Archive of Our Own

In the last hour, Chifuyu had been to the bathroom three times, having drunk over a liter of hot mint tea, hoping it would help with his stomach ache that had been tormenting him lately.

Of course, the mint didn't help, at least not the way he wanted it to. Although maybe it was a little better if he thought about it... Chifuyu didn't focus on the stomach ache so much when he constantly had to pee. But right now, he couldn't count on anything better.

Yesterday, he had stolen the last painkiller from his mother and forgot to buy a new pack. Like the stomach drops he had finished two days ago, much to his mother's dismay ("This is not a tea syrup! If it says you should put a max. of 30 drops in water, that's how much you put in, not gulp down the whole bottle at once!") He blamed his mother for starting to yell at him after the fact instead of warning him about it beforehand. Although he could have read the prescription instead of mindlessly reaching for the bottle as soon as he saw it was for the stomach. Then maybe he wouldn't have had additional stomach upsets after exceeding the recommended dose. And maybe he would have avoided getting a little tipsy because he would know that stomach drops are made with alcohol.

After that situation and the current additional bladder problem, he only trusted painkillers, which didn't always work, but in his eyes were the safest option.

He could quickly run to the pharmacy, but Baji was supposed to show up at his place so they could go to the Toman’s meeting together. He didn't know what time his friend planned to come, and he didn't want him to wait for him if he showed up while he was gone.

So he continued to fill his poor stomach with mint tea, even though he knew it wasn't the best idea.

After another visit to the toilet, he had had enough and poured the rest of the tea down the sink.

"Stupid shit." He mumbled as he turned on the tap to wash the glass.

The water ran over his hand and he immediately had to pee again.

"Please, not again." He groaned as he placed the cup on the dish drainer with a bang.

He was about to head to the toilet again when the sound of the doorbell echoed through the apartment.

"Fuck." He said as he abruptly turned towards the door instead of the bathroom. His bladder could wait, Baji couldn’t.

"I’m coming, Baji-san!" He shouted, wiping his hands on his pants as he went.

When he opened the door, he noticed right away that Baji wasn’t alone.

Chifuyu immediately felt a knot in his stomach. So the mint wasn’t able to help him after all.

"What are you doing here, Ryusei?" He asked in an irritated voice. He really didn’t need his presence yet. His bladder was barely holding up, his stomach wasn’t much better, and Ryusei still needed to completely destroy his nerves.

Satou immediately responded to his words with a wide smile, which only made Chifuyu’s stomach hurt even more.

"What a cold welcome, Fuyu." He pushed Baji away a bit to stand closer to the doorstep, causing the older boy to grimace. He ruffled Chifuyu's hair before the boy could react. "I thought you’d be more happy that I’d accompany you on your way to Toman’s meeting ♡."

"But for fuck’s sake? It wasn’t even on your way." He said, frowning and fixing his hair. Ryusei could never keep his hands to himself, which always irritated him.

"I was surprised too when I met that idiot." Baji chimed in. "He’d been avoiding the last meetings like the plate and suddenly he felt like coming."

"Like the plague, Baji-san." Chifuyu corrected him reflexively.

"I just wanted to spend more time with you, Fuyu ♡." Ryusei’s smile grew even wider.

Chifuyu grimaced. He wasn’t entirely sure if his reaction was caused by the boy’s idiotic words or the sudden wave of pain that hit his stomach. His hand instinctively went to the sore spot.

The smile on Ryusei’s face instantly faded at the sight.

"So you still have those stomach problems, Fuyu." He shook his head. "I would tell you to go to the doctor again, but you won’t listen to me because your fear of tests overwhelms your common sense, which you can’t boast about anyway."

"I’m not afraid of doctors, you idiot!" Chifuyu felt his face heat up with anger. He raised his fist, ready to punch Ryusei in his filthy face when Satou pulled something out of his pocket.

"I figured you’d be like this, so I bought some painkillers on the way." He handed him the package.

Chifuyu’s anger instantly evaporated.

"You… bought me paintkillers?"

Ryusei shrugged.

"I saw you were taking your last pill at school and I figured that because of today's meeting you would forget about buying another pack."

