains about that stuff.”

“Does he?” Tatsumi asks. “Forgive me for saying this, but I don’t see why your exercises are any of his concern, provided you’re not overworking yourself…?”

“Right?” Jun is glad that someone understands. “But he makes all my business into his concern. And when it comes to muscle training, he says all this stuff like ‘muscles aren’t attractive’ or ‘you’re sweaty, go take a shower.’ Even Ibara makes fun of me for it, even though he works out sometimes, too.”

“Well, I think your dedication is praiseworthy.” Tatsumi speaks warmly, looking him straight in the eye. “You’re an admirable person, Jun-san.”

A great wave of heat sweeps through his face. “Uh.” He swallows. He struggles to speak, struggles to do anything besides sit there and stare stupidly. “Wow… thanks for sayin’ so.”

Silence follows after that. It feels comfortable, not strained, Tatsumi still smiling and even humming faintly under his breath. But Jun’s still got this itchy feeling inside his chest, and it just won’t go away. He speaks up half because he’s curious, half because he hopes it’ll help calm himself down. “So, about that job you mentioned with all the physical activity… what is it?”

“Oh, I was actually hoping to discuss that with you.”

Jun blinks at him. “With me?” He is never going to stop being surprised this afternoon.

Tatsumi nods. “I believe you and Hiyori-san have taken some similar jobs before, so I was hoping you’d be able to give me some pointers.”

“Course I can,” Jun says automatically, right away, even though he doesn’t know what Tatsumi’s even asking. It doesn’t matter—he’s just glad that he can help him even a little bit. “I mean, I’d be happy to.”

☀️

After getting back from the photoshoot, Hiyori takes Mary for her walk, leashing her and dressing her up in her newest custom-made outfit. The dormitory courtyard is quiet, most Seisou Hall residents being at school or at work, and it’s a little disappointing, since it means no one is around to appreciate Mary’s cuteness. It’s better for Mary this way, though, since she’s able to relax, nosing along the ground and sniffing the flowers, and Hiyori decides he’ll just have to snap a picture to show off how cute she is.

“Come on, Mary, look this way. Good girl, good girl ♪”

He crouches on the ground, trying to get a good angle. Just as he’s about to snap the button, however, Mary turns her attention elsewhere, and the picture ends up capturing her tail. Hiyori looks up from his phone.

“—oh, good afternoon, Hiyori-san.”

Tatsumi is the first to greet him. Jun only turns his head after Tatsumi points him out, too absorbed in Tatsumi to notice him or Mary. A bad weather if Hiyori’s ever seen one.

“And Mary-san. I haven’t seen her in a while.”

Hiyori scoops up Mary in his arms and brings her over. “Hm? I send you videos all the time, though. You have been watching them, haven’t you?”

“Of course.” Tatsumi smiles down at Mary, reaching out to pat her head, neither too hesitant nor too pushy. “She looks cute in all your videos, especially when wearing Jun-san’s hand-knit outfits. But seeing her in-person is also special.”

“They weren’t anything that special.” Jun rubs at the back of his neck, the tips of his ears slightly reddened. “I dunno too much about handicrafts.”

“But I think it’s impressive that you’ve gained such a variety of skills.”

Tatsumi, Hiyori thinks, has a lot of nerve, taking up Mary’s attention and Jun’s. He feels almost embarrassed on Jun’s behalf, watching him sport that dopey-looking smile, metaphorical tail wagging behind him. Hiyori can’t resist calling him out. “You seem to be enjoying yourself a lot, Jun-kun. Is something funny?”

“Huh?” Jun finally looks at him. “Nothing’s funny. I was just thinking, those two make a good picture. Mary’s usually a lil’ scared of strangers at first, but she’s not scared of Tatsumi-senpai at all.”

“That might be thanks to Koga-san.” Hiyori watches as Mary rubs her furry head into Tatsumi’s palm, utterly unafraid and affectionate. “My family never kept pets growing up, but I’ve gotten used to living with a dog. Koga-san encouraged me to approach dogs without any fear.”

“I think your gentle nature might also have something to do with it? In any case, you and Jun-kun also seem to be getting along. And after calling me your wife earlier! You don’t have a habit of infidelity, do you?”

“Wha?” Predictably, Jun’s eyes bulge right out of their sockets. “What’re you talking about?”

“Ah, that was something I said to Hiyori-san earlier.” Tatsumi withdraws his hand after one last pet, meeting Jun’s stupefied face with an easy smile. “I was praising him for his attentiveness, as well as his skill with domestic tasks. But I suppose that in this day and age, it’s somewhat short-sighted to imply that only a wife would be good at such things. I’ll have to reflect on that.”

“Domestic… bwuh?” Jun looks even more discombobulated. “This is Ohii-san we’re talking about, right?”

“Just what are you implying?” Hiyori shoots him a look, but then his lips soon curve into a smirk. “You’re not jealous, are you? Don’t worry!” he exclaims before Jun can deny it, “You’re still first in my heart, Jun-kun♪ After Nagisa-kun, Mary, and the rest of my family, that is.” Then he tilts his head. “Though since I hail from a rather big family, I suppose that still puts you somewhere outside the top ten?” He taps on his chin, pretending to give it serious thought.

“You sure are fond of ranking people, Hiyori-san.” Hiyori had expected Jun to speak first, offering some kind of retort to the teasing, but it’s Tatsumi who speaks instead. “But all humans are equal under God’s kingdom.”

“Yes, well…” There’s no good response to that, so Hiyori decides to move on. “Putting aside Tatsumi-kun’s love of equality, what were you two chatting about?”

“As a matter of fact, I was hoping to discuss that with you. We were going to look for you as soon as we got to the dorms—it must be fate that you’re the first person we ran into.”

Hiyori has never liked the idea of fate. “Well, why don’t you explain while we head back?”

The three of them walk up the steps to the dorms, Mary dozing off in Hiyori’s arms while Tatsumi explains his upcoming job.

“… so, in summary, ALKALOID is scheduled to appear on a variety show soon?” Hiyori asks. “And it’s one that involves a lot of physical challenges?”

Tatsumi nods. “After the school year is finished, we’ll be making our first variety show appearance. Though Hiiro-san is leader, I’ve been selected to act as the host. Perhaps it’s I’m the oldest, or because I have previous TV experience. I’ve never been on this sort of program, though, so I was hoping you and Jun-san could give me some pointers.”

“We as Eve do have a lot of experience with variety shows,” says Hiyori. “But as for the ones that involve physical challenges, that sounds more like the show we did as Eden earlier this year.”

“Ah, you mean Bogie Time? Jun-san was telling me about that.”

“Yep, that’s the one.” They get up to the elevators, Hiyori reaching for the button. “The recording should still be stored somewhere in the video room. So, let’s watch it! You’ll be able to see how we handled things like obstacle courses, while also seeing me and Jun-kun act as hosts. There’s plenty of other charming material as well, including Jun-kun’s astonishing impersonation of his favorite idol—or at least, his favorite idol besides me, that is!”

“Goddamn,” Jun grumbles as he steps into the elevator after him. “Don’t make me sit through that part again. Watching it once was bad enough torture.”

Hiyori ignores this. “Mary also made a surprise appearance and won everyone’s hearts! And you’ll get to see Nagisa-kun and Ibara’s soft sides, too. It should be a good experience, so! Jun-kun will fetch the tapes while I bring Mary upstairs to my room.”

Tatsumi smiles his assent. “I’ll save us a seat in the lounge, then.”

So they part ways, Tatsumi and Jun exiting on the second floor, Hiyori traveling up to the third. He shrugs off his light jacket, puts the leash away, and deposits Mary on his bed, ducking into the bathroom to wash his hands and fix his hair. There he finds Kanata, bathing fully-clothed in the middle of the afternoon, and they exchange some banter before he leaves his room and takes the elevator again. He might’ve been held up a little longer than he anticipated, because when he gets to the lounge…

Bogie Time is already playing. And Tatsumi and Jun are seated on the couch, sitting close enough that their knees almost touch. Tatsumi’s mood seems pleasant as always, but it’s Jun who surprises him, with his relaxed posture and soft smile. The two of them look chummy, like old friends, wrapped up in their own little world.

So Hiyori walks over the couch and proceeds to squeeze himself in between them. 

“Hey,” Jun complains, shooting him a look, “whaddya think you’re doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m watching TV.”

“There’s no need for us to sit this close. C’mom~ Seriously, you’re squishing me here. And I know this can’t be comfortable for Tatsumi-senpai, either.”

“I’m alright,” Tatsumi assures him. “Although this is a bit… cramped.”

“Oh, well, in that case I’ll move,” says Hiyori.

“Huh? How come you listen to Tatsumi-senpai and not—hey!”

Jun makes another noise of protest, this one a little bit strangled, as Hiyori plops down in his lap.

“Hm? Now what’s wrong?” Hiyori leans back, making himself comfortable. “You shouldn’t be so picky about our seating arrangements.”

“You know what’s wrong,” says Jun, but Hiyori continues to feign ignorance, and he’s forced to elaborate with a frustrated sigh. “First of all, you’re blocking the screen with your messy hair. And second of all, I’m even more squished now.”

“Oh? I thought it was your beloved Tatsumi-senpai you were worried about? He isn’t squished at all right now, so there shouldn’t be any issues there.”

“That doesn’t mean you can sit on me, alright~?! C’mon, you’re heavy.”

“And as far as seeing the screen goes,” Hiyori continues, pointedly ignoring the jab, “all you need to do is tilt your head and look around me. Then you’ll be able to see my captivating image onscreen as well as off! And in the meantime, I’d really appreciate it if you could make yourself useful and massage my upper back for me! It’s gotten a bit stiff, and I haven’t had time at all lately to book a massage appointment!”

“You’ve gotta be kidding.” Jun, Hiyori can tell without turning around and looking, must be flushed to his ears right now: not from their closeness, but from being this close in front of Tatsumi. He’s gone all stiff, like he’s worried about something, which of course is entirely unneeded. Because if he really paid any attention to Tatsumi, he’d know one thing for sure.

“Fufu.” The sound of Tatsumi’s soft laugh makes them both turn. Hiyori finds him smiling, his violet eyes twinkling with amusement. “Onscreen and off the screen, you two are very good friends♪”

Hiyori glances at Jun from the corner of his eye and sees an entirely predictable expression on his face: one of astonishment, mingled with relief. Yes, Hiyori thinks, now he should understand that there’s nothing to worry about, because for all that Jun idolizes him, Tatsumi is nothing if not incredibly naïve.

🌊

Tatsumi ends up repaying them for the variety show help just two days later, when he agrees to help cater the Aoi twins’ birthday party.

“Sorry you got dragged into this,” Jun says, pulling a sheet of puff pastry out of the fridge. “I dunno why Ibara suddenly decided to cut back on the catering budget.”

“It’s quite alright.” Tatsumi sets the chocolate chili cookies in the oven and then takes off his oven mitts. “Hinata-san and I have spent some time together in Gardenia. I’m glad I could contribute to his birthday celebration.”

“He’s not gonna wanna eat those cookies, though. Good thing Itsuki-senpai made these pastry puffs for us to use.”

Itsuki Shu didn’t prepare a filling, so Jun beats together cream and vanilla and sugar in a bowl. The directions said to wait until “stiff peaks” form, and he’s not sure what the hell those even are, but that’s where Hiyori comes in, shouting “That looks good!” when it’s time for him to stop—about the only useful thing he’s done since entering the kitchen.

Hiyori dips a spoon into the bowl and pops it into his mouth. “Mm~ Yep, as I thought, this texture is just right♪”

“Do you mind making yourself useful for a change instead of just eating all the food we make?”

“I have not been eating all the food! And in any case, we already agreed that I’d be the one filling up the creampuffs, yes? Contrary to what you might believe, I’m excellent at plating food and decorating pastries, along with other tasks that require a touch of elegance.”

“Can’t argue there, I guess. The last time I tried to prepare a fancy dessert the whole thing just kinda fell apart.”

“Ahaha, yep, that was pretty sad.”

“You two certainly have a lot of fun stories to share.” Tatsumi is smiling as he watches over them—Jun had, for a brief moment, forgotten he was even in the room.

