Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Nagisa and Kaede walked up to Mr. Karasuma after gym. “Excuse me, Mr. Karasuma? We have a question for you.”

He gave the kids a questioning look. “Sure, just follow me to my office. I have work I need to get done.”

-5 Minutes Later-

“A camping trip? Now why would you kids want to go on something like that?” Mr. Karasuma asked as he was finishing some paperwork, there's always paperwork.

Nagisa was prepared for this question, “Well we thought it would be a good way for the group to bond, plus it would help us learn how to better camouflage ourselves, and how to sneak around without being caught.” He turned to Kaede and flashed a smile, Nagisa turned back to Karasuma just in time to miss the blush crawling it’s way up Kaede’s face.

Karasuma put his pen down and leaned back in his chair. “That’s gonna be a lot of paperwork to go through, especially in such a short amount of time.” He looked over at the kids, and saw the disappointment in their eyes, he could never be a father. “But I guess if it will help kill the octopus, I can get through it for you guys.” The smile that Nagisa and Kaede had was already more than worth the paperwork. “Now get going, I need to finish this stuff up first, but then you’ll get your trip.” He said picking his pen back up and turning towards his desk.

Kaede and Nagisa bowed, “Thank you, Mr. Karasuma!” They both exclaimed. They then ran out of his office, possibly to tell the rest of the class the good news. “It’s a good thing they have english next. Don’t need to try and tell the octopus about how he can’t go…”

-In Classroom 3E- (Itona’s point of view)

Class is as boring as ever, only his tinkering on his tank making the time go by faster. That and his occasional glances at Terasaka. The last time he looked, he was battling falling asleep, poorly at that. I risk another glance at him, and he’s got his head resting in his arms, looking straight at me. My face grows hot, and then Terasaka opens one eye and catches me, but he just smiles at me. So I smile back, glad to be part of this Idiots life. Shit. I thought, I quickly turn back to my tank, realization setting in. I have a fucking crush on Terasaka. I start having a little emotional panic attack. I knew I was gay before I joined this class, but I never expected, hell, I never wanted to date anyone until I could get my father’s business up and running again.

I risked another look at him, and he was frowning. He knew something was wrong, and I could tell he was gonna ask just by his face. I wasn’t ready to tell him about this, I just learnt about it myself. Thankfully though, Nagisa came bursting into the room with the biggest smile known to Earth, with Kaede trailing close behind. “What the hell!?” Bitch-sensei said.

Nagisa started talking as soon as he caught his breath. “We’re going on a camping trip!” The class was silent, everyone just looking at Nagisa.

Kaede tilted her head, “Guess we should’ve asked them first…”

“Come on guys! Imagine all the fun we’ll have out in the wilderness!” I went back to my tank as Nagisa tried to sell camping to the class. I got a poke to my side, making me almost drop my tank. I shot a dirty look in the direction it came from, of course it was Terasaka.

“Hey, everything good? You’re acting kinda weird.” Oh God, what am I supposed to tell him!? Yeah, I’m gay and I have a crush on you? Never. Not in a million years. So I put on a mask and lied. I was getting pretty good at that.

“I’m fine, I just got shocked from the tank, and I don’t know where it came from.” Terasaka’s frown only got worse.

“You aren’t hurt, are you? Do you need first aid?” He sounded worried, and I felt a little bad, but I remind myself that he’s being nosy, again.

“No, I’m fine. The shock was hardly as bad as one you get from rubbing socks on a carpet. It’s a little tank, idiot.” I replied. Keep it normal, and he won’t notice. He mumbled a sorry and looked forward as Nagisa was still trying to win over the class. I went back to my project, hopefully getting some actual work done to the thing. Stupid squirrel. I heard my name get called, and I looked up to see everyone looking at me instead. Shit. “Camping can fun.” Nagisa started up again, so I’m guessing I did something right.

Terasaka stood up, and began talking. “Listen, camping is a great way for us to practice for a stealth mission. Besides, Itona is newer so he missed the tropical island we got to go to. We might as well do this to help him bond with everyone. A team that likes each other is more likely to succeed, am I right?” Everyone started nodding, making Nagisa and Kaede smile at the front of the room.

“Great! Now everyone make sure you pack what you need, we’re going this weekend!” Although there was some groans about moving plans, most of the people seemed excited, especially Karma. Kaede pulls out a list from her bag, “Alright, this is the list of stuff we think you should pack, anything else is optional. But make sure you bring some stuff to do while we aren’t training. And don’t forget to pick your tent mate before it’s too late! You don’t wanna end up alone!”

Then the room turned to absolute chaos. Even with Bitch-sensei’s screaming, the class just couldn’t focus on the lesson anymore. I felt a presence behind me, and long behold, it was the Idiot himself. “Hey Terasaka.” I said, trying to be void of emotion.

“Hey Shrimp, don’t act excited to see me or anything.” He replied.

I sighed, “Who would be excited to see you?” While simultaneously willing my heart to act normal.

“Whatever. You wanna be tent mates? I mean, I know I don’t know you all tha-”

“Sure.” I interrupted. “Why not, I spend a lot of time with you anyways.”

Terasaka did that dumb smile, where he acts like he’s the happiest person in the world. “Great! So I was gonna bri-”

“You know, it’s really great that you all are bonding and stuff, but I am trying to teach you here! So sit your asses down and listen to my expertise!” Bitch-sensei said. Terasaka went back to his seat, mumbling something about it being interrupting Ryouma day. A few moments later, I felt my phone buzz.

Idiot: I’m glad u took me up on the offer :)

Me: Who else would I be with, you’re basically my best friend in this class.

Idiot: D'awww, he’s showing emotion!

Me: I have no idea what you’re talking about.

Idiot: Whatever, I can bring some cards if you want me to.

Me: I was just gonna bring a book.

Idiot: But there are some cool games/tricks I wanna show you!! :(

Me: Don’t care.

Idiot: Sucks, I’m gonna bring them anyways! :P

Me: Idiot.

“Hey, what are you two doing back there!” Bitch-sensei said.Looking up from my phone I see her staring at Terasaka and I. Whoops, busted.

