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1
. Coffee Jelly .
Kuboyasu has had many friends in the past, albeit not through the classic means of polite society.
But they were his family, his homeboys; they fought through thick and- well, usually just thick (they only ever bonded over fights).
So, okay. Maybe the stark difference between his two groups of friends is what’s taking him out.
Goody-goodies vs. the Baddy-baddies. Yes, he’s well aware of how stupid that sounds, but bear with him. He’s only ever really seen the crimson red gushing from heads, bruises all over.
Not this.
In front of his eyes sat a boy with rosette hair, bright and eye-catching, contrasting the quietness of the owner. Usually, he’s quiet. But right now, his face was loud and vivid in Kuboyasu’s mind.
“Mm,” the boy munched on his coffee jelly, eyes closed with glee. His shoulders loosened and relaxed, his chubby cheeks rosy red, begging to be squished. God, Saiki looked like he was in heaven.
And maybe Aren was, too.
He couldn’t take his eyes off the boy. Where on earth did this adorably precious angel come from?
One moment, he was aloof and stoic, only agreeing to join the gang after school because it was at his favourite cafe (instead of ramen for the 55th time). The next thing he knew, he was-
He was like that .
Obviously, Kuboyasu knew of his homie’s fondness for sweets, but maybe he didn’t truly understand the extent of it.
Face flamed in a shade of ruby, akin to the ones of his old friends - but this time, it’s different.
For the first time in awhile, Aren’s heart skipped a beat. Not due to violence, not due to adrenaline, but from sheer cuteness overload.
Fuck.
He’s adorable.
2
. Chess .
Listen, Aren would call himself average. Maybe even a 7/10 if he slept on the right side of the bed. He himself has had his fair share of fangirls who are into bad boys.
But that doesn’t mean he’s experienced in flirting.
Is this even flirting?
This totally has to be flirting, right?
“You’re supposed to move this piece here,” the pinkie sighed. Was he getting tired of teaching Aren now? God, he didn’t know what to hope for.
Why were they so close, and why was he touching his hands personally to move the chess pieces??? Kuboyasu’s brain was short-circuiting; in all his 17 years of living, he honestly did not know how to react.
Ironically, he felt like the same pawn straddled in between the two boys’ hands.
Warm, calloused hands carried by a gentle, soft and untainted limb. Saiki’s skin felt like a baby’s bum, and maybe in a different situation, he would’ve felt embarrassed about his scarred body in comparison.
But right now, he was completely flushed.
“Kuboyasu, are you listening?”
“Ah, yes- yes.” Dammit, what was he thinking right now?! He had asked the hot-pink head for help on how to improve his intellectual capabilities and ended up staying back after school learning chess.
In all honesty, he didn’t expect the boy to agree.
Let alone be so involved. Physically.
“Sorry, let’s continue,” the ex-delinquent said apologetically before sighing, wiping his eyes and continuing on.
He has to get a grip.
He has to.
If Saiki had noticed the feverish look on his face, he didn’t say a thing.
3
. Clear Glasses .
The air was getting cold; winter was coming. Leaves fell and coats thick; everyone was dressed warmly. Oh, how comfortable it would be to take a little nap in it.
And that’s precisely what Saiki was doing: hot packet in hand, wrapped in blankets upon blankets - the boy was shaped like a burrito.
He was dozing off, head heavy as his arms supported the weight.
With the lack of eyebrow creases and no glare in sight, he seemed at peace for once. Maybe with Nendou and Shun late to school. It felt quiet. It felt peaceful. And oh, how Aren wanted to savour it.
Not that he disliked the other boys; Shun was his best friend, after all. And Nendou, well, he was Nendou. (Jokes aside, he did cherish his friends).
It’s just that this soft atmosphere was the picturesque equivalent of a cat taking their afternoon nap in bliss.
It was frankly adorable.
“Oh,” Kuboyasu noted the boy's green glasses. Man, sleeping with specs was uncomfortable as hell. As a fellow glass-holder, he felt an empathetic pang in his chest.
Whispering as not to disturb the boy, the ex-yankee muttered, “Let me help you there, holmes.”
After a moment of thought, he slowly and carefully took off the glasses.
Only to get jumped by Saiki’s hand, grabbing his face like a bowling ball.
“The hell?!” the purple head screamed instinctually. Holy shit, Saiki’s grip is strong as fuck. Lowkey was attractive if it didn’t make him feel like a watermelon awaiting its fate of smithereens. (Or maybe that made it even more attractive).
The boy stopped his deathly grip and instead took Aren’s glasses, all with his eyes closed shut.
Once the situation finally died down, he belatedly took notice of the very pissed glare of the boy wearing his boxy specs.
Oh.
Well, that made him feel something.
“Urgh. Sorry, holmes. I didn’t mean to jump you,” he apologized sheepishly. Man, way to screw up a cute moment. Now his homeboy just looked tired.
Though he didn’t know why he was so offended at his glasses being taken away, he didn’t make a fuss of it. It’s Saiki, he probably has his reasons.
“Huff,” the pinkie exhaled in annoyance. Sweat trickled down his cheek despite the cold weather. Maybe the heat pack was too hot?
“You owe me a parfait.”
“Yessir!”
4
. Germanium Studs .