“Well, we are partners,” comes Hiyori’s cheerful reply. “Anyway, Jun-kun, would you hurry up and finish filling the piping bag? I’m in the mood to fill some creampuffs♪”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m almost done, so don’t rush me, alright?”

The three of them work on the creampuffs together, Jun filling and refilling the piping bag, Hiyori using it to stuff the pastry and then add some more cream for garnish. Tatsumi, meanwhile, is slicing strawberries to put on top of each one. The first few puffs come out looking good, almost professional, like the kind of sweets Jun is tempted by. Everything seems to be going well.

Until Jun hears a distressed noise coming from Tatsumi.

He jerks his head around. “Tatsumi-senpai? Are you okay?”

Tatsumi has dropped the knife and is clutching his own finger. “I’m fine. I just seem to have cut myself.”

Almost as soon as Tatsumi says it, Jun sees the red fluid gathered on his fingertip. His stomach churns. “Shit—wait right here! I’ll go get a bandage.”

He abandons the piping bag, preparing to race out of the kitchen. Something stops him, however—a hand grasping his shoulder—and he turns to find Hiyori looking at him seriously.

“Your hands are covered in frosting. You stay here—I’ll go get him one.”

Jun opens his mouth to protest, but it’s Tatsumi who speaks first, addressing both of them. “You don’t need to concern yourselves. I know where the bandages are kept; I can get one myself.”

“But—” Jun starts, but Tatsumi shakes his head.

“Really, Jun-san. It’s not a deep cut. You don’t need to do anything.”

Jun says nothing to that, does nothing. All he can do is stand in defeat and watch Tatsumi leave the room, still in his apron, clutching his injured finger to his chest.

“Goddamn.” He exhales a sigh, staring at the counter in frustration.

“Did you expect him to bleed for twelve years?”

Jun looks up at the sound of Hiyori’s voice to find Hiyori eyeing him. He’s still got that serious look on his face, and Jun frowns at him. “What’re you talking about?”

“You’re taking this too seriously. Tatsumi-kun said himself that he wasn’t hurt.” Hiyori steps over to Tatsumi’s place at the counter, inspecting the knife and the cutting board. “See? There’s no blood on the knife. And Tatsumi-kun isn’t that frail, so stop worrying as though some catastrophe occurred and it’s somehow your job to fix it.”

Jun’s forehead creases. He hadn’t thought he was making a big deal of things until Hiyori pointed it out. “I know it’s not a huge deal. But I am the one who asked him to help me. So, the least I could do is take responsibility for that.”

Hiyori doesn’t look satisfied with this. “That’s all well and good, but it doesn’t explain why you went all pale. You wouldn’t have reacted so strongly if it was me who got hurt, would you?”

“Just what are you getting at?” Jun asks, feeling confused and a little annoyed. “If it was you, you’d probably be making a huge fuss and yelling at me to come treat your wound. And you’d probably blame it on me, somehow.”

“You really think poorly of me, don’t you?” Hiyori sighs, shaking his head. “For your information, I wouldn’t have blamed you. And I wouldn’t ask you to bandage me, either, when your hands and face are all sticky.”

“Huh?” Jun lifts a hand to feel his own cheek. “Since when is my face sticky?”

“Since now,” says Hiyori, as he reaches into the bowl and flicks some cream through the air.

Jun takes it right on the chin. “Hey—! The hell are you doing?”

Hiyori’s smile is extra obnoxious. “What does it look like I’m doing? If it bothers you, you’ll just have to get me back!”

“Goddamn—fine, take this.”

He tries flicking some frosting back onto Hiyori, but misses on the first try. The second shot lands right on his collar, though, causing him to pout. “Jun-kun! That’s cheating! My clothes are obviously off-limits!”

“You never said that. ‘Sides, I wasn’t aiming for your clothes, I was aiming for that smug face of yours.”

Hiyori reaches back into the bowl and Jun jumps out of the way to dodge his next attack. He knows how pointless and childish this is, and he definitely knows he’ll be the one stuck cleaning up after, but he doesn’t think about either of those things, just listens to Hiyori’s laughter fill up the whole kitchen, and tries to land a hit on his face this time. When it misses, he employs a new strategy: reaching out and grabbing Hiyori’s cheek between his sticky frosting-coated fingers.

“Hey! You’re cheating again!” Hiyori scolds but makes no attempt to get away, just looks at Jun with glittering eyes and a sly smile curving up his lips. “Goodness, what am I meant to do with you? You’re such a bad boy.”

He’s not sure which of them leans in first. He thinks, maybe, it was him. All he knows is that Hiyori’s lips are warm and pliant and his skin soft to the touch. He strokes a thumb over Hiyori’s cheek, smearing more frosting into his skin, and Hiyori swipes his tongue out, licking the small bit of cream that made it to Jun’s lips. Jun hums in his throat, eyes slipping shut as he drags Hiyori in close, forgetting where they are or what they’re supposed to be doing.

Then the door swings open and his blood turns ice cold.

The two of them break apart, Jun hastily letting go of Hiyori’s face. When they spin around, they find Tatsumi standing in front of the doors, still as a statue and staring, his brows high on his forehead and his mouth fallen open in shock. It seems to take him a moment to remember how to shut it again. 

“… er, I’m sorry.” He drops his gaze to the floor, a slight flush crossing his cheeks. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Jun feels, a little, like he’s dying. His heart beats sickeningly fast against his sternum, stomach twisting itself up into knots, and he needs to think of something to say to make this right but he just can’t. Fortunately, Hiyori steps in for him.

“Don’t worry. You’re not interrupting anything.”

Jun darts a glance at Hiyori to find him completely unembarrassed, smiling like nothing significant happened at all.

“We were just about to get back into things, anyway. Though I can slice the strawberries if you’re not up for it. Actually, I think the cookies should be about done if you want to check on those.”

“Ah, yes! It looks as though the timer’s almost up. I’ll go take them out now.”

Tatsumi crosses over to the oven, while Jun turns and rubs the frosting off his face with a dishcloth. His cheeks are burning, his stomach still knotted up with anxiety, but Tatsumi rejoins him at the counter after putting the cookies on a cooling rack, and when Jun catches his eye, he smiles. It’s a pleasant smile, as full of warmth as always, nothing out of the ordinary at all. And at that point, he can finally breathe again—still shaken, still embarrassed, but able to successfully pretend the last two minutes didn’t happen.

☀️

Even after Bogie Time, Eve is still called upon for variety show jobs a lot more often than Adam, and after a long afternoon spent answering quiz questions, singing karaoke, and competing with other idols at pinball and curling, Hiyori wants nothing more than to sit back and relax.

But given the serious look on his partner’s face, Hiyori knows there’s a slim chance of that happening.

“Have you talked to Tatsumi-senpai recently?”

“Hm?” Hiyori glances at Jun from his spot in front of the clothes rack and finds his partner staring despondently into the dressing room mirror. He might as well have a little raincloud hovering over his head, for how gloomy he looks. “Do you have Tatsumi-kun on the brain? I guess that explains why your answers to geography questions were even more baffling than usual.”

This is normally the point where Jun would jab back at him, or at least make some attempt to defend against the teasing. When he does neither one, Hiyori sighs.

“Tatsumi-kun and I had breakfast together just yesterday,” he says, pulling his turtleneck over his head and then crossing back over to the mirror. “And we had a FLAVOR meeting the day before that. He seems to be doing well. You must see him at school sometimes, right? So why do you need to ask?”

“Because he blatantly avoided us last night.”

Last night he’d been sitting on the couch in the first-floor lounge, watching a TV appearance of Nagisa’s. Jun had sat down next to him after bringing him tea as requested. Then Tatsumi walked into the room, Hiyori had waved, and Jun had scooted over on the couch, offering to go get Tatsumi some tea too. Tatsumi had smiled, turned down the offer, and walked straight out of the room—strange behavior to be sure.

But it’s no reason to start catastrophizing, as far as Hiyori’s concerned.

“He said he was going to get some coffee.” Hiyori pats down his hair in front of the mirror before plucking his comb off the counter and starting to run it through. “He probably went to Café Cinnamon or some other place.”

“He usually just makes a cup in the kitchen.”

“You sure know his habits. Have you been watching him all the time? That’s no good!” Hiyori jabs a finger out. “Your work as a member of Eden should be first priority, and making sure I’m happy should be your other first priority!”

“You have no idea what the words ‘first’ or ‘priority’ mean, do you?” Alas, Jun refuses to drop the subject. “It wasn’t just last night. Something like that happened a few days ago when we were walking Mary. I’ve talked to him at school and stuff, but whenever he sees us together now, he just bails.”

“So?” Hiyori asks, still combing his hair in the mirror. “What’s your conclusion?”

“You know what my conclusion is.”

“Obviously I don’t, or I wouldn’t be asking.”

Jun lowers his voice, like he’s afraid they’ll be overheard in their own private dressing room. “We made him uncomfortable when we kissed in front of him.”

“That wasn’t much of a kiss,” Hiyori tells him. “We’ve shared more passionate kisses onstage before. For example, that time we practiced with Trickstar for the Summer Live, I seem to recall someone getting all excited to show ‘those brats raised by Sagami Jin’ what real idols looked like! So you got really into our song, pressed even closer to me than usual, and even got your tongue involved!”

A quick glance at Jun’s reflection in the mirror tells Hiyori he’s gone all red-faced. “Couldja stop bringing up ancient history just to embarrass me?”

“A year and a half ago isn’t really ‘ancient history.’ But putting that aside, is this the only thing that’s been bothering you?”

“I just don’t wanna think we did something to offend him,” Jun says, the worry still evident from his tone. Hiyori could tell something had been getting him down—whenever they were off-camera, he’d have that same serious look he’s wearing now. He should’ve known that it would be something like this, concern for someone else, instead of concern for himself. Jun’s always been a good boy.

Hiyori, for his part, isn’t nearly so broken up about this. Part of it is selfish: he hadn’t planned on doing that in front of Tatsumi, but he’d also be lying if he said some part of him wasn’t glad. Tatsumi is a friend to him, someone he liked before he even met, but Tatsumi has also gotten entirely too comfortable monopolizing his partner in recent months. And what’s more, with the way Jun’s always praising him…

But part of it isn’t just selfishness. Part of it is also because he knows better.

“Tatsumi-kun is no prude,” he tells Jun. “Otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to survive in this industry for so long. And he’s not the type to judge other people or look down on them, if that’s what you’re worried about. Tatsumi-kun would never condemn anyone. That’s why I can’t take your suggestion seriously at all.”

“It’s not just that,” Jun sighs, rubbing at the back of his neck. “To start with, the circumstances looked bad. How would you feel if you cut your hand and had to leave the room, and then it turned out that as soon as you left, your friends started making out? I’d be kinda ticked off.”

“That would never happen to me, since I don’t do that much cooking! Anyway,” he continues before Jun can interject, “I still think you’re wrong. If Tatsumi-kun is indeed avoiding us, then there must be some other reason. In which case, one of us should just ask. That would solve everything, wouldn’t it?”

“…yeah,” Jun finally agrees, sighing out a little. “I guess you’re right.”

“Of course I am.” Hiyori goes back to the rack and takes his jacket, putting his arms through the sleeves. “I’ve spent quality time with Tatsumi-kun myself, you know. He’s definitely a ‘love the sinner, hate the sin’ type.”

Jun’s eyebrows knit together. “… so you think he does have a problem with that stuff.”

“That’s not what I meant at all.” Hiyori shakes his head and sighs. “Honestly, you’re still terrible at reading between the lines. You’ll need to get better at that, since it’s a crucial skill for living among nobility. And you are itching to join the Tomoe family soon, aren’t you?”

“Just where the hell did that come from? I never said anything about joining your family, alright~?” But despite the denial, Jun looks a little less gloomy as he finally gets up, and Hiyori knows he’ll pull through like he always does.

🌊

Jun doesn’t see Tatsumi at school the next day, at least not where he can talk to him. They pass each other in the hall, once, Tatsumi sending him a friendly smile which Jun returns. But he doesn’t find him on the grounds at lunch, and they don’t end up walking home together, either.