“NOTHING!!” We both exclaimed. I turned towards Terasaka, and he just looked back at me and smiled. I returned the motion. Damn, I am hopelessly in love with this doofus, and now I have to share a tent with him, for the entire weekend. What did I sign up for?

Chapter Text

I wake up to a knocking sound. “Wake up, Lazy! You can’t miss school!” My sister called. Ugh, my head. I crawl out of bed, still in my uniform pants. I rub my eyes, hoping to get the grogginess out of my head. I grab my uniform off of the floor, and put it on. I start buttoning it as I walk down stairs. I see Maddie eating cereal at the table, and I glance at the clock. It was 6:32, meaning my parents already left for work.

I walk over to my sister and ruffle her hair as I take the box of cereal from in front of her. “Hey!” She screamed, but I know she likes getting her hair ruffled. I start pouring some of the cereal and go for the milk. “Oh, Mom used the last of the milk this morning making me breakfast.” She said after I started scouring the fridge. I sighed, mumbling about how she should have told me sooner, with a bit of colorful language. I grab the bowl of dry cereal and start eating like they were chips, but with some marshmallow surprises.

Before I was even done with my cereal, my sister was bouncing up and down, trying to get me to hurry up. She was enjoying elementary school too much, and boy, was she in for a rude awakening later in life. I grabbed my bag, brushed my teeth quickly, before my sister started bouncing around the house. I locked the door and headed outside, and our walk to school was a quiet one, until Maddie started being nosy again. She turned around and started walking backwards, and she asked, “So, did you tell him that you looove him?”

I sighed. “No Maddie, I did not tell my BEST friend that I have a crush on him. I’m sorry if I like some kind of normalcy in my life. Especially with our parents…” I said, mumbling the last part.

Maddie stopped walking and stepped in front of me. Ultimately stopping me as well, “Well how do you know he doesn’t like you back?”

I’m starting to get angry now, “Listen, yeah, I like him. But I like him so much, that I’m willing to put my feelings aside so he doesn’t have to worry about everything I do having some ulterior motive to get in his pants. I like Itona, but I’m smarter than to go for someone, who even if he is gay, that is way out of his league. So drop it.” I walked around her, the classroom is already a long walk, I don’t need her to keep asking about my love life to make the walk any worse.

-In The Classroom-

I walk into the class to see Itona worrying over his tank again. I swear, that thing will lead him to an early death. I walked over to him, “What's the problem this time?” I asked, leaning over his shoulder.

He pointed to some contraption in the center of the tank, “The wires were knocked loose, so I’m trying to get them set back in.” He replied. He was so focused, and his hands weren’t even shaking at all, I could hardly sit still in class. But then again, my hands didn’t shake when I was cooking. Maybe it’s relaxing for him? Itona set the tank and his tool down, and turned directly at me. “Could you please not breath in my ear? It’s really distracting.” Before I could say anything, Itona turned back to the project in front of him. But I could’ve sworn I saw him blushing.

I turned towards his ear, and whispered, “Like this?” My voice was a little deeper than I anticipated, but it worked. He put down the tank and dropped the weird looking screwdriver. So I took the opening, and I blew into his ear, He flew out of his seat and fell on the floor. “Shit! You okay?” I rush around the seat after I drop my bag on the floor, not caring if I break anything. I get over to him and try to help him up, but he refuses my hand. He is definitely blushing, but that’s probably because of the embarrassment of the situation. Especially since the whole class saw him fall.

Itona looks me right in the eye when he gets up, “Idiot.” Yep, saw that one coming.

“Sorry Shrimp, didn’t think you’d fall over that easily!” I said with a grin, he knew I was sorry.

He sat back down in his seat, and the class stopped staring at us. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. But then his response came, “I didn’t know you could think. I thought Terasaka’s were incapable of using their brain?” Ouch, friendly fire man. Before I could reply with my obviously witty comeback that was seconds away from becoming an idea, Koro-sensei walked into the class, well more slid there, but we then had to start class.

So I just called him a shrimp again, and he called me an idiot. But neither of us could keep the smile off of our faces.

-After School-

Once the bell rang, Itona rushed out of class, like he was gonna be late for something. “Itona! Wait!” I called after him, but he kept walking, he forgot his thingy under his desk. I went to go after him, but Kirara grabbed my shoulder. “You didn’t forget that you promised to help teach me how to cook after today, did you?” I shivered, Kirara was a cool chick, but she could be scarier than Bitch-sensei when we tell her she’s old.

“N-No?” I said with uncertainty, I did remember, but Itona had something going on. And I needed to be there for him.

Kirara smiled, “Good. Now I need that help before my parents get home. I need to learn so I can get out of here, just like you.” She gave me a knowing smile. Damn, I forgot that I told Kirara I was gay. Sometimes I think telling Karma would’ve been safer.

I sigh, “Alright, what do you want to learn to cook?” I said. There was no point in arguing, I did agree to help her. She started ranting on all these things she wanted to learn about, some were baking, others were more complex meals. I debated on inviting Itona over, but I decided against it. If I can’t talk to him, it might just be better to let him simmer. Kirara grabbed my hand and started pulling me along the road. At least helping her cook will calm my nerves down about Itona, and it will give me plenty of time to think.

Chapter Text

I realized that I forgot my voltage tester under my desk, so I ran back to get it, hoping to avoid Terasaka on the way back. Once I grabbed my tool, I snuck out of the front of the school. I really wanted to get home and just forget about what the Idiot did to me this morning. Did he have to make his voice so husky? I almost walked into Takuya. “Oh, sorry.” But I was shushed by Yoshida, while Takuya pointed in front of him. And that’s when I saw it. Terasaka was holding Kirara’s hand. And she was dragging him somewhere.

Takuya giggled like a little schoolgirl, “Good to see the guy is finally getting some action. I haven’t seen him date anyone since forever!”

Yoshida was looking into the distance, thinking about something, but he joined in, “Yeah, I haven’t seen the guy on a date for a few years. I’m just surprised it’s her.”