The thought that Ryusei had noticed and thought about all this made his stomach hurt even more. He instinctively reached for the pack and mumbled thanks , trying not to look him in the eye, embarrassed by the whole situation. However, when he accidentally touched Ryusei's hand, it felt like an electric current had run through him.

He felt nauseous.

And he still had to pee.

"Give me a minute!" He said, pushing them out of the apartment and slamming the door in front of them. He would apologize to Baji for this later.

He ran straight to the bathroom.

"It's not nice to treat guests like that, Fuyu! And even ones who give you gifts ♡." Matsuno heard Ryusei shouting through the door.

"Shut up or I'll take back my thanks!" He shouted back.

If he survived today's meeting, he would survive anything.

Ryusei Satou is an asshole.

Not that Chifuyu hadn't known that since he met the boy.

He just sometimes forgot that Ryusei Satou wasn't just an asshole.

He's an observant asshole.

Ryusei immediately realized that Chifuyu not only had a stomach problem, but also a bladder problem.

"Do you want to go to the bathroom, Fuyu?" He asked in a slightly amused tone.

"No." He drawled. "Shut up, I can't focus on what Mikey-san is saying."

Ryusei didn't shut up, of course.

Chifuyu had no idea where he got the bottle of water, but throughout the meeting he was shaking it or pouring the water on the ground, constantly asking him if he wanted to go to the bathroom.

Ryusei clearly didn't care that the gang members standing next to them were looking at him like he was an idiot, because he focused his attention entirely on Chifuyu and how to make his life even more miserable. Chifuyu could barely keep himself from jumping at Ryusei and kicking his ass. However, he didn't want to interrupt Mikey while he was talking, making his behavior only disappoint Baji, who was already throwing irritated looks their way.

In addition, he was afraid that he would wet himself from any more sudden movements.

Chifuyu wanted to die.

And he wanted to go to the toilet even more.

The last straw was when Ryusei poured some water on his own hand (why hadn't he run out of water yet?!) and then put it on Chifuyu's neck.

The boy jumped in place. This reaction made Ryusei cover his mouth with his still wet hand. He could hardly stop himself from bursting out laughing.

"I swear, I'll kill you and then flush your corpse down the toilet." Chifuyu said through clenched teeth. He knew that if he exploded, he would make Baje angry, because he would interrupt Toman's meeting.

But seriously, would anyone blame him if he got rid of such an annoying guy from the gang?

He felt drops of water running down his skin. A shiver ran down his spine. Not only did the contact with water make his bladder hurt even more, but he also felt that strange pressure in his stomach again.

Oh, someone was definitely going to die today. Chifuyu didn't know yet whether it would be Ryusei or himself.

"So you do want to go to the bathroom after all?" He smiled cheekily.

Chifuyu closed his eyes. It was better for him not to look at Ryusei's stupid face.

He tried to focus on Mickey's words, trying to ignore the treacherous reactions of his body.

However, the boy's proximity made him tremble even more.

Chifuyu guessed he really would have to go to the doctor, maybe he really was sick.

He didn't know how he lasted until the end of the meeting. Little of Mikey's words reached him either. It was only when their leader said they could go home that Chifuyu flinched and, ignoring everyone around him, ran towards his house.

He would apologize to Baji again later. He had to get away from Ryusei as quickly as possible and get to the bathroom.

The next day, Chifuyu decided not to drink anything until he got home from school. He knew it wasn't the smartest decision, but he was traumatized by the constant trips to the bathroom.

In addition, he swore to himself that he would ignore any pain or discomfort if it started bothering him again.

And he was doing quite well for the beginning of the day. He felt good, he even hoped that he was already fully healthy and didn't have to worry about anything anymore.

But that was only just before lunch break, when after the classes ended he wanted to get out of the chair.

"What the fuck?" He mumbled when he realized that the chair was glued to his pants.

It took him exactly two seconds to fully understand the whole situation.

"RYUSEI!" He shouted, causing his classmates who were still in the room to turn towards him sharply.

And although Ryusei was out of his sight, Chifuyu could hear his laughter in his head, which made him feel a knot in his stomach.