His evening is taken up by practice, preceded by a quick dinner in the ES cafeteria. Tatsumi again isn’t there—Jun assumes he has his own work to be doing. And although he does confront Tatsumi at the next available opportunity, he’s almost a little glad he didn’t get the chance today. The thought of having a serious conversation about that just kinda gives him the urge to jump out of his own skin.

He leaves the others at the elevators and continues down the first-floor hall, heading back to his room. Just as he’s rummaging through his pocket for his room key, however, he hears footsteps coming down the hall.

Kazehaya Tatsumi is walking straight towards him, dressed in his practice clothes and carrying a half-empty water bottle. Their eyes meet, and Jun’s heart lurches.

“Um…” He swallows hard, not prepared for this at all. “Hey.”

“Good evening.” Tatsumi smiles, raising a hand in greeting. “It looks like we’re both coming back from practice…?”

“Ah, yep. We just got done.”

He stands there, hovering uselessly, watching Tatsumi reach into his pocket for his own key, and then blurts out, “Could I talk to you?”

Tatsumi glances back at him.

“I mean, if you’re not busy or anything.” Realizing how weird that was, he lets out an awkward laugh. “… sorry. You must just wanna shower after practice. So, uh, maybe some other time.”

Tatsumi shakes his head. “No, that was mainly a voice rehearsal, so I didn’t work up much of a sweat. Right now would be fine. Unless it’s going to be a long discussion, in which case we might want to wait and talk over tea instead…? I can brew us two cups in the lounge, using the new tea leaves we harvested in Gardenia.”

“Uh…” Jun rubs the back of his neck. “That sounds great and all, but…” This isn’t something he can talk about in the lounge. “I don’t think it’s gonna be too long.”

“In that case, why don’t you come on in?”

As Tatsumi unlocks the door to his room, Jun realizes that this isn’t going to work, either, assuming Koga is there. He really didn’t think this through at all.

“Uh, on second thought—”

 He starts to backtrack, but before he can finish, he looks around the room and notices that no one is there.

“Is Ogami-san out?”

“It seems that UNDEAD had a concert scheduled tonight,” Tatsumi confirms. “It’s at the underground live house in the Special Music Zone. Koga-san was telling me about it yesterday.”

“Really? That’s kinda surprising for the middle of the week. Well, I missed school to film a variety show yesterday, so I can’t talk.”

“You’re both quite hardworking. But then, so are idols in general.” Tatsumi sits down on the couch, and Jun sits tentatively on the other side. “What was it you wanted to talk to me about? I hope whatever it is, I can assuage your worries.”

“… so you noticed I was worried, huh?” Jun clasps his hands in his lap. Tatsumi is usually easy to talk to, but this—this topic, this atmosphere—is hard. In the end, he decides to just come out with it, turning his eyes on Tatsumi and then lowering his head in apology. It’s fine; Hiyori isn’t here to scold him for it. “I just… wanted to say that I’m sorry. In case you were offended by what you saw the other day.”

When Jun lifts his eyes, he finds Tatsumi’s eyebrows raised. “… I’m sorry?”

“Just…” He huffs out a sigh through grit teeth, swallowing his nerves and forcing out the words. “When you walked in on me and Ohii-san… I’m sorry we made you see something like that. We shouldn’t have been doing something like that there.”

A moment of silence follows, during which Jun’s heart starts battering against his ribcage. Every second that Tatsumi doesn’t respond feels terrifying. But when Tatsumi does speak again…

“I believe there’s been a misunderstanding.”

He sounds confused, rather than uncomfortable.

“I wasn’t offended by anything you did,” says Tatsumi. “I was just a bit surprised, that’s all. And I felt bad about intruding.”

That answer has Jun staring in disbelief. “Then… the other night, when we were in the lounge and you left the room…”

“That was because I saw the two of you alone,” Tatsumi explains. “I know you invited me to sit with you, but I thought it might be kinder to leave you alone with Hiyori-san, since, as a couple, your time together must surely be most precious to you… was I not right to assume that?”

“No,” he manages to respond, somehow. A great big wave of relief just crashed over him, hitting him with so much force he’s gone dizzy. “I mean—yeah, I get why you did that now. But you don’t need to worry about stuff like that, seriously.”

“Is that so?” Tatsumi smiles a little sheepishly. “I see. I’m afraid I don’t have much experience with situations such as this, so I wasn’t sure how to conduct myself.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” Jun lets out a laugh, which is probably weird. Tatsumi definitely looks a little confused by it. But he can’t help it—he’s so relieved. “Man, that’s all it was, huh? I’m glad it was just that.”

“I’m sorry if I caused you to worry.”

“Nah.” Jun shakes his head, still smiling. “It’s fine. I’m sorry we did that in public. Actually, I’m sorry ‘bout how he acts around you in general. Like getting between us on the couch and stuff. He starts whining when I don’t pay enough attention to him, like he’s a little kid or something. But that’s not your fault, that’s just him being annoying, alright?”

“Fufu.” Tatsumi chuckles. “You don’t need to apologize. I’m just glad you’ve found someone who’s special to you.”

“… that’s…” Jun ducks his head, the back of his neck prickling with heat. He doesn’t say the first thing that comes to mind, which is you’re special to me, too.

“I hope it’s not too much for me to say this,” Tatsumi continues, “but I’ve enjoyed watching over you two. It’s like a window into a world that’s separate from myself.”

Jun glances back up. “You mean… those kinds of relationships?”

Tatsumi nods. “It wouldn’t feel right for me to have such a thing. But I have no problem supporting others, of course.”

Jun blinks at him. He has no idea how to take this. “Is it ‘cause of your religion…?”

“No.” Tatsumi shakes his head. “In my parents’ church, members of the clergy are permitted to marry and have children.”

Jun scratches his neck. “Then… is it ‘cause of the whole idol thing? I know I’m technically not supposed to be doing that stuff with anyone.”

Tatsumi shakes his head again. “I’m aware that our contracts prohibit romantic relationships. But I’ve always seen this as something akin to a human rights violation. I don’t support such restrictions; I think idols should be allowed more freedom.”

"Huh." Jun hadn't expected that, but maybe he should have, given Tatsumi's fixation on "human rights" in general. "I've never thought of it like that... but you're so right."

"Of course," Tatsumi continues, even-handed as ever, "I understand that rule was put in place for a reason. As idols, we're meant to serve as role models. Which means our behavior is heavily scrutinized. It wouldn't do for an idol to be promiscuous, just as they shouldn't engage in fighting or drinking. So by banning romantic relationships, they probably hoped to curb such indecent behaviors."

Jun's shoulders slump. "Right..." Indecent behaviors like making out in the kitchen, probably. "You're right about that, too... So, is it because you want to be a role model?"

"Although I strive to behave according to my faith, I don't consider myself to be a role model. I'm just a regular person."

“Then…” Jun trails off. He knows Tatsumi's answer shouldn't matter. It's none of his business if Tatsumi doesn't "feel right" kissing or dating people. But he wants to know, because he wants to know more about Tatsumi, so he finds himself asking, anyway. “How come…?”

There’s a pause before Tatsumi responds.

“Two years ago at Reimei Academy,” he says, voice soft and quiet, “I caused a great deal of suffering for someone. I led that person astray, and irreparably damaged them. There were countless others who were harmed, as well.”

Another pause. The room is silent, but Jun’s heart is beating loud. He stares, mouth fallen slightly open, watching Tatsumi stare straight ahead, his eyes on the wall, beyond the wall, gazing so far into the distance that Jun can’t possibly hope to reach him.

“Because of that sin, and its enormity, pursuing such a relationship wouldn’t feel right. I’d be a bit scared of dragging the other person down to Hell with me.”

More silence.

Seconds tick past. Jun hear the hands of the clock moving next to the TV. Yet time within the room feels frozen. The whole world has ground to a halt, Tatsumi’s words replaying themselves in his head over and over. He, too, is frozen: can’t move from his spot on the couch, can’t bring himself to say anything. His breath is trapped inside his throat.

“… I’m sorry.” Tatsumi turns to face him at last, an apologetic smile tugging up his lips. “I said too much just now.”

For some reason, Jun remembers the catacombs: how Tatsumi had looked, standing before a crowd of enraptured Non-Special Students, casting shadows on the mud walls, promising them anything they wanted. And he remembers, for the first time in over two years, what it feels like to be unnerved by Kazehaya Tatsumi.

☀️

Of all the things Hiyori expected to find his partner doing on a Saturday afternoon, pouring over religious texts in the ES library isn’t one of them.  

“Hm? So this is where you’ve been hiding all day?”

He grabs Jun’s shoulders from behind, causing Jun to jolt upright and whirl his head around. “Goddamn!! Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

Hiyori ignores this, leaning over him to peek at his book. “Isn’t some of this a bit above your reading level? Or rather, why did you choose such dreadfully dreary books?”

“How’d you even know I was here?” Jun asks, a little sour-faced.

“Tsumugi-kun told me he saw you in here, carrying a whole tower of books. He’s always been rather loose-lipped.” Hiyori pulls out the chair next to Jun and makes himself at home. “So, what’s with this selection? Are you doing research to understand Eden’s concept better? It’s a little late for that now, isn’t it?”

“I just asked Nagi-senpai for some recs, and he gave these to me. That’s all.”

“I don’t think Nagisa-kun would suggest all this unless you’d mentioned a specific theme.” Hiyori’s gaze travels over the table, taking over an assortment of tomes which includes two different translations of the Bible, before landing on the book in Jun’s hand. “Honestly, do you even know what you’re reading?”

“I know how to read, alright? Obviously I’m not gonna read the whole Bible in one afternoon, and some of the other stuff I’ve tried to read flew over my head, but this one’s pretty straightforward.”

“The ‘Seven Deadly Sins’?” Hiyori reads off the page. “Goodness, why are you reading about that?”

“It’s kinda interesting, actually,” says Jun. “Reading through the list of deadly sins, I ended up thinking, ‘this sounds like a list of stuff that’s wrong with Ohii-san.’”

“What on earth are you talking about?” Hiyori feels affronted. “I’m not a sinner!”

“Almost all these apply to you, though. Like ‘pride,’ for example. You’ve got way too much of that.”

“Pride just means being self-confident! As idols, it’s important to have faith in yourself and keep your head held high! Not to mention that I’ve got my family to represent—they’d want me to carry myself proudly as well.”

“Yeah, but there’s a difference between being confident in yourself and being so narcissistic that you always insist everyone has to do things your way. Not to mention that you spent hours staring at yourself in the mirror each night.”

 “I don’t spend hours!” Hiyori glares at him. “If you’re referring to my nightly skincare routine, that has to be conducted in front of a mirror! But it doesn’t take hours. And anyway, beautiful things are meant to be appreciated!”

“Then there’s ‘sloth,’” Jun continues like he hadn’t heard, though he’s smiling a little now.”

“Now you’re just spreading lies about me! As a member of Eden and the leader of Eve, I’ve always been hardworking. For example, I worked incredibly hard to raise you, teaching you all the basics back when you didn’t know the first thing about being an idol—which, incidentally, you should thank me for more often!”

“Maybe,” Jun admits, “but when we lived together, I never saw you do a single chore yourself. You’d just say “this needs cleaning” or “looks like my laundry’s starting to pile up” and expect me to take care of it. Plus you won’t even carry your own lunch tray.”

“Ah, that’s where you’re wrong.” Hiyori wags a finger in the air and starts to explain. “That’s not laziness, that’s called ‘making use of available resources.’ And in this case, the resource was Jun-kun! It made no sense to do everything myself while you were there. You might not be aware of this, since you had a different upbringing, but this is a common strategy employed by noble households.”

 This is a common strategy employed by noble households, so I suppose that might be why you haven’t heard of it before.”

“Says here that it’s called ‘sloth.’”

“It doesn’t say that. Give me that.”

Hiyori tries to snatch the book out of Jun’s hands, but Jun holds it out of his reach. “I dunno how well ‘wrath’ applies, since you’re usually obnoxiously cheerful instead of angry. Though when you are mad, you do have a nasty tendency to take it out on other people. ‘Greed,’ ‘lust’ and ‘gluttony’ all fit you to a tee, too. Guess you’re a pretty sinful guy, Ohii-san.”