Takuya punched his arm, “You have no right to judge. When was the last time you went on a date? Especially since you like Kanzaki!” He said in a teasing voice. Yoshida grew red and started chasing Takuya, but I just stood there staring after Terasaka. I didn’t care who saw me at that point, I just ran. I needed out of there. I barreled into Terasaka, barely mumbling an apology as I ran past him. I heard him call after me, and I could hear footsteps behind me, so I took my small stature as an advantage, and ran as fast as I could. I couldn’t deal with him, not with this as well as the tease this morning.

I made it to the school campus and lost the footsteps behind me, but I didn’t slow down, I ran through the crowd, getting dirty looks and rude comments. I didn’t care, couldn’t at the moment. All that was on my mind was the betrayal I felt with Terasaka. It wasn’t like we were dating, so I didn’t have the right to be hurt, but that didn’t change how I felt.

Stupid Terasaka for going on a date, stupid me for hoping, even though I knew he wasn’t gay. I ran all the way to my apartment and fumbled with my keys, but I eventually got them in the door and I got inside. I dropped my bag and fished out my tank, my safe space. I work on it for a few minutes before I can’t see what I’m doing. I wipe my eyes and I realize that a few tears made it onto the shell of the tank. I set it down, not wanting to have anything else ruined today.

I grab my bag and try to work on homework. After getting frustrated at math, I decide I need a distraction, so I pull out a book, one of the few I was able to take with me. I read, just hoping to get lost in the fantasy world that is in front of me.

-4 Hours Later-

A knock on the door kicks me out of my thoughts, I look to see it’s almost 9 o’clock. There’s another knock, so I close the book, marking my page by creasing the corner, and go to open the door. I get there right after a third set of knocks pounds on the door. “Hold on!” I scream, I’m in no mood to deal with a door to door salesman, especially such a persistent one. I open the door and you could see the surprise on my face - Terasaka was standing in the doorway. His face was red and he was breathing heavily. I put on a mask, trying not to show him anything. I don’t want my heart broken again. “What are you doing here?” My voice hoarse from the previous crying and lack of drinks.

He looks down at me and his eyes soften, just like when he found me in that alleyway. Just remembering that moment almost makes me lose my mask, but I hold strong. Then Terasaka pulls me into a hug. Oh shit…

I return the hug with equal fervor, losing all of my emotional stability. I start crying again, but he comforts me. “Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here, it’s gonna be okay.”

I start blubbering about how it won’t be, how it’s never okay, and how lonely I am. At that, the idiot just pulls me closer, so I can’t smell anything but him and his bad cologne. I love it, and I breathe it all in, like it’s the last time I get to be this close. “I haven’t seen my dad, or my mom, I haven’t even talked to anyone about dating someone, no one.” I manage to sputter out. “I’m all alone, in this crummy apartment where all I can do is work on that dumb tank that I can’t even fix properly.”

“Then stop.” I look up at him, about to tell him how I’m only useful as the tank guy, but he speaks before I do. “Come to my place, spend the night there and we can be lonely and dateless together.” His smile is so genuine that I can’t do anything but nod, and then I go back to hugging him fiercely. I knew I was falling fast, but I thought I hit the ground, apparently it was just a really hard cloud, but the fall was blissful, especially now.

I pack a pair of clothes, but then Terasaka grabs a few more pairs and stuffs them in my bag. “Idiot.” I tell him, he freezes. “You didn’t even fold them.” I walk over to my bag, maneuvering myself past him, hoping he can’t see me blush. I take the clothes out of the bag and start to fold them. Once I’m done I grab my duffel bag, with too many clothes, my tank, and my school bag. Terasaka smiles and holds his hand out. I put my school bag down and quickly put my tank in it. I stand back up and take his hand. He drags me across my apartment, out of the door, and outside.

We get to his house and he’s still holding my hand, he lets go to get his keys, and I use that time to readjust all the stuff on my back. The tank was digging into my back, but it was worth it to have my hand wrapped up by Terasaka. We head inside, swarmed by the smell of something in the house, sadly without my hand touching his, but then his sister comes storming over to us. “I was worried sick about you! After that weird lady left with all the stuff you two were cooking, you just darted outside. I thought you forgot to tell her something, but then you come back with this guy! You know what Mom and Dad think about people spending the night over here!” She yells.

Terasaka sighs, “Listen, it’s fine. Don’t worry about Mom and Dad, they won’t be back for a while.” He grabs my hand again and takes me into what I assume is the kitchen, unless the living room has a stove and refrigerator. He lets go of my hand to give me something on a plate. “I’m guessing you haven’t eaten yet, so here. Kirara forced me to teach her how to cook and this was the leftovers.” He was looking down at the floor. So that’s what they were doing…

He hands me a fork and I start eating. It’s amazing, and I’m pretty sure the way I’m eating it says as much, but I have to give him a hard time. “It’s better than Takuya’s ramen. That’s good, I don’t know how much of that I can take.” I say with a half truth, I have been eating a lot of Takuya’s ramen, but since I don’t have much money, I’ll take what I can get in terms of food. Terasaka shakes his head towards the entrance of the kitchen, so I stand and grab my stuff. I follow him up some stairs, ignoring when his sister screams at him to leave his door open. I get in his room and drop my stuff at his door. I’m too exhausted to care if something breaks. I flop on his bed and curl up under the sheets.

He laughs, “That’s kinda my bed.” He says. I mumble, and he sits on the bed. “You okay.”

I turn towards and him mumble “I’m sleepy.” to him, but I could hardly understand myself. I turn back around and feel the covers of his bed rustle. The lights go out, and then the covers move again, and the bed dips a lot behind me. Shit, we’re sleeping in the same bed!

Terasaka whispers, “Good night.” I try to sleep, but I can’t until his breathing behind me evens out, then I pass out with the thought of how comfortable it is to sleep with someone else in the same bed.

Chapter Text

I wake up feeling really warm, which is unusual since my apartment is really cold in the morning, since I don’t have a heater. But then I smell something decidedly not normal, I smell baked goods, and a familiar bad cologne. Then I remember, I fell asleep in Terasaka’s bed, I tried to move, but something was wrapped around me. Arms, arms are wrapped around me! I try not to fidget, because I realize that I’m curled up in Terasaka’s arms, in his bed, at his house. I take a deep breath, and try to find a way out without waking him up. It’s harder than I thought, especially because he shed his shirt at some point in the night, and I could feel his chest hair every time I move. Oh my God he’s shirtless!