Chifuyu decided that it would be less embarrassing to tear the pants off the chair and cover the hole with his uniform jacket than to walk with the chair on his ass through the hallway until he reached the locker to get his sweatpants for PE.

Sweatpants that were pink from Ryusei's earlier prank.

He could have taken that chair with him though, so he could try to beat the shit out Ryusei with it later…

"Matsuno, why are you wearing non-regulation pants?" The math teacher, whom he particularly hated, asked.

"What, was I supposed to walk around with a hole on my ass all day?" He waved his torn pants, with which he planned to strangle Ryusei the moment he saw him.

The man started to scold him for his rude language, but Chifuyu completely ignored him and immediately headed towards the roof, where he usually had lunch with Baji and Ryusei.

He threw open the door and shouted:

"I’ll kill you!"

Baji and Ryusei looked at him. The black-haired boy frowned in dismay and Satou smiled cheekily.

"Those pants look good on you, Fuyu. ♡ But don't you have PE until tomorrow?" He said in a mocking tone.

Chifuyu first felt a grip in his stomach. Then he saw red.

And then he lunged at Ryusei with his fists, still holding tightly to the torn pants.

"Motherfucker!"

He didn’t have to wait long for Ryusei’s reaction: he put down his bento, stood up and blocked his punch.

He looked like he was just waiting for this, which made Chifuyu even more furious.

It was going to be quite a fight.

"One quiet lunch, is that too much to ask?" Baji asked with a heavy sigh. However, his tone wasn’t too alarming, so Chifuyu took it as permission to continue fighting.

He threw his torn clothes aside. Punching Ryusei in his lousy face seemed more satisfying to him than trying to strangle him with his pants.

Especially since he had a feeling that Satou would make some inappropriate comment that would only make him even more mad.

Unfortunately, Ryusei blocked each punch with such ease that Chifuyu exploded with anger.

He stopped thinking logically and relied on his fury and instinct. He wanted to kick Ryusei, but he easily grabbed his ankle with one hand and his thigh with the other.

"Are you giving up, Fuyu?" He asked him, with a look that, apart from typical amusement, had something more to it.

Normally, Chifuyu would have started yelling at Ryusei that Satou must be dreaming and he would never give up. However, the words got stuck in his throat from that touch and from Ryusei's intense gaze.

He felt hot.

He violently tore himself away from his grip and instead of throwing his fists at him again, he grabbed the pants lying on the ground and threw them straight at his face.

"Why?" Chifuyu simply asked in a weak voice. He didn't know if he meant being glued to the chair, all that teasing, or just the numerous torments Chifuyu was experiencing.

"I was hoping I could cheer you up a bit." He tilted his head to the side, which for a moment reminded him of Peke J.

Chifuyu's right eye twitched.

"Did you seriously think that gluing me to a damn chair would make me feel better?!" He shouted.

"You're really irritated today. Maybe you're on your period, Fuyu?" Ryusei asked with fake dismay.

The blond felt himself blush with anger.

He punched him in the arm with all his might and this time Ryusei didn't even defend himself.

"Shut up, you sick fuck, do you have brain made of pudding or some other shit?!" He started yelling at him.

Although Ryusei groaned in pain, he was more amused than hurt because he started laughing.

"You're totally acting like a girl on her period right now, Fuyu."

Chifuyu swore that he was seeing red now.

"Soon you'll be like a girl on her period when I kick you in the ass so much that you start bleeding!" He shouted, waving his fist.

The boy obviously didn't care at all about his threats, quite the opposite. He smiled as if he had just had some stupid idea.

"Oh, you want to make my ass bleed, Fuyu? I didn't think that..." Ryusei didn't finish speaking though, because Baji hit him hard on the head, causing the other boy to groan.

"Whatever's in that empty head of yours, don't finish that sentence." Apparently Baji had caught something in Ryusei that Chifuyu had missed, because he had no idea what Satou was getting at. "Besides, what do you know, you've never had a girlfriend or anyone." Baji commented, and Chifuyu was grateful to him like never before.