“I am not gluttonous!” Hiyori says hotly. “If you’re talking about all the cake and quiche I eat, those calories all get burned off at dance practice! And ‘greed’ is only a problem when you want too many things you don’t deserve, but I do deserve good things, so there’s no problem! And ‘lust’ is just a crude word for ‘passion,’ which is what fuels the whole world, including our careers as idols! And I really don’t want to be lectured about lust from you, Jun-kun, who can’t even keep your tongue in your mouth in front of Trickstar. Now, why don’t we stop this ridiculous conversation, and you can explain to me why you were reading about sin in the first place.”

Hiyori drums his fingers on the table, waiting on Jun expectantly. Jun says nothing, though, just averts his eyes in a way that suggests he doesn’t want to answer, so Hiyori tries a different question.

“Is this about Tatsumi-kun?”

Jun doesn’t deny it, but “I dunno if I should talk about it.”

“Is it related to what we talked about in the dressing room?” Hiyori asks.

“I mean… kinda? But not really.” Jun lets out a sigh. “He said some stuff to me that sounded really personal.”

“Well, I don’t condone airing other people’s secrets. But if he didn’t swear you to secrecy, then I’d say it’s fair game.” Hiyori leans in closer, purposefully trying to keep Jun from shutting him out, lowering his voice so that it’s barely above a whisper. “I won’t tell anyone else. I promise.”

Hiyori watches Jun visibly wrestle with himself before finally caving in. Poor Jun-kun, he thinks: whatever Tatsumi said must have done a number on him.

“Last night, I ran into him while I was coming back from practice…”

Hiyori listens in silence while Jun tells him everything that happened. Once Jun’s finished, he hums to himself. “So that’s how it is.”

Jun’s eyebrows knit together. “That’s all you have to say?”

“Honestly, I’m not surprised. Tatsumi-kun is a ‘love the sinner, hate the sin’ type. But to him, the ‘sin’ is his own existence.”

“What do you—”

“Tatsumi-kun believes that each and every person deserves love and understanding,” Hiyori continues, “no matter what wrongs they might have committed in the past. There’s no such thing as a hopeless case to him. There’s not a single human being who’s beyond salvation—except for him, that is. No matter what he does, his sins won’t wash away. Only Tatsumi-kun is unforgivable.”

A deep frown has etched itself into Jun’s face. “But that’s not…” He trails off, sounding helpless.

“Fair?” Hiyori supplies for him. “Of course it’s not fair. But that’s just how Tatsumi-kun works. Despite his love of equality, he’s never once sought equality for himself. He’s hellbent on making things fair and equal for everyone but him. That’s how he’s been since the very beginning.”

“From the beginning?” Jun repeats. “You mean… during the old days at Reimei?” When Hiyori nods, Jun frowns again. “How do you even know about that? You weren’t a student yet.”

“I only know what I learned secondhand. But that’s what everyone always said about him. He’d take on all sorts of jobs and do most of the work himself, then split the money amongst everyone but him. He’d pay even the people who didn’t work at all, without claiming a single yen for himself. That’s not wrong, is it?”

“No.” Jun leans forward in his chair, staring down at the desk now. “That is how he did things. But that’s just ‘cause no one was looking out for him. I know he didn’t look out for himself enough, but someone also should’ve been looking out for him. If even one person had done that, then…”

Jun’s voice trails off again, and Hiyori thinks about the fact he hasn’t seen this kind of deep-seated turmoil reflected in his partner’s eyes since they were back at the Reimei dorms: Jun all sweaty from doing pull-ups off his bed, making a pained face and confiding in him that he felt like he didn’t have the right to be happy—not when his “old peers” didn’t make it as far as him. Hiyori never asked who those old peers were.

“Jun-kun,” Hiyori says, “were you always so obedient towards Tatsumi-kun?”

Jun lifts his eyes up. “What?”

“Tatsumi-kun said it himself, didn’t he? You didn’t used to be so docile. Behaving like he’s a saint who needs to be obeyed and agreed with at all times—that’s a recent development for you, isn’t it?” Hiyori looks at Jun, who’s gone wide-eyed, and waits for a response. When none comes, he continues. “So why did you change? I want you to think about that as your next homework assignment.”

That gets him talking at last. “You’re my teacher now?”

“Yep, always have been! Anyway,” Hiyori gives up on questioning him, brightening up his tone now, “I’ve already figured out what the next step is, but I’ll need your help with it.”

“The next step for what?” Jun asks on cue.

“Towards knocking some sense into Tatsumi-kun.”

“Huh?” Jun looks at him warily. “Just what do you mean by that? I mean, I wanna help him too, but is this really any of our business? We can’t ‘forgive’ him for something we weren’t even involved in.”

“Of course it’s our business,” Hiyori says plainly. “Tatsumi-kun is our friend. And besides, this doesn’t just affect him. If Tatsumi-kun thinks he’s going to Hell, or some such dreary place, then what hope is there for the rest of us? We’re not as virtuous as he is, so that would surely mean we’re going someplace worse than Hell. And that doesn’t please me one bit, so we’d better do our best to convince him otherwise!”

Jun sits and stares. Hiyori frowns. “What’s that look for?”

“Nothing.” Jun shakes his head to himself. “I’m just amazed you managed to make this about you, somehow.”

“The very fate of our souls rests on this,” Hiyori insists. “Your soul, my soul, and Tatsumi-kun’s soul. So that’s why we’re throwing him a Repayment Festival.”

“Repayment… huh?” Jun cocks his head. “What even is that? I feel like I’ve heard the name somewhere, but I dunno what it is.”

“It’s something they did at Yumenosaki last year. I didn’t participate, of course, since I was already gone by that point, but it’s something the underclassmen held for graduating seniors. And since Tatsumi-kun’s graduation is coming up, that makes this the perfect opportunity.”

“So… where does the repayment come in? Is it something like ‘repaying them for the stuff they did at school’?”

“That’s about the gist of it,” says Hiyori. “Do you understand what we’re doing now?”

“I get it,” says Jun, rubbing the back of his neck, “but I dunno how I feel about holding a concert over this. Wouldn’t that be less about helping him and more about making ourselves look good? We can’t just sing at him until he stops blaming himself for what happened two years ago.”

“You shouldn’t think of it in such crass terms,” Hiyori tells him. “Think of it as a display of gratitude. Songs are the universal language, you know. And you want to repay Tatsumi-kun for the strength he’s given you, yes? That’s why you’re always falling all over yourself to do whatever he says. But instead of acting like his obedient dog, why don’t you show him the brilliant idol you’ve become?”

“… this is just to say thanks.” Jun speaks slowly, warily, ignoring everything else he just said. “That’s all this is. It doesn’t have anything to do with all that stuff about him being a sinner, right?”

Hiyori smiles. “It is just to say thanks. But what if saying thanks also helps him feel like less of a sinner? Accomplishing two goals at once would be the finest weather of all♪”

“If it was that simple, no one would ever worry about stuff like sin in the first place. But fine,” Jun caves in, “I can already tell there’s no talking you down from this. You sure are a pain, Ohii-san.” His lips quirk upwards, his earlier gloominess gone—just what Hiyori likes to see. “You really embody the sin of ‘being annoying.’”

“That’s still better than the sin of ‘being boring,’” Hiyori fires back at him, “which is what you’re going to be charged with after that poor attempt at teasing. Come on, Jun-kun—I know you can do better than that. After all, you learned from the very best…♪”

🌊

Jun spends the next week rehearsing with Hiyori in secret as Eve, on top of regular practices with Eden. They manage to keep it secret that they’re working on something, or at least he thinks Ibara and Nagisa don’t notice. He does, however, manage to run into Tatsumi right before one of their secret scheduled practice sessons.

“Jun-san, hello. I was just about to prepare a cup of tea—would you like me to make you one?”

Tatsumi’s smile is warm as usual. He doesn’t look any more self-conscious now that he’s spilled his guts about HiMERU. On some level, it makes Jun glad to think that Tatsumi trusted him enough to talk about it in the first place.

“No thanks. I was actually on my way to practice. I was just stopping by to pick up a drink.”

“In that case, don’t let me keep you.”

Jun picks his bottle out of the vending machine and leaves the lobby, Tatsumi waving as he goes, and all he can think, as he heads for the practice rooms, is that it’s kinda ironic that he’s the one distancing himself now when this whole thing started with Tatsumi avoiding them.

But he attends each practice session dutifully, until it’s the end of the week and he’s entering CosPro’s main office, taking the elevator up to find Ibara typing away at his desk. Jun brought him a cold drink, which gets set beside his laptop; he’s gotten used to bringing him stuff while he works those extra-long hours.

“Is there something I can help you with?” Ibara asks as Jun hovers behind his chair.

“Kind of cold to assume I’m here just ‘cause I want something from you,” Jun lightly teases, “but yeah, there is something. I was kinda hoping we could borrow the auditorium this weekend—me and Ohii-san, I mean.”

Ibara finally looks up from his laptop. “Does Eve have a concert scheduled this weekend that I wasn’t aware of?”

“Nah.” Jun shuffles a little on his feet. “We just wanted to rent the place for a couple hours and make sure no one else comes in.”

“… pardon my confusion,” says Ibara, fingers paused above the keyboard, “but if this isn’t a live show you’re putting on, what need is there to use the auditorium? Is there a reason you can’t do whatever it is you’re doing in one of our many spacious rehearsal rooms?”

Jun knew that question was coming. Fortunately, he came prepared. “Ohii-san said it had to be a real stage, and you know how he gets when he sets his mind on something. We can make it worth your while, though. I can get you some footage for COMP.”

Ibara furrows his brow. “For COMP?”

“Yeah.” Jun knew that reaction was coming, too, but he’s already rehearsed this. “I figure it’s only fair, after what happened with the ChocoFes. And since you’d be doing us a favor.”

Ibara says nothing at first, just silently scrutinizes him, before finally turning his attention back to his laptop. “That won’t be necessary. There aren’t any plans for the auditorium this weekend, and in any case, steering people clear of the area for a few hours shouldn’t pose any issue.” Another pause, the office silent, save for the sound of his keys clacking. Then he adds on, “I appreciate your cooperation with the project. But there’s no need.”

Jun feels secretly relieved. “… alright, thanks. I’ll owe you one, so just let me know when you wanna be treated to a decent meal again.”

“I’m afraid there won’t be time for leisurely breakfasts anytime soon,” says Ibara without looking up from his spreadsheet. “It appears that you and His Highness have far too much free time on your hands, if your schedules could accommodate additional daily rehearsals and private performances on the weekends. I’ll therefore be doubling Eve’s number of jobs in the coming weeks—please look forward to these new and exciting opportunities to gain new fans, and spread our message of love and peace! ♪”

He should’ve known Ibara would’ve noticed the secret rehearsals. “Goddamn. At least wait until school’s out to start overworking me, alright?”

“Of course—I almost forgot. You’ll soon be graduating, which means you’ll have even more time to do more jobs! How very fortunate!♪”

“You’re graduating too, you know? Man…” Jun rubs the back of his neck and sighs. “I dunno who likes slave-driving me more, you or Ohii-san.”

But he knows the breakfast will happen eventually, whether it be weeks or months from now, and when it does, he won’t forget his promise to treat.

. . .

In the end, he’s the one to invite Tatsumi.

He thought about leaving a note under his door or even just sending him a text. But then he catches him sitting alone in the first-floor lounge that same night, and before anyone else can join him, Jun steps up to his table.

“Hey, I was wondering… are you free at all this weekend?”

Tatsumi blinks up at him in surprise, pausing just long enough that Jun’s nerves almost get the better of him. But then he speaks.

“As it so happens, I don’t have plans for tomorrow afternoon. Was there something you wished to do together?”

“Yeah.” Jun bunches the hem of his shirt between his fingers, then takes a breath. “Come to the auditorium—the CosPro one. There’s something I wanna show you there.”

“Is it something work-related?” Tatsumi asks, surprised and curious.

“Nah. I mean… I guess it’s kinda related. But I’m not gonna put you to work or anything, so just bring yourself.”

There’s another beat of silence after that, one that stretches extra long, making the back of Jun’s neck itch. But then it passes, and Tatsumi nods, small smile re-forming on his lips. “Alright. I’ll come and meet you there.”