I manage to wiggle my way out of his grasp, and pull myself off the bed, half of the comforter coming with me. I got to see him in all of his half naked glory, it was different than the last time he saw it. He had a small amount of hair growing across his pecs and on his stomach, although he was still pretty fit. After I realized I was staring, I looked away quickly, happening to look at the door that was slightly astrew. I head out the door and down the stairs, hoping to make something for breakfast. I know how hungry Terasaka gets when he wakes up, if his text messages and whining about not being able to eat breakfast mean anything.

I happen to find some cereal, but all of them are loaded with sugar and fake calories, no wonder he’s always so hungry. He doesn’t even eat a proper meal. I look around, but I still can’t find any flour or anything. I turn around to see a young girl looking at me, with extremely judgemental eyes. “I don’t care who you are, or what you do, but you are not to hurt my brother. Kapeesh?” I was startled, mostly because this girl thought I could hurt Terasaka. She’s in for a rude awakening.

“You don’t have to worry too much about that. I think Terasaka could snap me in two before I could hurt a fly.” I say, awkwardly rubbing the back of my neck. She was still staring at me with those eyes, almost the exact opposite of how the older sibling looks at me. As if on cue, he walks into the kitchen, still shirtless, and stifles a yawn. He goes to a cupboard and grabs three bowls, and grabs what I assume is the most sugar filled cereal they have. His sister finally stops looking at me like I’ll kill her brother with a simple touch, and grabs the milk from their fridge.

I try and look for spoons, but I end up going through three drawers before I feel a hand on my head. “Don’t worry, we got em.” I offer a weak smile, and follow Terasaka to the table. No speaks while eating, but his sister is still giving me dirty looks in between bites. I finish first, so I go up and grab both Terasaka’s and my backpack. I double check that I still have everything I need for the day, as well as my tank and tools. And nothing seems to be broken, making me sigh with relief.

Terasaka walks into the room, and starts shifting through his closet, pulling out his uniform and a pair of pants. Before he started getting dressed, I went looking for the bathroom with my toothbrush in hand. That was too much sugar in the morning for any man, except maybe Terasaka. I brush my teeth of that “breakfast” disaster, and head downstairs. I grab my shoes, and find his sister staring at me again. I give her a small smile and wave, but her glare only worsens. “Maddie, stop staring. You’ll scare the poor shrimp.” I roll my eyes, but this is the easy banter I love.

“The odds of her scaring me more than your eating habits are slim to none. I swear, you take in more sugar than Koro-sensei himself. And I haven’t seen him eat anything else.” I said while I put my shoes on. He sits beside me and begins doing the same thing.

“Hey, sugar is a solid way to get energy in the morning. And it’s not like I have a lot of choices for breakfast! Everything has sugar in it now!” He tries to defend. We start our walk, falling into a comfortable silence, for the most part. Maddie was still trying to kill me with her eyes, and that didn’t go unnoticed by her brother.

Terasaka gave her a look of her own, and she held his gaze. After about a minute of us standing there, Maddie turned to me. “Sorry for glaring, my brother just never brings a boy home.”

“It’s fine. I know he doesn’t have the brain for normal stuff.” I said, ignoring the implications of what she said. Of course he doesn’t take many guys home, he’s too busy taking girls home to have friends over. While I’m sitting here not having even had my first kiss.

It was an anticlimactic walk afterwards, no one spoke until we dropped Maddie off at the school. Then we started our walk to class 3E, walking through the forest path, still in silence. But things grew more interesting once we got in the classroom. The girls shut up instantly, and ungathered themselves from Kirara’s desk. I sat down at my desk and pulled out my tank, getting lost in the repetitiveness of the motions to take away the thought that I slept with Terasaka last night.

Then I feel a bump from Terasaka’s desk, and I look over to see a lot of people swarming him. With my curiosity piqued, I stand on my desk chair, stupid lack of height. When I get my balance, I see that Kirara is sitting on Terasaka’s lap. And he has his arm around her waist. I sat down as quickly as I could, almost sending myself falling to the floor on my face. It’s fine, I thought, this doesn’t mean anything. Relax, you two aren’t even dating. Hell, he isn’t even gay.

I hear everyone say “Awww.” And I try to focus on my tank, but I couldn’t even hold the tool steady. Then I heard Kaeda say something, “You two are the cutest couple, well, really the only couple, but still!” I try to still my hand, but I can’t seem to get my body to cooperate. I hear someone come up behind me, and they put their hand on mine, stilling it for the most part.

“You okay Itona?” Nagisa asks. I shake my head, not trusting my voice. Because he moved, I now have a clear view of Kirara sitting on his lap. “What’s wrong? Too much caffeine?” He asked with a smile. Nagisa was really nice, but it wasn’t calming me down. I set my screwdriver down and take deep breaths, focusing on my tank and what I need to get done today. I get halfway through my list before everyone joins in a unanimous aww. I turn to see what happened, and Kirara was KISSING Terasaka!

I lost it. I stood up, knocking my chair over and pushing the desk forward. Not caring what hit the floor. Everyone was looking at me, but not for long. I ran out of the classroom, hardly able to deal with the situation around me. Having my heart broken twice in less than a day between them was too much. I ran as fast and as hard as I could, faster than yesterday. “Itona!!” I heard Nagisa yell before I got out the door. I ran into the woods, as far as I could before I needed to stop for a break. After making a lot of distance in such short time that would make a track runner proud, I climbed up a tree, sitting on one of the first branches that would support me. I proceeded to cry my eyes out for the second time this week. And for the same reason as well.

-Terasaka-

After Itona ran out the classroom (seriously, how fast can that guy move?), I managed to get Kirara off my lap. “I think you layed it on a little thick there.” I turn to the class, and wipe my mouth with my hand. I grab my bag, as well as Itona’s, and put his tank and screwdriver in the bag. “I’m gay.” I say as I walk out of the class. If no one was gonna find Itona, I will.