He felt his anger fade a bit as he looked at Baji with admiration.

Chifuyu himself would gladly have treated Ryusei with a similar comment, but honestly, it surprised him a bit. He was convinced that Satou was quite popular with the ladies. True, since he'd known him, he'd never seen him dating anyone outside of school, but he thought he'd had at least one partner. However, Baji had known him longer, he certainly knew better.

Chifuyu didn't expect Ryusei to not deny Baji's accusations.

"Well, I can help it, I'm just not attracted to women." He shrugged, which seemed completely out of place to Chifuyu, because he had the impression that such confessions shouldn't be thrown out so lightly, especially when Chifuyu felt their weight on him. "But maybe I can get a guy who struggles with similar ailments ♡." He added, winking at Chifuyu.

Chifuyu took a step back.

"What?!" He almost choked on his own saliva.

Chifuyu didn't know what he was hearing.

"Why are you surprised, Chifuyu? Ryusei flirts with you all the time." Baji snorted. "Although in a shitty way, it’s still some kind of flirting, I guess."

Chifuyu felt a knot in his stomach.

Oh, no, he thought. Not again.

"Hey, don’t insult my way of flirting, Keisuke-kun. I’m doing great with it!"

"Where did you consider gluing Chifuyu to a chair to be a great way of flirting?"

Chifuyu could barely hear the exchange. He felt like he was going to throw up.

It was worse than the last few days.

His obvious deterioration in well-being didn’t go unnoticed.

"Hey, Fuyu." Satou turned to him with concern in his voice. "Is everything okay?" The strange tone in Ryusei’s voice made Chifuyu speak honestly instead of denying it.

"I feel sick."

Ryusei's face lost all traces of amusement.

"Your stomach aches again?" Baji frowned.

"This isn't funny anymore." Ryusei said in a serious tone that didn't suit him at all. "You need to go to that doctor, Fuyu."

For some reason, Satou's anxiety made Chifuyu feel even worse.

The boy clutched his stomach.

"Hey, Fuyu, calm down." Ryusei said, holding his hand. "Come on, I'll take you to the nurse."

He felt like Satou's touch was making his body even more sensitive to everything around him.

What's wrong with me? And that bullshit Ryusei said...

Was he flirting with him this whole time?

The thought sent shivers down his spine.

Chifuyu covered his mouth with his hand. He felt like vomiting.

"I'll go myself." He said, pulling away from his grip. He ran towards the exit as fast as he could.

"Chifuyu!" Ryusei called after him with obvious worry in his voice, which made him feel even sicker.

He ran even faster so his body wouldn't betray him in front of them.

The nurse gave him a pass to go home almost immediately when he vomited on the floor as he walked inside her room.

Chifuyu went home right away and the first thing he did was change his pants.

He felt hopeless and a million thoughts ran through his head.

He needed to cuddle Peke J.

But as soon as he realized that his cat wasn't home, but had probably gone somewhere again, he wandered around the apartment for a while, took a pill for the stomach ache that was starting to bother him again, put a packet of cat treats in his pocket and went for a walk.

He needed fresh air. And preferably a stray cat to play with.

Unfortunately, he couldn't find any. There were days when he ran out of treats because he met so many cats along the way. But of course, when he desperately needed some cat company, bad luck must have caught up with him again.

"Life really hates me, doesn't it?" He sighed and headed towards the pet shop, where he could definitely find some cats, or at least hamsters,

As soon as he got there, he saw the elderly owner of the shop, who was struggling to bring in heavy boxes, which were slipping from his hands.

Chifuyu quickly ran over to catch the flying boxes.

"Is everything okay?" He asked, placing them on the ground.

"Yes, thank you, young man." The man said, breathing heavily. "My employee got sick and I'm too old to carry all this alone."

Maybe there really was some kind of plague in the air? That would explain Chifuyu's bad health. However, he preferred not to tell the man that.

"Can I help you?" He suggested.

The old man's gaze softened.

"If it's not too much trouble."

Chifuyu shook his head.

''I'll be happy to help. I needed to spend some time with the animals anyway. I could do something productive too.''

The older man laughed. 

"Let's get to work then."

