𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕣𝕪 𝔼𝕪𝕖𝕤 | 𝚄𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚗

ᴀɴsᴡᴇʀ

Tendou POV

He did it. He told her. His heart's pace rivaled that of the fastest falcon as the silence stretched on. "Are you sure?" He answered honestly, "Yes." As expressionless as ever, one would say, after all this was Mrs. Ushijima. However, this wasn't the 'Mom' he knew. This wasn't a wall he ever had to scale. This silence, this façade, this... This hurt.

"Satori..." Her voice felt like a cold clasp. "I need time to think." A clamp squeezed his ribcage as soon as he heard her tone. He barely managed to choke out an 'okay' before she cut the call.

Did that just happen? Satori didn't know what to think, or how to act. He felt odd even hurt, but he knew the most prevalent emotions in him: guilt and regret.   

He gently placed Wakatoshi's phone on the table but he wasn't so gentle with himself. He kept repeating Mrs. Ushijima's words over and over again inside his head. Had he done the wrong thing? Shouldn't he have told her? Doesn't she love him anyways? Guess I'll be put to the test yet again. He sighed silently, stuck within his own mind. 

Thinking to himself, he came to the realisation; He was going to die in a few weeks at most if he doesn't confess, but Mrs.Wakatoshi's tone had rattled him way too much to even think remotely about confessing. Without knowing he had gripped the armrests of the chair so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. Unable to cry or act or let out his emotions in any way, his eyes were open wide and a bead of sweat rolled down his temple even in the chilled weather. It seemed as if his worries would soon cause him to collapse; They would cause him to implode. Every single sound stood out more. Fucking sensory overload again.

Of course he heard Wakatoshi's footsteps echoing a few meters away. Collecting the scattered pieces of his mind he tried to collect himself before Wakatoshi noticed anything, but nothing seemed to escape his watchful eye.

"Satori? You look really tense... Is something wrong?" This is where I say it isn't it? This is it?  "I don't know.... Wakatoshi...."  Satori could see his worried glance and nervous gaze. There was something off about him too. He seemed way too jittery for his usual self. "Wakatoshi? Is there something going on with you?" Wakatoshi straight into Satori's eyes. 

A new wave of emotions hit him with double the speed of a spiked volleyball. His eyes, oh his eyes! They were deep like a rainforest, expressive but shielded. Slowly, his best friend nodded his head.

"Satori... There's something that I realised but.... I don't think I should say it in fear of ruining our friendship. I am.... I am-" "Scared?" It couldn't be what was on Satori's mind but now he had to say it. He had to. There was no way now. No way out. "Scared that you'll ruin what you have and it won't ever come back to you?" A shadow passed over Wakatoshi's face, closing off his reflective eyes yet again. He started speaking again, "And even th- even though I want to tell you Satori-san, I can't find any means to speak it out loud and like you said I'm... I'm terribly scared to tell you so I'm visibly stalling now....." Satori wanted to scream. He wanted to shout that no matter what Wakatoshi did he would never ruin their friendship, they would bend but never break. 

Wakatoshi's silence stretched on for a few seconds as he sat down beside the redhead. "I'm scared.... Satori..." Satori took one of his hands in his own but the taller boy tensed at his the touch of his cold fingers. A cough tugged at Satori's throat. The redhead had a sideway view of his friend's face and he knew his expression didn't hold much insight into his emotions yet, his eyes let go of a singular crystallized tear.

Ushijima POV

"Wakatoshi?" He could hear Satori's brittle voice through the blurry haze when he quickly wiped away the crystal tear. His heart was twisted in pain as did his stomach, but not from the small stream of crystals coming out from his eyes but from how much pain it obviously caused Satori. 

A cool, slender hand reached out with a soft handkerchief, wiping away the crystals. Wakatoshi was short of words yet again, when he needed them the most. Yet they were always hidden away within the depth of his mind, unwilling to show themselves. There were only a few things he could say and keep repeating, "I'm sorry Satori.... I'm so scared.."

