Romantic Killer But I Made It Gay

Junta route part 9

A knock on my door makes me lift a headphone, calling, "Yeah?" I've been playing video games to calm down and distract myself from the current situation and I feel more collected now.

"Haru?" Junta's voice calls nervously through the door.

"Yeah?" I repeat, then realize he's too nice to just enter. "Come in."

He peeks in, then opens the door fully, putting a finger to his lips. "You should come see this," he whispers, beckoning me and turning out of the room. I follow him down the stairs and to the living room door, which he opens carefully. Inside the lights are still on, and when I look around him I see Tsukasa and Hoshino asleep in front of the couch. But not just asleep—Hoshino has her arms wrapped around my friend's shoulders, her face inches from his.

"Did this happen to you?" Junta whispers nervously.

"Kind of." I try to remember that first night as clearly as I can. "I think I slept on his lap."

Junta chokes on air, covering his mouth, cheeks flushed. "I—I see. So it's fine?"

"I think so." I turn back into the hallway, the pit still present in my stomach. Apparently even my favorite games can't distract me from reality anymore. Just what did Kiki do to me?
Junta closes the door carefully and hurries after me to the stairs. I realize I'm walking more quickly than usual and stop to let him catch up.

I barely have time to notice the flash of yellow in the corner of my eye before he yelps, stumbling into me. I try to catch him but, of course, even if I succeed, he's much larger and heavier than me. We fall backwards, my head just missing the first stair, and tumble to the floor. For a second the ringing in my ears is the only thing I can hear, until I gingerly open my eyes and realize Junta is hovering into me, arms on either side of my head.

We stare into each other's eyes, neither of us daring to breathe. I'm finally on the bottom, I realize in a daze. Maybe it's the position, or that I'm tired, or that I'm still in shock from this whole situation, but this feels strangely comfortable. And without thinking, I reach up and cup my childhood's friend's face in my hands. He blinks, his gray eyes darting back and forth between mine. The moment stretches thinner and thinner until—

"S-Sorry! Are you okay?" He pushes himself off me, getting to his feet and reaching to pull me up as well. I reluctantly take his hand and use it to hoist myself up. We avoid each other's eyes as he dusts off his hands on his pants and I stretch awkwardly. "Are you okay?" he worries, his hands twitching like they want to reach out but staying still.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine." I rub the back of my neck, wincing when I feel a painful spot where a bruise is sure to form. Junta frowns but doesn't question and further.

We continue to stand in silence until I feel a twinge of an unexpected emotion: annoyance. We were in a perfectly romantic situation, albeit made by that wizard, and he stopped short. I thought we were clear, in an unclear way, that we liked each order. Did I read too much into it? No, I'm sure I've seen the signs. So he's chickening out? I know that's the kind of person he is, but still.

"I'm going to bed," I grumble, turning on my heel and starting up the stairs.

"Haru, wait!"

I want to continue on, but the tremor in his voice forces me to stop.

"What?" I try to show as little emotion as I can.

"I'm sorry...That I-I fell on you."

Wow. Is he really this dense? But when I turn to look down at him, his cheeks are flushed and his hands are weaving around each other, a habit that only happens when he's nervous.

"It's fine. I'm—I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" He opens his mouth to say something else, but closes it.

Fine. I guess even in my immense cowardice, I'm still the bravest of the two of us. I'll have to take charge of the situation.

"Follow me," I order gently. Junta blinks in surprise, but starts up the stairs after me. He freezes when I open the door to my room and walk in. I turn back in the doorway, raising an eyebrow in question.

"I-I can't—We shouldn't..."

"We have to talk sometime, somewhere," I reason, my cheeks heating at what he's implying. "Would you rather we talk in your room?"

"No!" he yelps, then realizes his choices consist of not having the talk at all or talking in his room. "A-Alright."

We enter my room and I contemplate closing the door but decide against it, considering how nervous Junta already is. I settle down on the bed and he awkwardly sits next to me, looking the other way. Taking a deep breath, I put out a hand on my knee and he takes it after a second of hesitation. His hand is warm and rough from years of baseball. I love this hand: the way its fingers twitch unconsciously, the way it's warm without being hot and cool without being cold, and, most importantly, how it's attached to my favorite person.

"So, what did you want to..." Junta trails off, staring into my eyes.

"I think you know."

"Maybe we should just...clarify," he suggests, not blinking. I squeeze his hand gently and he flushes.

"I—" My mouth dries up, every word leaving my brain. Even though I'm trying to take the lead here, I'm still me, and me is way too much of a weakling to actually confess. Hell, I never even thought I'd be in this situation. But now that I am, I have to face it. I've gotten this far, I have to see this through till the end.

"Yeah?" he urges, squeezing my hand back. I stare into his gentle eyes, feeling the heat from his body through the air between us.

And, without thinking, I lean forward and press my lips against his.

Junta freezes, making the moment more awkward than I'd like. When I pull back his face is bright pink. He looks like he's gone into shock.

"Does that clarify things?" I whisper nervously.

"Y-Yeah. It does." A grin creeps over his face. "I'm so happy, Haru. I never thought I could be this happy!" An almost identical grin crosses my own face as he whispers, "So you really...?"

I nod and he lights up, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into a tight hug. I feel so safe and warm in his embrace, I never want to leave. I close my eyes, basking in the warmth, until he pulls away, letting me breathe.

"Where do we go from here?" I wonder, my mind clearing. "And—"

"What about Kazuki?" he finishes, his smile falling. "Do you..."

I shake my head quickly. "I only consider him a friend. But that's the problem. I just don't want to hurt him."

"Neither do I." Junta sends a worried glance toward the doorway but the ginger doesn't appear, thankfully. "So what do we do?"

"I...I think we should tell him," I admit, then shake my head again. "But I really don't want to! I can't even imagine how awkward that conversation would be."

"I agree."

I laugh nervously. "With which part?"

"Ah—Sorry! Um...the part about telling him. A-And that it'll be awkward. But—" he smiles shakily at me, squeezing my hand. "I can tell him. I don't want to put you through that."

How can he be so perfect? No, I'm part of this too now. I can't let him take all the flack.

"No, I want to tell him with you," I insist.

"Are you sure?"

"As sure as I am that I like you," I blurt and his cheeks flush. "Sorry, was that too forward?"

"No!" he assures me quickly. "I'm just not used to you being so confident. It's really nice." He smiles warmly and my own cheeks flush.

This was the right decision. Now I'm confident in that. But we're not out of the forest yet.