Chapter Text

I end up leaving the bags at the rear entrance of the building, and start looking. He’s not around the campus, so I start to move out into the woods. After about 10 minutes of walking aimlessly, I start calling out his name. “Itona! Where are you?!” I yell, not caring if I mess with the wildlife, or anyone else out here. What if he’s lost? He doesn’t know these forests too well... I give another 2 minutes before I yell again. What if he got hurt, or he passed out from the pain!? I start panicking, my heart racing. What if he’s dead? Oh God, please don’t let him be dead. I’d rather him missing than dead… I run now, yelling his name whenever I can catch my breath enough to do so. Right before I yell again, I hear sobbing above me.

I find Itona sitting in a tree, crying like it was the end of the world, and I swear I could feel my heart shatter right there. “Itona?” I ask, hardly loud enough to hear myself, but he heard it. He stop crying for a second, saw me, and turned away. Ouch. “Itona, you okay?” I asked a little louder. This time he ignores me and starts to cry again. I climb the tree, thankful for my strength and endurance, and sit on the branch next to him. I grab his shoulder and shake, “Hey, what is it?” I get a muffled response that sounds like cheering. But I’m gonna guess I misheard that. “What did you say?” I asked as I leaned closer.

Itona stops crying, but a look of anger takes over his previous look of sadness. “Kirara kissed you, okay?! I haven’t seen my parents, or anyone that even remotely cares about me as much as that! And I thought you knew what I was talking about yesterday, but clearly you were just trying to comfort me.” He sounded like his heart was ripped right out from his chest once too many times.

I grab Itona’s hand, “We’re getting out of this tree, and then we’re going home. Then you tell me everything, and I tell you everything.” He nods, and we both get out of the tree. We sneak back to the school and grab our bags, double checking that nothing was tampered with. You can never be too cautious with Karma on the loose. On the way to my house, I realize that I’m still holding Itona’s hand. I start panicking internally. Would it be normal to keep holding, should I let go, or would that be too obvious? AHHHH!!

Itona makes the choice for me when he squeezes my hand. I squeeze his in return, hoping it’s a comforting gesture. We get to my house, and take our shoes off. I pull him towards the kitchen table, and once we sit down, he just explodes. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I never wanted to make you skip class for me, I just thought you knew what I was going through, since your parents are never home. But then I saw you and Kirara sitting there, and I couldn’t even focus on my tank.” I stood when I saw tears in Itona’s eyes. “Nagisa was the only one who noticed, and he was trying to calm me down while everyone was talking about how cute you two are together. Then I saw the kiss, and I lost it. I couldn’t deal with it.” He said as I walked over to him. “I just, I want something like that. But I can’t, because no one wants to date cute, they want to date hot. They want to date people like you.” I pull Itona up and force him into a hug. He puts up little resistance, and for the second time in that many days, he’s crying in my shoulder again. I try to be comforting, so I stroke his hair, like I do when my sister is crying over a guy. We stand there for a few minutes, him crying, and me thankful that tonight is laundry night. When Itona calms down a bit, I decide to take a little. “You know, I’d date you.” His eyes shoot up, shock on his face. Shit! “If I was gay.” I say to recover. His face falls again, but it’s more knowing than pained.

“Thanks, that makes me feel a bit better.” He says, a mask going over his face, but he goes back to hugging me. I move my hand off of his head, and rest my chin there instead.

“You know, me and Kirara aren’t dating. She was trying to get someone jealous.” Lies, blatant lies.

I feel Itona grin, “I know. No one would date an idiot like you, stupid Terasaka.” With the easy banter coming back, Itona leaves the embrace. I’m definitely not sad, not at all.

“Yeah, well, Shrimp!” I say, dramatically pointing at him. So I’m out of safe comebacks, sue me. At least Itona smiled because of it.

“Nice one, Idiot.” He said as he bumped my shoulder. We stood there, enjoying each other’s company. I grabbed our school bags, and tossed Itona’s to him. He grabbed his tank from inside the bag, and the screwdriver he was using earlier. I grabbed out one of the two books in my bag, Politics of America. Itona gave me a look, but I shrugged as I opened the book and started reading.

A few hours pass, and my stomach growls, at an annoying volume. I ignore it and try to refocus on my book, I was almost done with the chapter. But my body wouldn’t quit. I was angrily reading, but not absorbing anything. So I shoved my bookmark in, and slammed my book down. I walked to the pantry and started pulling out stuff to make a decent sandwich. I get a couple of pieces of bread, and a few napkins. I don’t wanna do extra dishes cause I’m hungry.

I get the mayo and ham from the fridge, as well as the swiss cheese. I work to making four sandwiches, two for Itona, and two for me. I put the sandwiches together, and eat a piece of stray ham. After I hand Itona his sandwich, I sit down with mine and go back to reading. Once I finally finished the chapter, I found myself down a sandwich. I look over at Itona, and he hasn’t moved his gaze away from his tank. Meaning my super sandwiches where going to waste. “Hey, Shrimp. I made you some food.” I said, going back to my book. I got a grumbled response saying something about him being “not hungry” and me being an “idiot”. I finish another chapter and my last sandwich.

I stand up and stretch, putting my marker in my book. I give Itona a glare, but he doesn’t flinch. “You better eat something or you’re gonna lose that tank.” I said, trying to sound menacing.

Itona rolled his eyes and took a bite of his food, his eyes never leaving his tank. “Happy?” He asked with a half-full mouth. I shook my head, and scooted the plate closer to him.

“Eat all of it. I know you don’t bring a lunch to school, so while you’re here, you’re gonna eat 3 meals a day.” Itona groans, and sets his tool down. He starts eating the food, and I nod my head. Damn straight, you better be taking care of yourself. I don’t wanna lose you. I turned around, and tried to stop my mind from going down that path.

I hear Itona stifle a yawn. “You’re tired.” I say. Itona starts to panic.

“No I’m not.” He says, right before another yawn. Jeez, how little sleep did you get last night?

“My bad, you’re very tired. That means you follow.” He opened his mouth to protest. “And I will carry you up there myself if I have to. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.” Itona reluctantly gets off the chair, and he thankfully finished his food. I grab his hand and all but drag him up the stairs, and he’s grumbling something about him not being tired. Yeah right.