Tendou kneeled front of him so his hands rested on Wakatoshi's lap, holding his hands in their protective shell like a barrier from harm.

"Wakatoshi.... " He smiled despite his eyes and mouth twitching in protest. "It's okay to be...." Wakatoshi felt a cooling hand press on his cheek as Satori cupped his face with a hand.

Leaning into his touch, he knew he had little to fear but still, he'd loose all this if he came clear. So much doubt, so much hurt, so much fear.... It's too much... I need to speak...

"Satori-" He was cut off by Satori, coughing and tearing away from him. His olive eyes followed the older boy as he pressed a hand on his mouth to suppress a cough. His eyes further widened in fear as small specks of red appeared on his hand. "Aww shit! It looks like fucking ketchup!" The red head angrily muttered under his breath as Wakatoshi looked at him, stunned.

"Satori.. Who is it?" Satori chuckled in a wounded way, "Straight to the point huh?" "Tell me... please." It was bad enough that his emotions were all over the place, but this was like a whole another level of worse. He could see the doubt in Satori's eyes maybe even mistrust. "If I come clear... you might hate me Wakatoshi." Satori sat beside him and, having wiped away the blood on his hands, held up a single torn petal. The red-head whispered, "It's a carnation." The taller boy felt a nagging sensation that he knew who was the cause of  Satori's hanahaki but he refused to acknowledge that possibility. He would never love me like that.

His bestfriend looked straight into Wakatoshi's eyes. Satori spoke clearly without letting doubt seep into his voice. "You." The small voice in Wakatoshi's head chimed, "Well he just did."  Just one word. Yet so hard to register in his head. "Par...Pardon?" Wakatoshi's confused expression seemed to amuse Satori.

"You are the person of my affection Wakatoshi. No lie, just truth." He isn't joking. Isn't this what you wanted? Now tell him yours too.

"Tendou I- " Before he could speak any further Satori  pressed a finger to his lips, silencing him. "Tell me who caused your Hoshisusuri first... Before saying anything. Just know that you don't need to accept my love. A confession is enough to save my life."

His tone was stern but not harsh as if he wanted nothing but Wakatoshi's well-being. "Whoa big guy- You're crying?" Only then did Wakatoshi notice the small actual tear rolling down his cheek. He finally found the courage to speak, "Yeah.. I'm slightly overwhelmed that's all." Satori looked at him with a concerned gaze. "It's okay.. I'm sorry too.... Now who is it that caused those crystal tears?" 

As an answer to that, Wakatoshi reached out for Satori's hand. He smiled briefly through a haze of emotions. "You of course." There was barely a second of silence before Satori screeched. "I WAS WORRIED FOR NOTHING?"

It was now Wakatoshi's turn to be concerned but he nodded nevertheless. Satori ran his free hand through his red locks and slumped back while giggling deliriously. "Ow man... With the threat of death and long lasting vision impairments gone it kind of feels like or maybe a bit... Uhhh-" Wakatoshi chimed in, "Funny? Light-hearted? Unnecessarily angsty?"

Satori nodded in compliance, "Yeppers. That's what." Wakatoshi noticed his easy smile and relaxed composure as soon as Satori said that. Wakatoshi looked at his and Satori's intertwined hands as a small question took form. 

In a rather innocent tone Wakatoshi spoke, "Satori.... What are we now? I mean... We aren't just friends I hope... We're more? Perhaps?"

Satori smiled in return and ruffles his hair. "That's right you potato. We're boyfriends now!" Boyfriends... Such a sweet word. Wakatoshi liked it. Before he could think further a certain nickname irked him. "Satori I am a human being and not a vegetable."

Satori looked at his face blankly. "What?"

"What?"

"I think we both maybe-"

"Equally dumb?"

A second of silence barely lasted before they erupted in peals of laughter with Satori draping himself on Ushijima. 

They didn't ever want this happiness to end. Why would they? But of course, they had to inform their parents of their newly formed relationship.