When he helped out at the pet shop, he didn't have to worry about his stomach ache, Ryusei's strange behavior, or anything. He focused entirely on his duties, always taking a moment to the animals.

He also chatted with the owner for a while. Even though he was a regular customer, since he always bought things for Peke J at this shop, he didn't think he was that memorable to the older man.

"I saw you feeding stray cats once. You have a good heart. Animals can sense it."

Chifuyu blushed.

When they finished putting away the goods and Chifuyu absorbed some positive energy from the animals, he was already getting ready to go home.

The man said goodbye to him:

"I didn't plan on hiring a new employee, but if you want to look for something part-time, you can do it here in the near future."

Chifuyu smiled so widely that he forgot he was able to do it.

"Thank you! I'd be happy to."

Maybe life doesn't hate him so much after all.

"Chifuyu, where have you been?!" His mother shouted as soon as he stepped inside the apartment.

The mood he felt better about the possibility of getting a job quickly evaporated.

"I had to get some fresh air." He mumbled.

"The nurse from your school called.You should go home right away instead of wandering around who knows where!" Her voice became shrill from the scream. "You could have fainted from dehydration!"

Chifuyu thought that the day before he had drunk so much mint tea that he should be hydrated for the next week, but he still felt guilty. He knew that he was giving his mother a hard time, especially when he came home more and more often hurt by the Toman-related issues. And since his father died, she had only had Chifuyu, so he felt particularly bad.

He wasn't going to give up on the gang though, but he should do something about his bad health. Maybe he'll actually go to that doctor.

"I'm sorry." It was all he said.

His mother sighed deeply.

"Let this be the last time." She shook her finger at him. "Now wash your hands quickly and sit down at the table."

Chifuyu, who didn't want to upset his mother more today, obediently listened to her.

As she started to put food on plates, she said:

"Your friend was here,by the way. If you had stayed home like you should have, you wouldn't have had to worry about me or him."

"Which friend?" Chifuyu asked in surprise. At first, he thought his mother was talking about Baji, but their families often ate meals together and she would have said his name right away.

"The handsome one." She said simply, looking him in the eye.

"Ryu..." He started to speak, but quickly closed his mouth. He was angry at himself for immediately thinking about Ryusei.

He ignored the sudden knot in his stomach and the heat in his cheeks.

"That doesn't tell me much." He said through clenched teeth.

The anger on his mother's face evaporated. The woman raised her eyebrows.

"I think you know perfectly well who I'm talking about." She said with amusement in her voice. "That perpetually smiling boy who can't keep his hands off you and you always yell at him when he comes over."

What. The. Hell.

"Mom!" He said, outraged, clutching his stomach. Ryusei often threw his arms around him, poked him, ruffled his hair. He was absolutely convinced that he did it just to mess with him. But coming from his mother, it sounded so bad.

He felt a sudden wave of nausea.

The woman opened her eyes wide at her son's reaction and then laughed as if she had just understood something.

He guessed everyone was amused by his suffering.

"I guess a doctor won't be necessary after all." Chifuyu looked at her with a surprised look, not understanding what she meant at all. The woman shook her head. "Never mind. You'll understand sooner or later. " She put the plates on the table. "Ryusei left you something, by the way. I put the bag in your room."

"So you know his name after all!" He pointed at her, but quickly dropped his hand as the realization fully sunk in. "Wait, Ryusei left something for me?" Did his voice raise?

"You’ll see after we eat." She said, sitting down at the table. "Just don’t you dare throw up your dinner later!" She threatened him with a spoon.

Although he didn’t quite know what she meant, he was sure he couldn’t promise her that.

He also couldn’t be sure if his potential vomiting wouldn’t be the slightest problem, because knowing Ryusei, his room might as well have been stained with a substance of unknown origin by now.

Although his stomach was heavy, he ate everything quickly, because he was afraid of the state he would find his room in. Whatever Ryusei had left him could have exploded in his absence.

He found a paper bag on his bed. He carefully picked it up and sat down on the floor. If something was going to explode, he'd rather have his floor dirty than his bed.

Chifuyu looked inside with slight suspicion.

