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“Oh, Tsukasa, I have some good news for you,” Rui’s mom called out for Tsukasa from the front of the car.
“Really? What is it?” His amber eyes widened in curiosity. Rui and Tsukasa were coming back home from school with Rui’s mom picking them up.
Rui could practically hear the grin in her voice as she revealed the news. “You’re going to be staying over at our house today!”
“Really?” His eyes enlarged even bigger. Tsukasa’s eyes were quite nice, Rui lamented. They started as a dark orange with a tint of pink and faded to a refreshing shade of orange. He could look at Tsukasa’s eyes for hours. “Yes!”
He pumped up a fist in the air. Tsukasa started to recite ‘ginger fried pork’ as if it was a chant that would manifest the food in front of his eyes.
“Hehe,” Rui giggled. “I swear, the only reason you’re friends with me is to have ginger fried pork.”
Tsukasa pouted. “It’s not my fault my mom literally never makes it for me! The only time I can have it is at your house! Your dad’s ginger fried pork is the best.”
“Then you should be thanking me for being your friend.”
“Why should I thank you?”
“Will you guys shut up?” A very irritated voice shot out from the very back of the car. Akito scoffed. “No one wants to hear all that.”
If it were up to Akito, he would have never carpooled with these two weirdos. But at least Toya was here to make the process easier.
“Akito, don’t be mean,” Toya chided his best friend.
“Sorry, Toya,” Akito didn’t sound very remorseful.
“It’s not fair! Why can’t my friends come over today?” Saki sulked from the front seat.
“Don’t fret, dear sister. I’m sure you’ll see them soon!”
“Kill me now,” Akito muttered.
“Akito!”
“Sorry, sorry.”
After the rest of the kids got dropped off, Rui’s mom began to drive the two boys home.
“Don’t you guys ever get tired of each other? It’s like you guys are joined at the hip every time I see you.” Rui’s mom shook her head as they stopped at a traffic light.
“Why would I ever get tired of Tsukasa-kun? It’s never a dull moment with him.” Rui flashed a grin in Tsukasa’s direction.
“Ah, I see.” Rui’s mom glanced back and wiggled her eyebrows.
“Mom-!” Rui exclaimed, a light flush spreading across his face.
His mom just let out a crystal clear laugh.
“Hey Rui, remember the song we had to sing in 4th grade?”
“The one about papayas?”
“Precisley!”
The car was filled with childish lyrics and the simple melody of climbing up trees and the sweetness of papayas the whole way home.
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“Do you think Santa is a communist?”
“Huh?”
The boys were seated at the counter in Rui’s kitchen eating a snack of takoyaki when Rui brought up the unprecedented topic.
“I, for one, believe he is.”
Tsukasa, for his part, was quite used to these strange topics brought up by his friend and caught on quickly.
“Why would that be?” Tsukasa swung his legs around from his high chair.
“Well, often northern countries are communist, such as Vietnam, North Korea and Russia. Also, Santa’s primary color is red, which is universally recognized as the communist color.” Rui made exaggerated motions with his hands as he brought up his points.
Tsukasa shook his head. “That doesn’t explain how he himself is communist. Those could just be coincidences.”
“Ah, but I have an argument to counteract that, my dear Tsukasa.” Rui grinned. “You see, his system promotes equality of gift giving throughout the whole world, no matter who it is. While not equal in monetary value, they are equal in terms of value to each person. He distributes resources to people and eliminates a class based system throughout the world.”
“What about the people who get coal?”
Before Rui had a chance to respond, his dad chimed in to the conversation.
“It’s mostly a rumor, is it not? Plus, they do create a common enemy of a certain demographic of people, those being naughty children, which is often seen in communist systems.”
Rui’s mom, who was in another room but couldn’t help but overhear, shook her head and chuckled. “You guys are only thirteen, why are you talking about Santa’s political views? I’m sure you’re both aware Santa doesn’t exist.”
Rui winced, ready for the onslaught just waiting to come.
Tsukasa dramatically placed a hand on his chest and another on his forehead. “How can you say such a thing? Santa very much does exist, how else would you explain the gifts under the tree every Christmas?”
Rui snickered at his mother’s taken aback expression. “Say, Tsukasa, why don’t we go down to my room?”
“Gladly, my friend!”
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“Are you ready?”