Jun’s heart gives thud. “Really? You’ll go?”

“Yes… er, was I not supposed to accept so readily?”

“No,” Jun rushes to correct him, “No—that’s great.”

They part ways soon after that. Jun can feel Tatsumi’s eyes on him, still curious, as he leaves the room, exiting the lounge and stopping halfway down the hall on the way to his room. His heart is still acting weird—he feels strangely exhilarated. He leans against the wall and takes out his phone.

Tomorrow, he texts Hiyori.

Hiyori responds with a smiley face.

. . .

On the day of the “Repayment Festival,” Jun waits backstage, standing around restlessly until he receives the message from Tatsumi.

I’m outside the auditorium.

“Is that Tatsumi-kun?” Hiyori asks, and Jun nods. “Excellent. Tell him to come inside and take a seat. Oh, and make sure to mention he’ll have the best view if he sits in the front row♪”

“You know that giving him all these instructions without explaining why he’s here is just gonna look suspicious, right?” But Jun does as he’s told, anyway, typing the message and hitting Send.

“But Tatsumi-kun will do it if you ask. He’s always been quite fond of you.”

Jun isn’t sure “fondness” has much to do with it. But Hiyori seems to be right, because after a moment, a sound echoes throughout the auditorium that sounds a lot like a pair of double doors being pushed open. Jun’s heart picks up speed as Hiyori pokes his head around the corner, peeking into the auditorium. After confirming who just entered, he turns to Jun. “Ready?” he whispers. Jun nods.

Then he startles at the sound of Tatsumi’s voice calling out his name.

“… Jun-san? Are you backstage by any chance?”

“Y-Yeah!” he calls back. “Go ahead and sit down! I’ll be out in a second, alright~?”

He grabs for the music player, heart pounding against his ribcage. He feels jittery, almost as nervous as he was before their debut. Maybe it’s because he’s wearing the same outfit he wore back then, the same gold chain necklace resting over his heart. But while that earlier version of himself was inexperienced, struggling at times to keep up with Hiyori’s lead, this version doesn’t need his hand held—doesn’t need his posture corrected with a lingering touch onstage, doesn’t need to imitate someone better than himself.

He hits Play, and together they leap out onstage.

Tatsumi is sitting in the front row just as he was instructed. Jun watches his brows shoot up his forehead at their sudden appearance from backstage, but doesn’t have time to explain anything, because the intro to Sunlit Smile is exactly three seconds long, and they’re still getting into place as they start singing.

“♫♪~”

This song and this routine, unlike their much more recent Valentine’s-themed number, Jun knows by heart, having performed it countless times on countless stages. That’s why it doesn’t matter that he’s nervous, doesn’t matter that performing just Tatsumi is somehow more intimidating than performing for an audience of hundreds or even thousands. All he has to do is sing, blending his voice together with Hiyori’s and letting it ring loud, and his muscle memory guiding him through all the steps that Hiyori drilled into him.

“♫♪♫♪~”

Throughout the performance, Tatsumi’s surprise lessens, and he leans forward in his seat, watching their every move with interest. It makes Jun’s heart beat even faster, adrenaline coursing through him, but not to the point where it trips him up. Instead, he lets it fuel him, push him to greater heights.

The original Eve outfits aren’t the most comfortable for jumping around in, but he nails the jump at the end, too.

It ends with them back-to-back, their fingers pointed at their audience. Jun holds the pose for exactly two seconds before, before rushing over to the music player, stopping it before it starts the next song on their playlist.

For a moment, there’s silence throughout the auditorium, until he hears Tatsumi start to applaud.

“Why, thank you!” Hiyori gives Tatsumi a wink. “I’m glad to receive such a warm response! Though, it looks as though some members of the audience are rather puzzled? Could it be you’re confused because we’re singing about summer, even though it’s barely spring? In that case, I’d encourage you not to sweat the small stuff! Summer isn’t too many months away, and it’s good to have something to look forward to♪”

“Ah, I wasn’t bothered by your song choice,” Tatsumi says quickly. “You performed that song very well—your voices blend together beautifully. Rather, I was just curious to know why you’ve staged this concert in the first place…?”

“Hm? This isn’t just a concert. Haven’t you seen the stage?” Hiyori waves a hand grandly, gesturing to the decor: balloons and streamers, mainly, plus some leftover props from Valentine’s Day, which Jun spent all morning hauling out of storage, all while Hiyori stood in front of the stage and bossed him around like a movie director. “It’s supposed to be a festival!”

“The stage does look very festive,” Tatsumi agrees. “I assume Jun-san is the one who carried the props?”

“Yep!” Hiyori confirms. “I told him where to move things, and he moved them! That’s what you call a team effort…♪”

“Nah, that’s what you call ‘making someone else do all the grunt work.’” Jun can feel Tatsumi’s eyes on him as he talks, but he finds the nervous knot in his stomach has lessened now that they’re through the first song. Maybe it helps that Hiyori is running the whole thing, and that all he has to do is follow.

“Hush, Jun-kun! Besides, you love manly tasks, don’t you? You might as well put those muscles of yours to use!”

“Putting Jun-san’s muscles aside,” Tatsumi speaks up again, causing them both to look over, “I don’t mean to diminish your hard work, but if this was a true festival, wouldn’t it make sense to invite more people to attend?”

“Mm, you might have a point there,” Hiyori acknowledges. “But there’s a reason you were the only person invited. This isn’t just any festival—it’s a Repayment Festival.”

“Repayment…?” Tatsumi repeats the word uncertainly, sounding just like Jun had in the library last week. “… I’m sorry. I’m afraid I still don’t follow.”

“Then let me explain clearly.” Hiyori’s eyes lock onto Tatsumi’s, and at that point, Jun can feel the atmosphere start to change—same as it always does when Hiyori gets serious. “This is Eve’s repayment festival. And we’re repaying you, because it’s thanks to you that the unit exists in its current form.”

“Thanks to me?” Tatsumi repeats. He looks unconvinced, even when Hiyori nods. “Wouldn’t the person most deserving of repayment be Ibara-san? It’s my understanding that he’s your producer.”

“I didn’t say you were the only person who had a hand in creating ‘Eve.’ But you’re the one who gave Jun-kun the strength to go on and become my partner,” Hiyori says simply. “That’s why I can’t help but feel grateful.”

“It feels like we’ve had this conversation before.” Tatsumi’s smiling, but there’s something awkward about it, like he’s embarrassed about all the fuss. “I’m glad I could help make a difference for Jun-san. But I still don’t consider anything I did to be out of the ordinary, or deserving of ‘repayment.’ And Jun-san already had plenty of inner strength.”

“That doesn’t change the fact we’re grateful, though.” Jun speaks up again, causing Tatsumi’s attention to turn immediately to him. And his knees feel weak, but he keeps going, delivering the speech he’d mentally rehearsed. “I guess you and Ohii-san already talked about something like this. But I never thanked you for everything you did for me. For all those meals, for lending an ear to me and my problems, and for being the first person to treat me like a real idol. So, this is my way of saying thanks to you, I guess. Even though I still think it’s kinda tacky to show off like this.”

“There’s nothing tacky about it!” Hiyori pipes up. “If anything, I would’ve liked to make a much bigger production out of things! For example, I think it would’ve been nice if we could’ve worn new outfits for the occasion—perhaps a military-inspired costume, since it was Tatsumi-kun who made Jun-kun into a ‘soldier of love’? That would dovetail nicely with ALKALOID’s theme, too—”

“I’ve still got no clue what you mean by that whole ‘soldier of love’ thing, y’know.”

“—but, alas, there wasn’t enough time,” Hiyori continues, blatantly ignoring him. “We had to get this done before graduation, so there wasn’t any time for Jun-kun to show off his newly-acquired sewing skills and make us a pair of outfits from scratch.”

“You know there’s no way I could’ve done that, even if you gave me all the time in the world.”

“Hm? But you’ve been taking lessons from Valkyrie’s Itsuki Shu, haven’t you?”

“He just taught me how to sew on buttons and mend small tears and stuff. I dunno how to make anything from scratch.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll learn! It can’t be that different from knitting clothes for Mary, can it?”

“Those are completely different ballparks, y’know~” Jun sighs. “Anyway…” He turns his eyes back on Tatsumi, his stomach twisting when he sees the look on his face. “This next one isn’t even an Eve song, but it’s meant to show thanks.”

“Actually, anything becomes an Eve song when it’s us singing it! But yes, that’s exactly what it’s meant for! Hit it, Jun-kun!”

Jun turns on the music player again, letting it blast the next song on their playlist. As the intro starts, Hiyori addresses Tatsumi again. “Do you remember this tune?”

“Of course,” replies Tatsumi. “This is that song we were all asked to sing as a ‘special message’ to our fans.”

“That’s the one!” Hiyori confirms. “‘Surprising Thanks~’ But although the version with all of us together was meant for our fans to listen to, this version is a gift from us to you, so please listen closely! ♪~♪~♪”

They sing as they rehearsed, Jun mimicking the choreography from the dance they all learned. This, like everything else, had been Hiyori’s idea, and he hadn’t seen the point in it, since most of what he remembered from the song was just the weird gambling motif. But as he looks directly at Tatsumi and sings the opening lines about being fortunate to meet you, well, he kind of gets what Hiyori was going for.

Their second song is greeted with another round of applause, significantly less confused (but no less sincere) than the first round.

“Now it’s back to our regular Eve songs. Jun-kun, play the next one on our list.”

The next one has his hands on Hiyori’s waist, has him staring into Hiyori’s glittering eyes and leaning in for an almost-kiss, which he lost all shame about doing onstage a long time ago, but which he can’t help but feel a little self-conscious about doing in front of Tatsumi, especially after what happened a couple of weeks ago. But that part only lasts a few seconds, and anyway, he’s too serious about performing to water down any of the choreo.

When he does look away from Hiyori and back at the audience, he finds that Tatsumi is watching them with interest, rather than politely averting his eyes or something, and that’s enough to spur him through the rest of the number.

Tatsumi claps again for them when it’s done.

“You look like you’re deep in thought this time,” Hiyori says once Jun has stopped the music. “Let’s hear it!”

“It’s nothing much. I was just thinking, the two of you are quite close onstage and offstage.” Tatsumi’s voice is kinda sentimental-sounding, and he’s smiling all softly when he speaks, which is enough to make Jun finally feel that embarrassment he was missing during the song itself.

“Ah, you’re curious about that, are you? It’s a popular topic of discussion among our fans, so I suppose that makes sense. Perhaps you want to know which one came first? The answer, surprisingly, is ‘being close onstage!’ This was actually our first song, so we were just getting to know each other when we performed it for the first time. ‘That’ kind of gimmick was also a subtle way to correct Jun-kun, who was just starting out, and still needed to be guided around onstage sometimes.”

“But you felt close to Jun-san from the moment you first saw him at Reimei… correct?”

Tatsumi’s expression is earnest. Jun has absolutely no clue what he’s talking about, so he turns to Hiyori to see if he knows, only to find—to his complete and utter disbelief—that Hiyori has turned a flaming shade of red.

“Ah! Tatsumi-kun, are you revealing private things to Jun-kun now? Bad weather!” Hiyori’s voice has gone all high and kinda shrill, which only has Jun even more discombobulated. “I’m used to Jun-kun being cheeky and rebellious, but I’m not at all used to you rebelling against me!”

"Oh, was that private?" Tatsumi smiles. "I'm sorry."

"You don't sound sorry!"

“What are you guys talking about?” asks Jun, still bewildered, but slowly starting to put together the pieces. “Ohii-san… did you actually say something about ‘feeling close to me’ from the moment you saw me?” He can hardly believe it—it sounds like a joke. But Hiyori is steadily growing even redder, and Jun can count the number of times he’s ever seen Hiyori blush on one hand, since Hiyori is one of the most shameless people he’s ever met. It makes him feel dumbfounded. “That’s pretty sappy."

“Silence, Jun-kun!” Hiyori crosses his arms, turning his still red-face away from him. “I never said anything about ‘feeling close’ to you! That’s just Tatsumi-kun editorializing. Anyway, next up is our Valentine’s Day song, which should show Tatsumi-kun how much you’ve grown as a performer—if you don’t mess up, that is. If you mess up at such a crucial time, it’ll just be sad, so do try to keep up with me.”