There were two mangas and a note in the bag. Just to be sure, he shook the bag again to make sure something else wasn't there.

First, he pulled out a pink note that said "Get well soon, Fuyu ♡"

His heart started beating faster and he felt a familiar grip in his stomach.

"Idiot…" He mumbled, touching the writing with his fingertips. He gently placed the note on the bed and pulled out the first manga.

As soon as he saw the cover, he threw it on the floor with a cry.

"What the…"

He took a deep breath and picked up the manga to take a closer look at it, hoping that he was just imagining things.

Unfortunately, however, the cover still had two undressed guys in an unambiguous situation.

That idiot had bought him spicy yaoi.

He felt his cheeks flush with heat.

"It's 18+, who sold this to that idiot?!" Chifuyu whispered in a hysterical voice.

But then he mentally slapped himself for that idiotic thought. After all, Ryusei, despite his young age, had a tattoo. Selling him gay porn shouldn't be more concerning…

Chifuyu felt his face getting hot. He hoped his mother hadn't looked into the bag.

And if she had, he wanted to die.

He put the manga back in his bag. He would have to tape the cover with something if he ever dared to read it.

"I'll strangle him."

He reached for the second manga with fear. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that it was a regular shoujo manga.

But the relief quickly turned into another feeling that he couldn't name.

Ryusei... wasn't a bad guy. He had given him a gift that was only half a joke. And his mother had said that he was worried.

He didn't know what to think about all of this. All he knew was that all of this was causing his body to react strangely again.

He felt that his eaten dinner wanted to see the light of day.

Chifuyu opened the manga abruptly. He didn't want to think about all of this now. He hoped that the fictional love story would let him forget about everything.

The fictional love story didn't let him forget about everything.

Quite the opposite. It made him think about everything even more.

And it was all because of the main character.

A girl who was in love with a boy. And because of this infatuation, because of the thoughts about the object of her affection, she felt nauseous, she felt a knot in her stomach.

Just like Chifuyu had recently.

Now he understood why his body reacted like this.

Because he was in love with Ryusei.

"Fuck!" He shouted in frustration.

"Shut up!" His mother also shouted from her bedroom.

"How am I supposed to shut up when I already know why I don't have to go to the doctor?!" He shouted back with desperation in his voice.

His mother fell silent. Only after a few seconds did she shout again.

"Congratulations! Maybe you'll finally stop stealing my pills!"

Chifuyu clenched his hands into fists.

It was all Ryusei's fault. This nausea. This stomach ache.

Fucking butterflies in his stomach.

Butterflies in his stomach? Bullshit. Rather fucking bats who also gave him some kind of disease.

"I'd rather have the stomach flu." He mumbled angrily.

He wouldn't forgive Ryusei for that.

Chifuyu almost immediately left the apartment to see Ryusei. His mother had been causing trouble at first, but she figured that when Chifuyu finally got his shit together, everyone would benefit.

It wasn't until he got to Ryusei's house that he realized it was late and he shouldn't wake Satou’s mom up.

So he did what romantic comedies had taught him.

He started throwing pebbles at Ryusei's window.

Chifuyu used all his willpower not to pick up a large rock and break his window out of anger.

He didn't have to wait long, because he had only spent two pebbles before Ryusei opened the window.

Satou’s face showed surprise.

"Chifuyu?" He sounded like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. But he quickly returned to his former self and added in an amused voice. "Are you just bringing a scene from a romantic comedy into real life? I'm flattered ♡."

Chifuyu hoped that the darkness wouldn't show how his cheeks were burning.

He also felt a familiar pressure in his stomach, which this time he could name butterflies.

He hated it.

"Go outside, asshole!" He shouted, but not loud enough to wake the neighbors.

Ryusei smiled cheekily.

"And where is Please, my beloved Julia, go outside ? ♡"

Did he really have to fall in love with him?

He gritted his teeth.

"Move your ass, you bastard."

Ryusei laughed, but obediently went outside.

"What did I do to deserve..." He started, but didn't have time to finish, because Chifuyu threw himself at him with his fists.

"It's your fault!" He said with anger in his voice.