“Of course, the world’s future star is always ready!”
“You better be! Let the pro-wrestling match begin!”
The two friends, situated standing across from each other on Rui’s bed, launched at each other. Tsukasa caught Rui’s head in a headlock while Rui tried his hardest to trip the blonde off of his feet.
Rui wrestled himself out of the uncomfortable position and tried to disorient his opponent, but it was of no use. Tsukasa pulled out the universally illegal move established by pro-wrestlers everywhere.
“AH- HAHAHA!” Rui broke out into uncontrollable laughter as Tsukasa started tickling him. “STOP IT!”
Rui was wiping the tears out of his eyes as Tsukasa stood over him, letting out a boisterous laugh.
“Have you accepted your fate yet?”
“Never!”
Rui swept Tsukasa off of his feet and threw himself on top of the other boy, both dissolving into hysterics as they laughed until they couldn’t breath.
“Get off me!”
“Why should I?”
Rui wrapped his arms around Tsukasa and turned both of them over so they were both on their sides.
“I’m comfy~”
Tsukasa rolled his eyes and tried to pull himself out of Rui’s grasp to no avail.
“Boys! Go for a walk! Get out of the house!” Rui’s mother’s voice rang out through the house.
“We don’t wanna!” Both chimed out.
“The ice cream truck could be at the park!”
With the new knowledge gained, both jumped up from the bed and ran to get their shoes.
Rui’s mom shook her head again. Some things never change.
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Rui looked up and squinted at the bright sun beating down on his head, making the hair at the nape of his neck stick to his skin. He really should have brought a hair tie.
“You’re so lucky you have short hair.”
Rui looked over at Tsukasa’s hair longingly. It was a beautiful shade of blonde that faded to peach, maintained well by the particular head it sat upon. Rui tugged at his own tangled bright purple hair, twisting the shock of cyan that rested on the side of his face.
“You could always cut it short if you wanted to.”
“But I don’t.” Despite him complaining about it, he didn’t really mind his hair. Which made him wonder why he was thinking about Tsukasa’s so much.
“Then don’t complain about things you can change and then proceed to not change it!” Tsukasa huffed. He crossed his arms and tried to look annoyed, but the look of irritation on his face quickly faded to one of confusion. “Rui, isn’t the ice cream truck always on that side of the park?”
Rui skimmed the area of the park, looking over the lake to the other side. He did not, in fact, spy the bright colored truck that was quite hard to miss, nor did he hear the familiar tune resonating through the air.
“I suppose it isn’t here today…” Rui looked down at his feet, feeling dejected at the newfound discovery.
“Hey, don’t feel so down. We can still take a walk, can’t we? There’s no reason to be sad when the world’s future star is right in front of you!” Tsukasa struck a pose and beamed.
Rui scanned the body of his best friend, his eyes trailing on his hair, his eyes, his hands, his mouth. He felt an unintentional smile break out on his face.
“I guess you’re right.”
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As they walked around the lake, Rui noticed something.
They were walking very close to each other, their hands and shoulders brushing against each other. Tsukasa was talking in an extremely animated way, one of his hands moving this way and that with the other by his side, eyes growing round and mouth stretched into a wide smile.
Rui wasn’t really paying attention to what he was saying, but both of them were used to the other zoning out when one was talking. In fact, Tsukasa especially enjoyed it when this happened, because that means his voice was something people like listening to. Rui thought this to be quite a stretch, it was mostly just because Rui liked Tsukasa, but whatever makes him happy.
He didn’t realize it, but Tsukasa grabbed Rui’s hand and didn’t let go.
Rui could feel his face heat up even more than it already was.
The hand holding was hardly an everlasting thing, Tsukasa would often let go to accentuate a point or to get some hair out of his face. But he would always come back to grasp his hand once again after the action was done.
Tsukasa didn’t just hold Rui’s hand, he also began playing around with his fingers and clutching his thumb.
It didn’t seem like a conscious decision on Tsukasa’s part, he went on rambling about something or the other when it happened. But for Rui, it was all he could think about.
For one, Tsukasa’s hand was very soft, contrasting with Rui’s calloused hand littered with scars. Tsukasa’s nails were perfectly cut and filed, whereas Rui’s were chipped and uneven.
Tsukasa was perfect, and Rui wasn’t.