“You know I’m not gonna forget this, right?” Hiyori ignores him, so he gives up, crossing back over to the music player. But he can feel a tiny, dazed smile pulling at his lips, even if a part of him is still in total disbelief that Hiyori’s been saying stuff like that about him to Tatsumi.

Their next song is the Valentine’s song, one that Jun hasn’t been performing for two years, but did spend the first two weeks of February rehearsing nonstop. He hasn’t gone rusty, he knows how to nail it, and if there’s something a little ironic or embarrassing about singing this kinda stuff to Tatsumi, then so be it. As an idol, he can’t afford to have shame.

“Well?” Hiyori asks afterwards, his wavy bangs sticking to his forehead with sweat, “what did you think? Our voices sounded even more beautiful than usual together, didn’t they?”

“Very much so.” Tatsumi stops applauding and smiles warmly. “You both have quite an impressive range. It was interesting to hear Hiyori-san rap and Jun-san hit such high notes. You’re both well-matched in terms of stage presence, as well.”

Jun’s heart skips. “You really think so?” That might have sounded desperate, but he can’t help feeling pleased: he knows that he works well with Hiyori onstage, but he seldom ever feels like he can match him. “That’s… good to hear.”

“Don’t fish for compliments, Jun-kun.” Hiyori’s scolding is entirely predictable, but there’s no real heat to it. “Anyway, we have another song we’re working on, as well as some old demos we could share, but I was hoping to do something a little different for the next one. For this next song, I’d like to invite the audience onstage to participate!”

Tatsumi looks surprised. “You want me to sing with you?”

“Yes, exactly! Actually, it’d be best if you could swap places with Jun-kun.”

“With Jun-san?” Now Tatsumi looks even more confused. Jun, on the other hand, expected this, since they already went over it in advance.

“Well, this concert is Eve’s repayment festival. But Eve wasn’t always going to be me and Jun-kun. If things had been different—say, if I hadn’t met Jun-kun, and you hadn’t been hospitalized—then we might have been partners instead. So, I though it might be interesting to explore that ‘what if’ just for one song! Just think of it as something similar to A Christmas Carol: first, we have the ghost of Eve’s present, and next we have ‘the Eve that could have been’!”

“You know that metaphor doesn’t make any sense, right?” But Jun is already leaving the stage, descending down to the audience seats, and Tatsumi, he sees, still looks a little vexed but is starting to stand up, too. He shrugs off his jacket and leaves it draped over his seat before passing Jun on the way up to the stairs.

“Are we going to be performing one of Eve’s songs?” he asks Hiyori once he’s onstage. “I’ve burned all of your performances into my mind, but I’m afraid I don’t remember all the choreography or lyrics.”

“It doesn’t have to be one of our songs,” says Hiyori with a shrug. “I just wanted to perform a duet with you, since we’ve never had the chance to do that before. But we have worked together recently, so why not just go with that?”

“You mean Moonlight Disco?”

Hiyori nods enthusiastically. “That’s it! Although Jun-kun saw the video, the rest of Eden was too busy to come and see our shuffle performance in person. So, let’s give Jun-kun a taste of the live version, hmm?” Hiyori goes over to the music player, selecting the appropriate song, and Jun sits back and watches. “I can take Kanata-kun and Arashi-chan’s parts, but do you think you can handle Hokuto-kun’s?”

Tatsumi smiles at Hiyori and nods, shining bright beneath the stage lights. “I can. I’m ready to start whenever you are.”

“Then, on the count of three…♪”

Hiyori presses Play, and the intro starts.

Jun remembers seeing the video, remembers that phony-looking spaceship at the beginning and how he’d wondered about how much money went into the production. This time, he doesn’t focus on anything other than Tatsumi. Tatsumi’s lines are first, and Jun listens to his clear voice ring out, singing about the end of a fairytale in a tone full of longing. And Jun is amazed, less by his singing itself and more by the fact that he got right into it, even though this was all impromptu, just some random whim of Hiyori’s, conveying Princess Kaguya’s wistfulness through his face as well as his voice. And then his lines are over, and Hiyori is up next, effortlessly expressing the same sort of emotion.

Their voices, he thinks, blend together well. Despite the lack of proper rehearsal, the lack of vocal warm-ups on Tatsumi’s part, and the time that’s elapsed since their shuffle unit performance, Tatsumi and Hiyori seem effortlessly in-sync, both perfectly capable of holding their own onstage, neither one outshining the other. He feels, a little, like he’s nobody again, a Non-Special Student with no experience who just got plucked out of obscurity. Some part of him feels like he’s not the same level as them, not now while he’s watching this. But mostly he just feels like he’s lucky: to call one of these people his partner, and the other one his friend. To be given front row seats to this.

“… well?” Hiyori shuts off the music, then turns to stare down Jun with his hands on his hips. “Where’s my round of applause? I want you to praise me properly! Or could it be, you’re too astonished to even do that much?”

Like hell is Jun ever telling Hiyori what he was just thinking. “Yeah, yeah,” he says instead, putting his hands together politely. “You were both good—especially you, Tatsumi-senpai.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Hiyori frowns at him sharply. “Don’t downplay my performance! And in the first place, isn’t your reaction too lukewarm? The performance of your dreams just took place—a collaboration between your two most beloved upperclassmen! The least you could do is shower us with compliments.”

“I think compliments are more meaningful when they’re given freely, though.” Tatsumi wipes the sweat off his brow and smiles at Jun with twinkling eyes. “But thank you for applauding, Jun-san♪”

Jun feels the back of his neck prickle. “Uh, you’re welcome… d’ya need any water? We have some extra water bottles backstage.”

“That would be nice, thank you.”

Jun climbs back onstage, even though Tatsumi’s already gone to go get one. “So, to recap,” Hiyori says once they’re all gathered again, “we’ve done me and Jun-kun, and then me and Tatsumi-kun. To close the circle, I think our next performance should be between Tatsumi-kun and Jun-kun, as a tribute to ‘Eve’s past.’ What do you say, Tatsumi-kun? You’re not too tired, are you?”

“I’m alright,” Tatsumi assures them after setting down his water bottle. “If I’d known I was going to be onstage, perhaps I wouldn’t have worn this sweater today. But I haven’t overheated, or anything like that.”

“I’m sorry this was all last-minute.” Jun feels like he should’ve apologized from the beginning, really. “It’s just that once Ohii-san’s got it in his head that he wants to do something, it’s damn near impossible to talk him down from whatever it is.”

“Yes,” Tatsumi agrees with a soft chuckle. “It’s easy to get swept away by Hiyori-san. I’ve experienced that as well.”

“Well, I’m very glad to hear that I’ve managed to sweep both of you off your feet. But for now, let’s get back on track and onto the next song! I know the one time Jun-kun and Tatsumi-kun shared a stage together was during COMP, but it seems rather boring to have you perform the same song you did then. So, how about something else, like one of Sagami Jin’s greatest hits? Jun-kun knows all those songs like the back of his hand, and Tatsumi-kun surely must know some of them as well, right?”

“I’m familiar with his work, yes. However, I don’t think that would be the best course of action to take, seeing as Jun-san seems to have a problem with the idea…?”

“Course I have a problem with it.” Jun throws Hiyori an exasperated look. “I’ll do it if I have to, but if there’s any other song we both know, I’d obviously rather sing that.”

“What about ‘Walk With Your Smile’?” Tatsumi pipes up.

Jun looks at him. “You mean that song we all sang way back when for some ES promo?”

“Yes. Like ‘Surprising Thanks,’ we should both know the lyrics to that song. I thought it had a rather nice melody as well.”

“Then yeah, that one’s fine with me. Ohii-san, do you still have that one?”

“I do indeed. I’ll go take a seat in the audience while you find it on the playlist, alright? Do make sure not to get overshadowed by Tatsumi-kun, since I’ll be watching you closely.”

“I’ll make sure of it,” Jun promises as Hiyori exits the stage. He switches the mic on his headset back on, before finding the right track on Hiyori’s phone. Before hitting Play, he turns to Tatsumi. “Did you wanna just alternate every other line until the chorus?”

“That sounds agreeable. But you can go first, Jun-san.”

Something about Tatsumi’s tone of voice catches him off-guard—he’s still smiling, still warm, but there’s something serious about the look in his eyes. Jun realizes, then, that he’s still in performance mode, and it fully hits him for the first time that they’re about to perform a real duet. Not Tatsumi lifting him up, or giving him free pointers when he was a first-year and a Non-Special Student: both of them standing on the stage together as real idols.

He smiles, a little self-conscious but a lot more eager. “Alright.”

The music starts. Standing at center stage, with both of his senpai’s eyes on him, Jun begins to sing.

Once it’s done, Tatsumi praises him. “Hiyori-san was correct—you really do have a beautiful voice.”

Jun looks at Hiyori in disbelief. He almost wonders if he’s hearing things, since he’s still got Tatsumi’s voice, mingled together with his own, echoing in his eardrums. “Seriously… what’s all this stuff you’ve been telling him?”

“That’s enough of that.” Hiyori gets up from his seat. “You were both brilliant. However, it looks like Jun-kun’s gotten rather sweaty, and since this was all rather last-minute, I frankly don’t have much else planned. So, why don’t we take a short breather?”

They grab their waters and gather onstage together, sitting with their legs hanging off the edge. Hiyori takes a moment to join them, however, first going over to the video camera and shutting it off.

“I didn’t notice this was being filmed. Is the footage going to be used for promotional materials?”

“Nah. I offered Ibara the chance to use it, but he wasn’t interested.”

“But we’d already gone to the trouble of renting a video camera,” Hiyori continues, taking a seat on Tatsumi’s other side, “and it seemed a shame not to use it for anything! So perhaps we could upload a clip or two to social media? I’ll be sure to cut our private conversations, of course. I know you weren’t expecting to be filmed, however, so if you don’t want any of it to be used, that’s fine—we’ll respect your wishes.”

Tatsumi shakes his head. “I don’t mind if you choose to upload it. I trust your judgement about which parts are worth showing to our fans.” He tips back his head back and takes another drink of water before setting the bottle down and addressing them both. “Now, let me make sure I understood correctly. You wanted to thank me for giving you strength, and possibly gain some footage for Ibara-san while you were at it? Is that the reason you held this festival?”

Tatsumi is looking at him as he asks. Jun can’t help but grimace. “Actually…” He ducks his head, feeling belatedly guilty. “That’s not the only reason we did this.” Tatsumi is still looking at him, still waiting, so Jun decides to spit out the truth. “That stuff you told me, about how you’d ‘sinned’ and all that… it was kinda weighing on me a lot. So I ended up telling Ohii-san.”

“I see.” Tatsumi sounds neither surprised nor bothered, just quietly accepting, which if anything worsens Jun’s guilt.

“I’m sorry I told him. I know you probably didn’t even mean to reveal that stuff to me.”

“Yes, it seems I have a habit of talking too much sometimes.” Tatsumi’s smile looks a bit sad, somehow. “But you don’t need to apologize. I should have guessed that you would have told Hiyori-san, given your close relationship.”

“I’m not sure that has anything to do with it, though,” Hiyori cuts in, peering at Tatsumi’s face from his other side. “Even when you’re close to someone, there’s no need to tell each other everything. I think that Jun-kun confided in me because he wanted help. Or rather, he was hoping I’d have some idea for how to help you.”

Tatsumi smiles some more. “Jun-san is a good person.”

“Isn’t he?”

Jun just rubs the back of his neck, holding back a sigh. It’s hard to feel good about being praised when he feels like he’s done nothing to deserve it.

“It’s just as you heard from Jun-san.” Tatsumi isn’t looking at either of them, now, his eyes gazing at the rows of empty seats. “As my time at Reimei comes to a close, I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting. I keep thinking about the things that went wrong, and trying to figure out where I went astray. Filming COMP brought those memories to the forefront again. However, there were many positive things about my time at Reimei, as well. And I didn’t mean to disregard your faith in me—I’m sorry if I made it seem like I didn’t value your friendship.”

“It started with the two of you talking about love, correct?” Hiyori asks.