I get Itona into my room, and get him sleeping on the bed. I watch him for a few minutes, and he’s fast asleep. He always puts himself last, ever since we got him in the class. He even puts his tank’s maintenance, or whatever he’s doing, before his wellbeing. He rolls in his sleep and rubs at his eyes, Cute… I thought.

I leave the room before I die of pinning and cuteness overload. Feeling very tired myself, I collapse on the couch. Shit, I just came out to the entire class. Was my last coherent thought before I drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Text

I wake up in class, my tank on the floor, as well as my school bag. Today was the day, I was gonna do it. “Hey, Terasaka?” I asked, my nerves skyrocketing.

“Hmm?” He replied, fidgeting with something in his hand. He looked at me, “What is it, Shrimp?” Never has that word brought such worry to me. What if it’s the last time I hear it? I shake my head. Can’t turn back now.

“I-I, I umm…” I stutter. Damnit Itona! It’s just a word! The worst he can say is he doesn’t feel that way.

Terasaka starts to stand, “You okay? Feeling alright? I can take you to the nurse if yo-”

“I’m gay and I have a crush on you!” I blurt out, interrupting Terasaka. I said it a little louder than I anticipated, and everyone around the room stopped talking and turned back to me. I wish I could just melt away from the world now. I look around the room, everyone has a blank expression on their face. I turn to Terasaka, and he looks like someone just killed his little sister.

“You’re a faggot!?” Terasaka asks, all I can do is nod. My voice running away, like I wanted to. I go to grab my bag, but Terasaka yanks me out of my seat. “You’re a fucking faggot, and you decided not to tell me? And I was gonna tent with you.” He lets go of my arm.
\
“Terasaka, I...” I started. But his glare stopped me.

“Get out, I don’t want to see you.” I try to say something, but before I can make a sound Terasaka starts again. “Out!” He yells. I wince at his harsh tone. I stand there, not knowing what to do. Terasaka is furious, and I can’t move, even if I tried. I feel tears threatening to fall out. “Fine, if you won’t listen, I’ll have to help you.” Terasaka picks me up with ease, throwing me over his shoulder. I scream, trying to get him to let go. No one is paying attention to us anymore. Why are they all ignoring this?! I try to struggle, but he’s too strong. I’m soon thrown out the window, and I’m getting wet. Was it raining a few minutes ago? Before I can think, I’m hit in the head by my tank, and my bag is thrown on my lap. “And stay away, Faggot.” Terasaka says, and then he closes the window.

I can’t tell what hurts more, the internal or external pain. I try to stand, but I fall back into the puddle beneath me. It’s made out of rain, tears, and blood. I try to stand again, but this time I fall into a much deeper puddle, and I can’t feel the bottom. I panic, I can’t swim. I look for shore somewhere, but there’s only the classroom. I make my way to the window, using way too much energy. I knock on the window, begging for help. The only person that sees me is Terasaka, and shakes his head and turns back to the front of the class. I sit there, slowly drowning. Crying for Terasaka, begging him to help. I finally fall under the water, and lose consciousness.

I wake up, screaming. The bed drenched in sweat. I cry immediately. It’s just a dream, it’s just a dream. I think. At some point I start to chant it out loud. Terasaka comes bursting into the room sometime after. “Itona!” He screams. I cry harder, and runs over to me. “Shhh, it’s okay, it’s gonna be okay. It was just a dream, I’m right here.” I accept his embrace, and give a death grip. I can’t lose him. I can’t. He can never find out. I continue to cry into his shoulder, I can’t tell him. If I do I’ll lose him. Terasaka makes awkward circles on my back with his hand, trying to calm me down.

After what feels like forever, I finally stop crying and have control over my breath. But I can’t stop shaking. Thankfully, Terasaka doesn’t let go. “Feeling better?” He asks. I nod, accidentally tapping his chin with my head. When did he put his head on mine? I ease up on my embrace, but I haven’t let go yet. I need to make sure this is real, I need something to ground myself to after these. Normally it’s my tank or a picture of my dad, but those are downstairs, and I don’t want to walk down there while shaking the entire time. Nor do I want to leave the embrace, so I use Terasaka as the grounding agent. How he smells of day old cologne and deodorant. The feel of his chin on my head (that I could definitely get used to if the world weren’t so cruel). How strong he feels, how his light amount of chest hair feels against my fa-...

I start panicking again. OH MY GOD HE’S SHIRTLESS!! I try to worm my way out of the hug, and Terasaka lets go of me almost instantly. “Sorry…” I hear him mutter. Oh no, I fucked up.

“No! No, that’s not it. It’s just…” Quick Itona, think! “I know I must smell pretty bad, I mean, I’m drenched in sweat.” Okay, that might work. He nods, but still has a dejected look on his face. Shit.

I go to speak again, but he beats me to it. “You can go take a shower if you want, the bathroom is the second door on the right. You don’t have to if you don’t want to! But, it’s an option, and totally open if you do. But you might want to know that it’s like, 2 in the morning.” I blush. Nice one, you woke him up because you had a panic attack.

As if to prove how bad the attack was, Maddie stormed to the doorway and threw a pillow at us. She shushed us aggressively, and stormed back to her room. We both hold back a laugh. After a few seconds, I’m able to compose myself. “I think Maddie would kill me if I took a shower right now. Anything else we can do to pass the time?” I purposefully steer myself away from dirty thoughts.

Terasaka shrugs, and tries to stifle a yawn, keyword, tries. I shake my head, “Don’t let me keep you up, you clearly have a different sleep schedule than me.”

He laughs. “Yeah, you need to have a sleep schedule first.” I chuckle. “If I sleep, you do too.” I go to protest, but he puts his finger to my mouth. “Nope, I don’t want any back talk. You need more sleep than I do, so if I’m tired, that means you didn’t get enough sleep.” Idiot, I don’t wanna sleep because I’ll have that nightmare again. Unless…

“He-Hey, Terasaka?” He looks into my eyes, God I’m head over heels for this guy. “Would you mind staying here while I sleep?” I ask, trying to look as innocent as possible. His eyes go wide, and my mind starts to panic. “I mean, I don’t want to have to wake you up again with my nightmare, and maybe you being near me would help calm my mind while I-”

“Itona.” He says, deliberately interrupting me. “That was the plan. I can’t leave my best friend alone after something like that. Then no one would get any sleep, and that would be terrible for everyone. Especially us, cause then we have to deal with being tired and a tired Maddie. She’s the biggest advocate of ‘Beauty sleep’ I’ve ever seen.” A smile creeps on his face. And it’s contagious, so I get one too. “Alright, I’ll be right beside, no matter what. Just lay down.”