Ryusei, who was clearly surprised by this sudden attack, recovered in time and prepared to repel the blows.

He grabbed Chifuyu by the fists and wrestled with him. They looked at each other

"What are you on about, Fuyu?" Ryusei's uncertainty made the bats in his stomach take off again.

How irritating it was.

"It's because of you that my stomach hurts all the time! It's because of you that I want to puke!" He threw out accusingly.

"I don't do anything..." Ryusei, clearly worried, began, but this time Chifuyu also didn't let him finish.

"If I wasn't in love with you, I wouldn't have to go through this!" He added in a hysterical voice.

Ryusei looked at him with wide eyes. He pushed Chifuyu away, who was still trying to wrestle with him.

"Wait!" Ryusei said, raising his hands up.

Chifuyu clenched his fists tightly, but didn't attack again.

Ryusei looked at him intensely.

"You mean to tell me that your feeling unwell was caused by being in love with me?" Chifuyu felt his cheeks burning.

Now he really wanted to puke.

"You make me sick. And in love." He said with resentment in his voice.

Ryusei practically devoured him with his eyes.

And then he burst out laughing.

"I can't believe it! This is the best day of my life."

Chifuyu felt something new this time.

A tightness in his heart.

"That's a poor reaction to a love confession even for you." He said coldly.

Ryusei tilted his head.

"You have to admit that the confession wasn't typical either, especially for a romantic like you."

Although Ryusei was right, Chifuyu wasn't going to admit it to him.

"Idiot." He drawled, turned around and headed home.

It was a mistake. He should have stayed home and let his guts burst because of those feelings.

However, he didn't get far, because he immediately felt Ryusei's arms around his waist.

"Let me go!" Chifuyu tried to pull away.

"I'm not going to let go of the love of my life when he finally reciprocates my feelings." Ryusei said, hugging him even tighter.

Chifuyu choked on his own saliva.

"W-what?"

"You must have guessed that I'm in love with you too." Ryusei said, nuzzling into his neck. "I wasn't subtle after all. It's hard to hold back with you ♡."

Chifuyu's heart started beating faster. Not only did Ryusei give him stomach problems, but now he was also having heart problems.

"How was I supposed to know, since I only realized my feelings today?" He mumbled.

Ryusei laughed. He turned Chifuyu around so they were facing each other.

He grabbed his cheeks and squeezed them.

"You're so cute ♡." He said with such tenderness that it took his breath away.

Add lung problems.

Embarrassed, Chifuyu pulled away from his embrace.

"Shut up." He mumbled.

Ryusei laughed.

"Oh, I'm not going to shut up ♡" He smiled widely. "But you have to admit it's funny how being in love makes you have stomach upsets." He grabbed his hand. "For me, being in love with you just makes me really happy."

Chifuyu felt relieved. But also a familiar feeling in his stomach.

He felt giddy.

However, this time it didn't cause him any special discomfort. It was even pleasant.

"Because I'm nice to be around and you're a pain in the ass. You shouldn't be surprised that you cause such reactions in me."

Ryusei laughed.

"But you're in love with this pain in the ass ♡." He said, then hugged Chifuyu, who snuggled into his chest.

They stayed in silence for a moment, and Chifuyu inhaled Ryusei's pleasant scent.

"You know what my mom always used to say?" Ryusei said with a specific note in his voice, after which Chifuyu already knew that he would regret what he was about to hear.

"No, and I don't know if I want to know." He said with a deep sigh.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ryusei smiling.

"Both love and diarrhea come suddenly ♡."

Chifuyu looked at him for a moment, then punched him in the stomach.

"Idiot!" He shouted, annoyed, which of course amused Ryusei, who, laughing, hugged the reluctant Chifuyu.

"You better keep in mind the wisdom of your future mother-in-law, Fuyu ♡." He kissed him on the cheek, which made Chifuyu's muscles relax and his stomach do a somersault, which this time he didn't attribute to illness or other indigestion.

"Idiot." He repeated, but this time with tenderness in his voice.

That he also had to fall in love with someone who would probably be the cause of his stomach ulcers.