“Mm, that’s correct,” Tatsumi confirms. “It’s not that I won’t allow myself to have friends. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to form close bonds with the other members of ALKALOID. The four of us are close enough now that I’d consider us to be ‘family.’ And even outside my unit, I’ve been blessed with precious friends like you and Jun-san.” But Tatsumi drops his gaze after that, his eyes seeming to cloud over. “I just can’t shake the feeling that it might be somewhat dangerous to let one person get too close. Because the person I led astray, and left damaged… that was the person I considered to be my first true friend.” Then his head jerks up again. “Er, not to disregard the time we spent together…” He’s looking at Jun, now, seeming flustered and apologetic.

“It’s fine,” Jun reassures him. He’s honestly not insulted. “I know sharing tea a couple times doesn’t make you best friends or anything.”

“But those times we shared tea were precious memories to me,” Tatsumi insists. “But as far as our conversation about ‘love’ went… a deep connection with one particular person doesn’t seem like something I should allow myself. I’m worried I might make the same mistakes again.”

“So, basically, you hurt the first person you loved outside your family, and now you’re afraid to love again,” Hiyori summarizes. “Do I have that right?”

“Ohii-san, don’t you think you’re oversimplifying things? Actually, aren’t you just being insensitive?”

“No.” Tatsumi shakes his head. “I think Hiyori-san’s ability to cut right to the heart is one of his good qualities. Yes, it’s something like what you said—which sounds rather weak-spirited, now that you’ve pointed it out.” His smile turns self-deprecating.

“And that ‘first friend’ of yours was HiMERU-kun, correct?”

In response to the question, Tatsumi nods.

“I see.” Hiyori strokes his chin in thought, before nodding his head. “Well, that’s that.”

Jun shoots him a look. “What do you mean, ‘that’s that’?”

“I mean that’s that,” Hiyori says simply. “I can’t do anything to change your feelings of regret towards HiMERU-kun. In the first place, I don’t fully understand what happened between the two of you anyway. All I can do is talk about my own ‘love.’”

“Your love for Jun-san?” Tatsumi asks.

“In this case, I meant my love for you. You know that we both love you, right?” Hiyori says like it’s obvious, and Jun’s brain short-circuits. This wasn’t what they talked about at all. He glances at Tatsumi to find him looking just as surprised as he feels, his brows raised and his eyes widened. “Even though in my case, that ‘love’ was mingled with hate.”

“Ohii-san?” Jun is startled. He has no idea where Hiyori is going with this, and he doesn’t think he’s ever heard Hiyori talk about hating anyone, much less Tatsumi.

“I told you that you were a thorn in my side, right?” Hiyori ignores him and asks Tatsumi. When Tatsumi hesitantly nods, he continues. “When I first came to Reimei Academy, I was all set to make a splash, but everyone kept comparing me to you. It felt like really bad weather at the time. And Jun-kun would often talk about you, which made me awfully jealous. I wanted him to admire me, be grateful to me, and shower with me love for all I’d done for him, but it turned out someone else had also helped him in the past. But of course, that wasn’t the first time I got jealous of you—I was also jealous when I heard about your ‘Revolution.’”

“But…” Tatsumi’s voice is hesitant. “My revolution failed.”

“But you still stayed true to your ideals,” says Hiyori. “You refused to compromise, or stain your hands with blood—unlike me, that is.” His face has gone all serious. But then, he suddenly starts to smile, which leaves Jun feeling even more confused. “It’s unexpected, isn’t it? Someone as bright and dazzling as me being jealous of someone like you. But that’s exactly what my sin was. It wasn’t greed or sloth or any of the other ones that Jun-kun suggested. My sin is that I envied you.”

Hiyori stops speaking for a moment. The ensuing silence feels stunned.

“Envy is a sin,” says Tatsumi at last, “but it’s not unforgiveable. I myself have envied both of you: I envied your light, Hiyori-san, and your ability to lift up others. And I especially envied Jun-san, for his work ethic and his resilience.”

“You envied me?” Jun’s voice comes out sounding hoarse.

Tatsumi’s smile looks so sad. “I have for a while now, yes.”

Jun struggles to even form words. “But that’s…” Impossible, he wants to say. Unbelievable. He can’t find words, it’s so beyond him.

“We’ll address your hero worship of Tatsumi-kun in a minute,” says Hiyori, shooting him a sideways glance. “First, please let me finish. Although I used to hate you, I also liked you from the beginning. Jun-kun made you seem like a great person, and I admired you for staying true to yourself. But there was that envy mixed in, which kept me from loving you properly. Now, however, I can proudly say that feeling has changed into pure love.” He stares right into Tatsumi’s eyes, none of his earlier embarrassment showing on his face at all. “The Tatsumi-kun who stuck to his ideals beautifully, who watches over everyone like a mother, who shares tea with me based on my preferences, and who clumsily asks me to check his tie most mornings—that’s the Tatsumi-kun I fell for. I can’t change what happened in the past,” he goes on, as Jun and Tatsumi both stare at him with eyes like saucers, “but I do hope that we can offer something like a second home to you. You don’t need to worry about interrupting our alone time. After today, I consider you something like an honorary member of Eve, which means you’re always invited. Feel free to join in any of our activities—including the one you saw in the kitchen the other week.”

“… pardon?” Tatsumi asks.

“The fuck?” Jun blurts out.

“What?” Hiyori looks at them quizzically, as though he didn’t just say something outrageous. “I said I fell for you, didn’t I? For me, it’s that kind of love! And Jun-kun wouldn’t mind kissing you either—right, Jun-kun?”

“What are you talking about?” Jun feels like he’s gone pale and turned red at the same time—he doesn’t know whether to be horrified or just embarrassed. “I never said anything like that.”

“But you’re always looking at him, sometimes even when I’m around. And he’s your upperclassman from Reimei who has dazzling purple eyes, a checkered past, and a brilliant stage presence, which we all know is exactly what draws you in.”

“Wouldja stop talking nonsense?!” Jun’s heart is pounding. He can’t bear to look at Tatsumi right now, he just wants to sink through the stage. “Don’t make it sound like I’ve been looking at Tatsumi-senpai with weird eyes! I haven’t been, damn it!”

“Er…” Tatsumi speaks up at last. Against his better judgement, Jun does chance a glance at him, only to find him wearing a look of faint embarrassment. “First of all, I wouldn’t be offended if you did have feelings for me. If anything, I’d be quite flattered.”

A strangled noise escapes Jun’s throat. “S… Seriously?!”

“Yes,” Tatsumi says firmly, “anyone would be lucky to receive affection from you. However, I’m afraid I can’t accept this proposal.”

“Hm? It wasn’t really a marriage proposal.” Hiyori’s tone is still entirely too carefree. “I was just saying, you can kiss us anytime, or even join in our relationship sometimes if you want? Which isn’t marriage, but is kind of a big deal for me to offer. I wouldn’t loan Jun-kun out to just anyone, you know, since that might leave him confused about who the ‘primary owner is.’ Plus, he’s a really good boy, so I wouldn’t entrust him to just anyone, either! But if it’s Tatsumi-kun, then there’s no problem.”

“Again… what are you talking about?” Jun presses a hand up to his forehead, feeling the worst headache of his life coming on. His skin is hot to the touch, a furious blush scorching his whole face. “Goddamn. I seriously wish you’d drop dead right now.”

“Now, Jun-san, please don’t wish death on other people,” Tatsumi says, looking a little alarmed at how things have escalated. “And Hiyori-san, could you please not talk about Jun-san as though he’s a piece of property you own? I understand that this might be a quirk of your relationship, or your way of showing affection, but I’d prefer for you to see him as a full-fledged human being with rights.”

“Yep, yep, you’re absolutely right about all that, so we’ll be sure to do a ton of reflecting later!”

“Now who’s the obedient dog?” Jun mutters sourly under his breath, but neither one of them seems to hear him.

“I’m glad to hear it,” says Tatsumi. “Now, going back to what I was saying, I’m flattered by your offer. But due to this country’s laws against polygamy, as well as my commitment to my faith, I’m afraid I can’t join your relationship.”

“What’s that got to do with anything?” Hiyori has the gall to sound genuinely curious. “In the first place, there’s no version of the Bible that says anything about being loved by two ‘Eves’ at once, is there?”

Tatsumi seems to be struggling for words. “I… suppose that’s true, but I assumed it went without saying…?!”

“Well, you can do whatever you want, of course,” says Hiyori. “But I thought it sounded like the best arrangement for you. After what happened with HiMERU-kun, you’re afraid to treat any one person as ‘special,’ correct? But in this case, we’d both be special. We wouldn’t ask you to focus on just one of us. And if something ever did go wrong, Jun-kun and I would still have each other to rely on, so that’s less pressure on you, isn’t it? Putting all that aside, though, Jun-kun has some things left to say to you, so I’m going to hand the rest over to him.”

Jun doesn’t know where to begin. “How am I supposed to say anything now that you’ve sprung all that on us?” He rubs a hand over his still-burning face before lifting his head to look at Tatsumi.

Tatsumi, surprisingly, is looking at him with sympathy in his eyes. “Hiyori-san can be a real handful, I see.”

“No offense,” Jun says darkly, “but you have no idea.”

Tatsumi chuckles. “I’m sure I don’t. If you ever need someone to talk to about your worries, my door is always open. I’d be happy to discuss them with you over tea.”

“Hm?” Hiyori frowns at them. “Are the two of you making plans to talk about me behind my back? I’m not sure I approve of this.”

“If you don’t approve, then stop causing me worries in the first place.” Jun turns from him back to Tatsumi, still warm in the face, but no longer burning up. It helps, knowing Tatsumi doesn’t blame him for any discomfort Hiyori might have caused. But now comes the hard part.

“While we were filming last month…” He swallows, bunching up part of his costume between his fingers. He knows what to say because he’s rehearsed this part—it’s just hard. “You said something about me being ‘obedient,’ and how I didn’t used to be that way. Ohii-san brought it up again, and it kinda got me thinking you were right. So, I started wondering why that changed.”

“You were always a good person,” Tatsumi says gently, “but you seemed more rebellious than obedient. Of course, there wasn’t anything wrong with that. I admired you for it. You were willing to disagree with me, and didn’t want to become one of my followers—I remember you saying that clearly.”

“Yeah.” Jun exhales a shaky breath—he doesn’t know why it’s so hard to talk all of a sudden. “I admired you and all, but I didn’t want to follow you. I still don’t wanna. I’d rather cut my own path. But as for why I started being ‘obedient’… I guess it’s ‘cause I felt bad. About… not being there. When you were in the hospital, I… I kinda blamed myself for it.”

That gentle smile is wiped clean off, concern flashing in Tatsumi’s eyes. “You have no reason to blame yourself,” he quickly assures Jun. “Neither time that I was hospitalized had anything to do with—”

“I know,” Jun cuts him off. “I know that. But it’s just…” He drops his gaze, a little miserable as he admits, “it’s like I just took from you. Just like everybody else. I let you do all that stuff for me, but I never looked out for you at all. Instead of avoiding what you were doing, I should’ve tried to be a friend to you. But I didn’t, so… that’s why I’m not mad that you didn’t consider me a friend back then. And I guess me ‘obeying’ you was kinda an attempt to make up for all that.”

And then he stops.

Silence greets that admission. Jun looks up again, heart in his throat, to see Tatsumi still looking at him, concern written across his face, but also surprise, and more than a little bit of sadness. It makes Jun’s heart clench and his chest.

And yet…

He feels, somehow, lighter. Like there’s more room in his lungs—like he can breathe easier, sit up straighter. Like something that’s been weighing him down for ages has finally, at long last, been lifted from his shoulders.