I follow his instructions, and lay on my side, it’s the comfiest place for me. Soon I feel someone lay behind me. Then I’m moved so I’m flush with their chest, and I have an arm draped around me. “Is this okay?” Terasaka asks, I can hear the doubt in his voice.

I’m so glad he can’t see me blushing like a tomato. “Yeah, it’s fine.” More than fine. I can still feel that he’s unsure, so I snuggle back into his chest, and let out a sigh. “You’re comfier than you look.” Shit! I try to start sleeping, but my face is burning.

“Thanks.” He says. I can hear the smile in that idiot’s voice. I drift off to sleep, with a smile on my face, being held by the guy I have a crush on. Huh, maybe those nightmares aren’t so bad after all.

Chapter Text

I wake up to an annoying beeping noise. I try to ignore it, but I only find myself having more trouble going to sleep. I resign to the alarm, and attempt to get up. I stretch my arm, the other one being trapped between me and something warm. Then last night comes rushing back to me, I blush. I look at the clock, it’s 6:32. SHIT! I dart out of the bed, leaving a mumbling Itona without any covers. I run downstairs and grab my school shirt from the coffee table. I finish buttoning it on the stairs, almost falling up them a few times. I run into my room, Itona still laying there. His hair a mess. Relax, it’s not the end of the world if we’re late. We skipped yesterday anyways…

Then I remembered that we have the camping trip today, and I haven’t packed anything for it. Fuuuuuuck! I start running around, I head to the garage to get the tent, but it’s missing. I look for my bag next, but it’s also gone. I even find some of my favorite clothes missing. I try to find Maddie, but she already left for school. I need to wake Itona up, before he kills me for letting him sleep too long.

I go to my room, and Itona is sitting there, rubbing his eyes. Cute. “Hey, you up for a little camping?” I ask. Why!? I don’t even have a tent! Augh!! He shakes his head, and mumbles something resembling the Hank. Then I realize he’s asking about his tank. Idiot. “Yeah, it’s in the kitchen. I’ll be right back.” I go to grab the tank, and a few granola bars for breakfast. Before I can even make it all the way in, I find my bag, next to the tent. I let out a silent prayer that my parents signed up for that school newsletter. There was a note. ‘Don’t get too rowdy, and keep an eye on your “friend” Love - Mom and Dad”

A tear rolls down my face, and I hear someone walking behind me. I wipe my eyes, and stick the note in my pocket. I grab the bars from the pantry and toss two to Itona, he hardly catches them. “Hope you’re ready for an annoying walk.” I say with a smile, I motion to the pile of camping gear. He groans, but doesn’t complain. We grab as much of the gear as we can, and start the walk to school. Before we make it out of the driveway, we’re honked at. I look to see a car sitting there, with Karma sitting in it. Oh no…

Karma motions over to us, with a huge grin on his face. “Need a lift?” He asks with that snarky “I’m better than you and you know it” tone. I suck up my hatred and start to walk over with the gear, Itona follows. We get everything into the trunk of the car, and hopped in. I got the front seat, joy. Before Karma starts the car, Itona screams. “Wait!” He darts out the car and back into the house.

Karma turns to look at me. “So you’re gay, huh?” Shit, forgot he was there when that happened. I shake my head, not trusting my voice. He nods, “Does Itona know?”

I turn my head so fast, I was afraid I would get whiplash. “Please, please don’t tell him…” I beg. I’ve never begged. He nods in understanding.

He gets another grin. “But I get free taunting rights while he’s not around. That fine with you, Princess?” Karma emphasized the last word, of course he would. I nod again, afraid he would out me to Itona. He’s not the kind of guy to mess with, anyone would think that after what he did to that poor guy on the island.

Itona comes running out of the house holding his tank. He hops in the back, and Karma gives me an evil grin. He starts driving us towards the school, so I look out the window, losing myself in thought.

What would happen if I told Itona? Would he hate me? Unlikely. Stop hanging out with me? Probably. Date me? Ha, funny thought, idiot. Why am I even asking? The worst he would do in character is avoid me, or increase his teasing. That’s easy. So why do I feel so nervous to tell him!? AGH!!

I decide to try and bite the bullet. “Hey, Ito-!” I get interrupted by Karma slamming on the brakes and honking his horn. I look up to see someone half pulled out of a parking lot. The school’s parking lot. Guess that bullet just hit me in the face. Karma gives that ‘You're welcome, but you’ll owe me’ look. Like when I accidently got the class stuck in that river…

I try to forget what he made me do, that was a horrible prank to pull on anyone, especially someone as innocent as Kaede. I hop out of the car and immediately get ambushed. I was swarmed in hugs from different people, with a fist bump from most of the guys, except for Nagisa. Everyone was worried, but no one went to hug Itona, so I stepped back and threw my arm around him. I ruffled his hair, “I’m just glad I found this guy before something happened.”

Muramatsu decided that now would be a good time to open his mouth. “So are yo-”

“Who’s ready to go camping!?” Karma interrupted, he slammed his door shut. I hate owing that guy… I raise my hand, as does most of the class. Muramatsu tries to talk again, but Yoshida covers his mouth, so all we hear is mumbling. “Great! Everyone in your cars!”
Itona hops back into the truck, and I make my way to the front, but Karma stops me by putting a hand on my chest. “Nope, Nagisa’s sitting there. You get the back.” He said with a smile. I glared at him, but he knew exactly what he was doing, sadly. I walked around to the other side of the car, and got in the backseat next to Itona. Today is gonna be interesting.

After a few minutes, both Karma and Nagisa get in the car, and we start the drive to… wherever we’re camping. I didn’t pay attention. After about an hour, I figure out that we may have a while. I try to get comfortable, but it’s easier said than done when you’re trying to not lay on top of someone else. After a few more minutes I give up and take my phone out of my pocket, glad I made sure to download some games that don’t require data. No need to kill what’s left of my data.