If you had told Kuboyasu, when he first met the boy, that he’d end up sitting in his room, touching his ears in extremely close proximity, he wouldn’t believe you.
Honestly, who would believe you?
It’s Saiki, and that guy hated interactions - especially physical ones. Ignoring the previously mentioned chess situation, which he presumed only happened purely due to pity on the pinkie’s part, Saiki really did dislike touching.
So for the boy to personally ask him to help peirce his ears?
Who in the right mind would say no?
“Why do you want to wear earrings anyway?” the amethyst boy questioned. It was a punkish thing to do, and Saiki didn’t really want to stand out like that.
“I just wanted to get rid of the hair clips ” the boy responded indifferently.
“I don’t really want to explain it.”
You don’t have to tell him twice. Aren was curious about the out-of-character choice, but he also prioritized making the boy not feel interrogated. He knows the delicate importance of comfortable silence, especially when the other two chaos bringers (he was one, too) were loud enough to cause headaches.
Plus, he knew Shun would get the answer out eventually.
For now, though, hands shakily preparing the needles, he has bigger priorities.
This is Saiki; he hates pain. You have to make this painless, so calm down.
Needle poking through the previously untouched skin, the idea of Kuboyasu Aren being granted the honour of being the one to mark Saiki raised in his mind.
Calm. Down.
He went out of his way to invite you to his house, trusting you - Kuboyasu Aren - on something so vulnerable.
Calm. Down.
Enough! You have to make this painless big guy.
He trusts you, dammit! Don’t ruin it.
Needle finally piercing through, he tries to ignore the small gasp and teary eyes of the boy.
5
. The Cat .
Oh yeah, he totally flunked that exam. Ugh, grades weren’t exactly a priority in the Kuboyasu household - they’re all literally Baddy-Baddies (is the term sticking yet?).
But, still. He couldn’t help the disappointment.
He was better than this.
His art and PE grades were top-notch; if anyone saw him huff in self-adoration when the teachers complimented him, nobody said anything. But those damn numerical numbers and shit.
“Arghhh!” Ruffling his hair roughly in frustration, the boy leaned his head onto the shoe lockers.
This sucks.
Especially knowing how Saiki tried to help out, albeit with board games. (He still doesn’t know how that helps, but he’s not complaining).
Moping in his small bubble of disgruntlement, he looked off to his side. Only to trip and fall face flat into the metal lockers.
Thankfully, no one else was present to see his embarrassing blunder, but looking at the school entrance, he did a double take.
Lo and behold, Saiki petting a cat.
Wow, his mood instantly did a 180.
Maybe it’s the cherry blossom petals dancing in the wind and the sun glistening from above, but the whole scene felt so enchanting. It was almost hypnotizing.
His heart stopped pumping from anger and more of something else.
Something he wasn’t exactly sure he wanted to admit.
Leaning his backside against the lockers and sitting on the cool floor, he turned his head to get a better view of his homeboy.
His usually monotone and dead gaze was nowhere to be seen, now replaced by a softer, kinder look. His untainted hands brushed against the cloud-like, fluffy fur.
And just like that, his previous worries gone - and replaced with another.
Closing his eyes as he turned away from the boy, now done petting and on the way home, he slunked his head downward.
“Oh hey, transfer! Not going home yet? Still hung up on your math marks? Hahaha!”
He looked up at the tall boy with eyes filled with conflict.
No. He's hung up on something else.
Ψ
.
Saiki wasn’t exactly the most affectionate person in the world. Without his abilities, he’s just someone with a bad personality.
Even he knew that.
So, if Aren doesn’t know of his powers, why does he look at him like that?
He had sat next to the reformed delinquent in the ramen bar, accompanied by the two menaces as well. Those two arguing over some nonsense again.
Good grief.
Ignoring the blabbering, he took a look at the menu. To his surprise, it didn’t seem bad. Well, comparatively to that hell hole they had taken Teruhashi in.
Oh, they even hav-
“Saiki, look,” the purple head nudged at him. “They have coffee jelly,” His lips turned upward, happy on his behalf to find something he enjoyed.
Pause.
“It seems so.”
As if used to the withdrawn demeanour, he nodded with mirth. Seemingly happy with himself, before turning to Kaidou and Nendou, asking around to finalize their orders.
Mm.
It felt weird.
Lately, he’s been finding himself doing strange things.
He wasn’t dumb; he knew Kuboyasu had felt something towards the boy - well before he knew himself. He honestly felt bad he would have to break the heart of another one of his friends (seriously, why do so many of them fall for him?).
But what was strange was his reluctance to not evade his advances.
Or even worse, his initiative to respond to them.
It would be a lie to say he wasn’t fond of him; annoyingly enough, he was fond of all his misfits.
But it was different with Kuboyasu.
He finally snapped out of his thoughts when a certain boy placed the coffee jelly in front of him, smiling with genuine delight.
Delight at what?
Eyebrows furrowing, lips puckered in thought. His blatant confusion was obvious, and as if it was the funniest thing in the world, the purple head laughed.
It’s unfair how deep his voice was.
“Doting on you is always so funny. It’s my treat, dolls.”
Oh.
Mm, he looked at his jelly with a twinkle of realization.
Maybe.
Maybe he wouldn’t be breaking hearts this time.