He swallows hard and then goes on, “But I do wanna be your friend now.” He looks Tatsumi straight in the eye, and even he’s surprised by how forcefully the words come out. “And as your friend, I’m gonna let you know when I think you’re wrong about something. So, I think you’re wrong about HiMERU.” Tatsumi’s eyes flare wide at the sound of that name, but Jun presses on, ignoring the sick feeling in his gut. “That mob attacking him wasn’t your fault. It was a video, right? Like what happened in SS last year. And he chose to join you out there—I saw him before your assembly. He didn’t wanna talk to me, he just wanted to know where you were. And, all that commotion and stuff…” He swallows, throat constricting at the memory, “that was really soon afterwards. So he must’ve run straight there. You didn’t ‘drag him down’ into anything. So,” he continues, breath stuttering, heart pounding fast because he hasn’t talked about this ever, not in the two-and-a-half years since it’s been eating him, but he’s almost there, he’s almost done, “if he wants to blame you for everything, that’s on him. If that’s his way of dealing with stuff, then so be it. But it’s not your fault, no matter what he says.”

Should he have expected anything other than silence? Tatsumi doesn’t speak—he looks like he’s at a loss for words. He looks a bit stunned, actually, like he’s been clubbed upside the head or something, and for a moment Jun wonders if he’s said too much, pushed too hard. But now that he’s started, he doesn’t want to stop. Instead of clamming up, he just keeps going.

“Besides… he seems happy with his unit and stuff. Not that I’d know of course, ‘cause he never talks to me. But whenever I see him onstage, he looks like he’s giving it his all. So, even if you had dragged him into Hell or something, I don’t think he’s still there.”

“Hm?” Hiyori speaks up for the first time in a few minutes. “Do you watch Crazy:B performances, Jun-kun?”

Jun had almost forgotten Hiyori was there. It’s almost a relief to hear him—to remember it’s not just him and Tatsumi. “Nah, not really. I’ll just watch for a minute or two if I see them on TV or online somewhere. But HiMERU seems pretty popular. Half the comments on their videos are just about how hot he is. Figures.”

“He does seem to have found a place where he belongs.”

Tatsumi breaks his silence at last, and Jun turns towards him again, feeling startled.

“I’m truly glad for that.”

Jun lets out a breath.

He can’t read the look on Tatsumi’s face too well, but he’s not upset or mad, and that’s another huge weight off his shoulders. “Even at COMP, I thought he looked kinda happy while we were all onstage,” he says. He feels weird saying it, because he’s spent so long thinking that HiMERU isn’t someone he can admit he pays attention to at all. “He’s been acting like a robot for so long that it was a real surprise to see him smiling all sincerely for a change.”

“I know what you mean,” Tatsumi says. He’s smiling, now, and it looks a little wistful, but just as genuine as HiMERU’s had been. “I thought he looked beautiful that day.”

“... Hmmph.”

Jun shoots Hiyori a look. “What are you sulking about now?”

“I just don’t like hearing my partner, as well as the other person we both love, talking about some other man’s beauty! Especially when I’m right here. It made me a bit envious again, is all.”

“Did you tune out everything I just said?” Jun asks, sighing exasperatedly. “I mean, I’ve pretty much given up on even trying to be friends with him. I kinda thought we were friends, back then. Or that we almost were. But now whenever he sees me, there’s always this look on his face, like he’s trying to remember, ‘Who’s this guy again?’ So, that’s that.”

“People tend to grow apart as they age.” Tatsumi speaks up again, causing both their heads to turn. “I wasn’t able to make friends my own age while I was younger, so this isn’t something I have much experience with. But I know it’s common for human beings to drift apart from their friends as they grow older. The saying ‘if you love someone, you must let them go’ probably applies here. But the opposite also holds true—people can find each other again, re-connect with old friends, and deepen their bonds, just like me and Jun-san.”

“… yeah.” Jun’s throat feels tight again, but it’s a happy feeling this time. He can’t hold back his stupid grin. “I’m real glad to have found you again, Tatsumi-senpai.”

A moment later, Hiyori stretches out his legs, then starts to stand. “We still have some time left here. Would either of you be interested in performing as a group of three this time?”

Tatsumi stands up as well. “I’d be happy to, as long as you and Jun-san aren’t too tired.”

“Course I’m not too tired.” Jun sets down his water bottle and straightens his clothes. “Do you have any songs on there that’d be good for three people, though?”

“Of course I do.” Hiyori steps up to the music player and holds up his phone. “We could always perform a Switch song, or something from AKATSUKI. It’s good to keep on top of your opponents, so I’ve made sure to study their choreography, and I know several of their songs by heart.”

“You’re real impressive for studying other units like that. I don’t think I know any of their songs all the way through.”

“If we make any mistakes, I’m sure that Hiyori-san will cover for us.” Tatsumi is all smiles as he holds out his hand. “Shall we dance?”

Jun takes it. He’s not sure he’s ever felt more free. “Sure, let’s go for it~♪”

The music plays, one song leading into the next, and it’s another good thirty minutes or so before they manage to finally tire themselves out.

☀️

Epilogue

On the day of Reimei’s graduation, Hiyori watches from the audience.

He doesn’t bother with the usual hat-and-sunglasses. There’s no sense in hiding his identity at Reimei. As a result, he attracts countless stares throughout the ceremony: stares of envy, stares of starstruck admiration, stares mingled with resentment and love. Hiyori doesn’t stare back, but on the occasion he does catch someone’s eye, he makes sure to give them his best smile.

“Sazanami Jun.”

His partner’s name generates a flurry of whispers. There isn’t any special fanfare, though: Sazanami Jun accepts his certificate with a stoic expression and a quiet murmur of thanks, same as everyone else, before exiting the stage. The whisperings continue even after he’s gone; there’s no doubt who the most famous of Reimei’s graduating seniors is. But while Hiyori’s own year at Reimei was marked with bitter stares and angry mutterings whenever he walked by—everyone jealous of them, everyone sore about losing to them, everyone tired of their underhanded tactics and wishing they could get rid of them or at least become them—most of the whispering, this time around, sounds positive. The people in the audience sound awed, like fans who just saw a celebrity. While Hiyori was away from school, his partner became popular.

Which makes him smile even brighter, because it’s exactly what his hardworking Jun-kun deserves.  

“Congrats on making it this far.” He says it once they’re out of the auditorium, standing out in the sunlight. “As the person who raised you, I feel incredibly proud…♪”

“You know that’d be completely disturbing if it were true, right?”  Jun’s response is cheeky as ever. But he’s also smiling just a little, for which Hiyori couldn’t be more glad. For Jun to go through what he went through at Reimei, and still graduate with a smile at the end, shows that Tatsumi was right about his “resilience.”

And speaking of the Tatsumi…

“Hello.”

He steps up to greet them, clad in his winter uniform for the last time, and holding his certificate to his chest.

“Tatsumi-kun~” Hiyori gives a cheerful wave. “Congrats to you as well♪”

“Thank you, Hiyori-san.” Tatsumi’s smiling a little brighter than usual. “And congratulations, Jun-san.”

“Thanks~” Jun perks up visibly. Hiyori resists the urge to tease him about it. Since it is a special day for Jun, he’ll show mercy this one time.

“Did your unit not come to watch the ceremony?” he asks Tatsumi. “I didn’t see them in the crowd.”

“They’re all busy today. Mayoi-san is also graduating, after all. But we’re planning to have a celebratory dinner together later.”

“That sounds lovely,” says Hiyori. Though what he means is, I’m glad you made it out with a smile too.

The three of them start walking away from the school. It’s a gorgeous day outside, cherry trees blooming all around them, petals scattered on the wind. The sun shines brightly overhead, as though welcoming the graduated students to the next phase of their lives.

“Man, I’m glad to put that place behind me.”

“I won’t fault you for feeling that way,” Tatsumi tells Jun. “But I’m glad we’re leaving the school in better shape than when we found it.”

Hiyori stretches his arms up over his head. “You have the rest of your lives ahead of you. Isn’t that exciting? I remember that feeling of anticipation well♪”

“There’s nothing to really anticipate. I mean, everything’s pretty much gonna stay the same, except we don’t have to study on top of work all the time. It’s not like we had to think hard about our career surveys, or anything.”

“Ah yes, the survey! When I was asked to fill one of those out at the beginning of last year, I put down, ‘continue being my sparkling self’ as my career goal…♪”

“That’s not much of a ‘goal.’ Well, not like I can talk. I put down ‘be a better idol than Sagami Jin or my dad.’ I’d write something different if I could do it over again.”

“What would you write now?” Tatsumi asks, seeming interested.

“‘Be an idol who goes down in history,’ or something like that? I dunno, but I wouldn’t mention either of them. They don’t have anything to do with me or my goals anymore.”

“I see.” Tatsumi smiles at that. “It’s an interesting subject. I’m not sure what I would have written down if I hadn’t already chosen the path of becoming an idol. What would you two have done?”

“Beats me,” says Jun. “That kinda question’s seriously impossible for me, since my dad forced me down this path as soon as I was old enough to walk.”

“Yes, that one’s tough for me, too, since I promised Nagisa-kun we’d become idols years and years ago. But if not an idol, I suppose I’d be a world-famous model? Or perhaps an actor?”

“That’s not just something you choose on a whim, you know~” Jun turns to Tatsumi. “What about you, Tatsumi-senpai? Are you sure you don’t have any other ideas?”

“Well, the obvious answer is that I’d become a preacher at my parents’ church. But I knew from an early age that I wanted a different career—or rather, that I wanted to become influential in another domain, and spread tolerance to the outside world that way. To that end, I suppose I could have ended up becoming a public speaker, a television or radio host, or perhaps a counselor. Though, there is one other career path that interests me.”

“Yeah?” Jun asks. “What’s that?”

“I’m not sure what the word was—I believe it was called ‘NASCAR’? But I saw a program on TV the other day that involved drivers competing in high-speed car races. I assumed it was just being done for entertainment, but upon further research, it appeared to be a form of professional sport? I thought that looked interesting. So, perhaps I would have pursued that.”

“Wow, uh…” Jun laughs a little awkwardly. “I kinda wanna see that now.”

“Doesn’t that sort of activity have a high morality rate?” Hiyori points out. “I’d hate to see you scraped off the side the racetrack. But anyway, there’s more to life than just careers. For example, have you given our proposal any more thought? The one where I said you could join our relationship, I mean.”

“Ohii-san.” Jun’s tone is half embarrassed, half exasperated. “Don’t tell me you’re still harassing him about that?”

“It’s alright, Jun-san.” Tatsumi gives an airy laugh, seeming perfectly relaxed about the topic. “I’ve had other things to think about recently, so the subject of romance hasn’t been on my mind. But your confession and your performance was very moving, and both of you are dear to my heart. So when it comes time to think about such things, I’ll be sure to consider you and Jun-san first.”

“Wait… seriously?” Jun’s eyes go huge. “You’re considering me first for that?”

“Jun-kun.” Hiyori gives him a sharp look, and a flick upside the back of his head for good measure. “Don’t sound desperate! Besides, Tatsumi-kun said he’d consider both of us, not just you.”

“I meant that I’d consider you two together,” says Tatsumi, while Jun shoves lightly at Hiyori in retaliation. “Since Hiyori-san made it sound as though you two were a packaged deal. Though, I do hope I didn’t misinterpret him on that front?”

“Nope,” Hiyori chirps, “you understood perfectly! Though, as far as us being a ‘packaged deal’ goes, I’m not sure how that would work, since I’d be a far more luxurious item than Jun-kun. Maybe Jun-kun would be the free gift?”

“I don’t wanna be packaged with you. If I’ve gotta be packaged with anyone, I’d prefer someone who’s not a pain in the ass all the time, alright~?”

“Hmmph. How rude!”

The three of them continue back to the dorms, chatting about this and that, teasing each other and laughing. Hiyori knows, of course, that things won’t always be so peaceful—that Tatsumi’s “sin” won’t wash away just from being near them, nor will his sense of guilt. Hiyori knows, because he’s lived with the same guilt himself: the guilt of dragging someone close to him—his own very first playmate—into a “revolution,” too. For months afterwards, he couldn’t even look at Nagisa without remembering how his fingertips had shook as he’d clutched Hiyori’s hand outside the school gates. It churned his stomach, that feeling of guilt, to the point where he had to distance himself, leaving Nagisa in Ibara’s care and skipping off to another school.

But Hiyori loves himself. In spite of all his sins, all his flaws and all of his mistakes. And though he knows he can’t save every hopeless creature, he hopes, that by walking the same path as them, and being showered in their love each and every day, that Tatsumi will come to love himself, too.

That, truly, would be the finest weather of all.