Rui was so lucky to have a friend like this.
He seized Tsukasa’s hand once more and squeezed as hard as he could.
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“Y’know Rui,” Tsukasa slung his arm around Rui’s shoulders as they walked over to the playground, disregarding the rule that to play you must be from the ages of 5-10. Those are just suggestions anyways. “You’re my boyfriend now.”
“What.”
“Yep.”
“Where is this coming from?” Rui tried to ignore the swelling feeling of hope growing in his chest. He didn’t need any more reasons for that bubble to burst.
“We just held hands for the walk here. That means we’re now dating.”
“... I didn’t know hand-holding was a catalyst for romantic relationships. I have some pretty bad news for my parents then.”
“Hey! That’s not what I meant, and you know that!”
Rui chuckled. “Of course I do.”
“Look! The seesaw!”
The eccentric pair dashed to the first seesaw in sight, which happened to be the only one.
Both ignored the judgemental stares of the parents scattered around the park. 13 was close enough to 10! Don’t these adults have better things to do?
“Ha! Our science teacher will be so proud of us after this!” Tsukasa exclaimed as the kids climbed on to the somewhat glorified lever in the form of a dragonfly.
“And why might that be?”
“Simple machines! We’re on a lever right now, I’m the input force and you’re the output! Maybe he’ll give us extra credit on our next lab…”
“I’m sure he’ll be so impressed with your extensive knowledge of simple machines. You realize I’m the one pushing right now, right?”
“HAHA! Of course I do! I was merely testing you!” Tsukasa said this with such confidence and diction that Rui was tempted to believe him, before he realized Tsukasa failed his last science test.
“Are we going to address the fact that we are apparently dating now?”
“No!”
“Alright, I just needed to clarify.” Ah, so it seemed like it was just a joke. Rui smiled at himself internally for his top notch deduction skills. There’s no way that someone like Tsukasa would date him.
“Oh-” Rui smacked his forehead at the striking realization of something and tried getting off, effectively not realizing he was still on a seesaw. He somehow fell off his seat and flipped over the board, landing on his back on the ground.
“Rui!”
Rui was still on the floor, laughing at the absurdity of the whole situation.
“Are you okay?” An earnest face popped up with a worried expression on his face.
“Ahaha- I can assure you- haha- I’m quite alright,” Rui managed to get out, his statement often punctuated by peals of laughter.
“If you say so,” Tsukasa replied uncertainly, offering his hand.
Rui grabbed it and hoisted himself up, and began to run, pulling Tsukasa along with him.
“Where are you taking me!”
“I just remembered! The ice cream truck is on the other side of the park on Fridays!”
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The pair sighed in tandem when the sight of the familiar vibrant truck graced their vision.
“Did you bring money?” Tsukasa asked while they were running, hands still connected.
Rui stopped and slapped his forehead. “No! I can’t believe I forgot!”
“HAHAHA! Don’t worry, Rui! For the world’s future star is always prepared!” Tsukasa produced a small pouch from his shorts pocket and pulled out 200 yen.
Tsukasa confidently strode over to the window of the truck and addressed the bored worker who had a look of disdain painted on his face. “Hello, ice cream truck man! Can I get a mega ice cream sandwich bar please!”
“I’ll get a Perry the Platypus popsicle.”
The worker rolled his eyes and said nothing as he turned back to retrieve the treats.
Tsukasa leaned over and whispered to his friend. “I don’t think he likes his job very much.”
“You think?”
Frozen delicacies acquired and money given, the duo skipped over to a nearby bench to devour their sweets. Tsukasa somehow managed to finish in less than 2 minutes despite his ice cream being almost the length of his head.
“Rui, you’re taking too long!” Tsukasa complained and poked the other’s cheek.
“No I’m not, you ate that in two minutes!”
“It’s the normal amount of time to eat ice cream!”
“Nuh uh!”
“Yuh huh! Who even is Perry the Platypus anyways?”
Rui’s eyes grew round and a look of astonishment passed over his face.
“You don’t know who Perry the Platypus is?”
“Am I supposed to?”
This question led to a 15 minute lecture about platypi, the secret service and a western cartoon show called ‘Phineas and Ferb’, topics in which Tsukasa held little to no information about but soon acquired more than he wanted to know.
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Rui and Tsukasa were getting ready for bed at this point, and the sleeping arrangement was an unspoken agreement. Tsukasa would obviously be sleeping next to Rui, and he didn’t think he’d been this excited for something ever since he tried to catch Santa on Christmas day.
“Now who’s taking too long, Tsukasa?”
“I need to finish my skincare!”
Rui rolled his eyes. Honestly, they’re in middle school. Tsukasa doesn’t need to be worrying about those kinds of things!
Tsukasa popped back out of Rui’s bathroom and beamed a winning smile at Rui. He observed the star’s grin, the way his face creased and his teeth glittered. His friend was really pretty, Rui thought without much acknowledgement. This was something he established a long time ago.
“Finished!” Tsukasa announced.
Before long, both were laying down on Rui’s bed, the aforementioned head resting on Tsukasa’s stomach. The lights were off and the room was enveloped in a comforting darkness that took a few moments to get adjusted too. A strange, static-like effect washed over Rui’s vision as the shadows overtook the place, blue dots swimming in his vision like germs in a petri dish.
“Hey Tsukasa.”
“What’s up?”
“Why do you like me?”
“Why do I like you?”
“... yeah.” Rui picked at his fingernails, twisting his fingers this way and that while finally settling on clutching his right thumb with his left hand. “I’m weird.”
“That’s no reason not to like you.”
Rui let go of his own hand and led one up to rest on his forehead, his palm facing up.
“Yeah it is.”
Rui was broken.
Rui had been taken apart and analyzed and torn and damaged by others then haphazardly sewn together by his loved ones. Asking to be friends with someone makes him feel like a charity case, a demand for the needle and thread needed to put him back together. Why else would someone accept broken goods?
All Rui wanted was a friend, and he got one. But the thing he didn’t understand was why.
“I like you cause I like you. Does there have to be any other reason?”
“Yes. You don’t just like people because. You like them for their eyes, their hair, their voice, their hands, their smile-” Rui stopped when he realized he was rambling. He could feel his face getting hotter in the silence that followed his statement.
“Well… I like your eyes.”
What?
“Your eyes are pretty. They have a little bit of blue in them if you look close enough.”
Rui turned over so that he was on his stomach and looked at Tsukasa. Despite the room being pitch black, he could almost see the sincerity in Tsukasa’s eyes.
“Your hair is nice too. The cyan brings out the blue in your eyes.”
Rui buried his face into a nearby pillow.
“Your voice is so smooth and easy to listen to. Your hands are cool to touch and your smile is cute. But Rui,” Tsukasa grabbed his hand and pulled him up so they were facing each other.
“I don’t like you because of those things. I like you because those things are you. I like them because they’re you and not anyone else's. I like you because you’re you, and that’s the only person you’ll ever be.”
Rui could feel tears building up in his eyes as he wrapped his arms around his friend and cried into his chest.
Tsukasa likes him.
Tsukasa likes him because he’s Rui.
Tsukasa likes him because he’s Rui.
Tsukasa brought Rui’s face up and placed a hand on his cheek.
“You don’t have to apologize for being you, Rui.”
He kissed Rui’s cheek and laid back down.
“Good night!”
“Good ni- wait why’d you just do that?”
“Do what?”
“Kiss me.”
“Because you’re my boyfriend?” Confusion laced Tsukasa’s usually confident voice.
“I am?”
“Yeah, didn’t I tell you earlier today?” He furrowed his brow.
Rui’s expression mirrored the others. “Wasn’t that a joke?”
“No? Would I, the world’s future star, joke about something like that?”
“What happened to confessing?”
“Confessing?” This time, Tsukasa sat up so they were at eye level once more.
“Yeah, like in those shoujo mangas. Where one guy brings the other to a garden where the sakuras are blossoming and he confesses his undying love for the others as the flower petals float around in the air…” Rui sighed dreamily as he thought about that scene with Tsukasa and himself.
But a voice cut through his moment of introspection. “But the sakura trees only blossom in eight months… would we have to wait until then?”
“It doesn’t have to be sakura blossoms… you know what I mean!” Rui punched Tsukasa’s shoulder lightly as the blonde boy snickered.
Rui threw his arms around the other once more and rested his head on Tsukasa’s chest. He sighed and smiled as he closed his eyes.
Today was a really good day.