I play a few runs of Pixel Dungeon before I hear someone giggling like a little schoolgirl. I look up to see Karma trying to contain himself, and Nagisa just smiling at me. I give them both a questioning look, but then I catch a glance of the rearview mirror, and see Itona resting his head on me. ‘I get taunting rights…’ I’ve made a fatal error, he shouldn’t have known. This is terrible, awful, I can’t live anymore, he already has too much fuel. If Itona wasn’t laying on me, making my mind freeze up, then I would’ve jumped out the car.

I can’t let him win. No, I must get the last laugh! Terasaka is not beaten so easily! I, again, glare at Karma, and put my arm around Itona. Just a giant middle finger to him, then I realize what I did. I start to panic, and apparently you can see it on my face. Karma bust out laughing, still keeping the car straight, and Nagisa just gives me this look of pity. I guess he knows too now, great. You know what, fuck it. We’ve slept together, and that didn’t change anything, this won’t either.

I rest my head on Itona’s, and pull him closer with my arm. He subconsciously snuggles closer to me as well, and I hear him release a sigh. I close my eyes, a quick nap wouldn’t hurt anyone. Shit! I just poured gas on the fire! I thought as I heard the click of a camera. Karma was still giggling, but let him. I can handle the teasing if I get to keep Itona.

-Itona-

I woke up with a cramp in my neck. So that’s why people don’t sleep on long car rides. I unbuckle myself and step out of the car, looking for everyone. I hear some commotion coming from the forest, so I make my way there. I see everyone setting up camp, with Karma and Nagisa carrying everyone’s bags. I see a large group of people working on setting up some form of pavilion, and having a large amount of trouble with it. I also see Terasaka having just as much trouble with the tents. I sigh and walk over there. That idiot is gonna kill me one of these days…

I get over there and help him with the tents, which is easier said than done. None of the poles are labeled, and Terasaka pulled all of the tents out at once, mixing all of the poles and bags. Eventually, we get a tent up. As we start working on the next one, it falls down. “Ugghhh!” I groan, this is too tedious to do, for anyone. Nagisa comes over and fixes our first tent within a few minutes, and the Idiot and I just watch in awe. He tells us how to do it, while doing it himself on another tent. I try to follow along, but I get lost about half way through. Terasaka was already scratching his head in confusion.

I manage to find my way through newly given instructions and finish the other half semi-decently. Terasaka gave up and left to go do something else. Nagisa and I start to finish the tents and he asks me a question. “So you like Terasaka, huh?”

I panicked. How could he know? Did I stare at him too long? AHHH! I tried to keep a cool exterior, which kept getting easier. “I don’t know what you mean. He’s one of the few people I can deal with.” I said coldly, hoping he would drop it. He didn’t.

“You can’t fool either of us, Itona. Don’t worry, he won’t care, I can assure you of that.” I shrugged the comment off, but what if that was true for others? How long would my secret stay a secret? I started shivering from the thought of being outed, and I can’t control myself. Karma came over and noticed me shivering, but didn’t comment. He just went to the table and grabbed his hoodie. I gave him a silent nod and put on the hoodie, playing it off as though I was getting cold, it had a familiar smell, but I ignored it to focus on taking control. The shivering stopped after a while, thankfully before anyone asked any questions.

Isogai served up some noodles covered in cheese, it was weird, but it tasted good. I continued eating it, when Terasaka sat next to me. “Hey, why are you wearing my hoodie?” I looked down, and saw just a black front. I turned my head and saw the beginning of his name, from what I could make out.

I muttered a curse and started to take it off. “No, keep it on. I saw you shivering over by the tents. I’m warm enough, but I don’t want you getting sick.” I blushed, but quickly pulled up the hood. “Thanks…” I muttered. I started eating with a little less enthusiasm. I couldn’t finish my second plate, so I went to a tent and started setting up my share of Terasaka’s things. I seem to just take all of his stuff. I shake the thought out of my head as I unroll the sleeping bag. I put my stuff in a semi-organized way. I laid down in the bag, and had problems falling asleep, there was a stick under this side of the tent. I shifted around until the stick didn’t annoy me. I tried to sleep again, but quickly grew too hot. I shed the hoodie off to the side, and got comfy again. I fell asleep shortly after I heard a rustling near the tent.

Chapter Text

I wake up feeling hot, like, REALLY hot. I start to shed the sleeping bag, embracing the cold night air. Well, cold morning air. Although the sun is hardly up, I hear conversations outside. Before I can make out anything they're saying, everything gets quiet. Weird. I finish getting out of the human microwave and immediately regret it. My clothes were sweaty and caused the air to feel all that much colder, almost freezing. I changed clothes quickly, grateful Terasaka wasn’t waking up yet. I was still cold, so I grabbed the nearest hoodie, it warmed me up enough to brave going outside. Nagisa, Karma and Isogai were talking next to the makeshift pavilion, while Kaede, Yukiko, and Kirara where sitting at the picnic table, talking about something in a hushed voice. I never got gossip, why talk behind someone’s back? Why not just talk to them about something they did instead? Girls are weird.

Isogai was working on some food, I have no idea what he’s cooking, but I feel like I’ll eat it. I pull the hood up and just lay my head on the table. I smell something familiar, but I can’t place it, so I ignore it. After a while of just laying there, I get a nudge on the shoulder. I looked up to see Karma standing there. “Where’s Terasaka?” He asked. I pointed towards the tent. He shook his head and started heading over there. “I’m gonna wake up the slacker!” He screamed. He still had his bag on, but I didn’t bother telling him, he probably already knew. After a few minutes, I hear someone yell. I look at the tent, and Karma is dragging Terasaka out of the tent, sleeping bag and all. He fell out of the bag, and he was shirtless. I blushed and pulled the hood tighter over my head, hoping no one saw. Terasaka got up, grumbling about how he was shirtless and he went back into the tent, with dirt all over his sleeping bag and his back.

Isogai finished the food shortly after the episode with Karma, and Terasaka came out with my bag. He tossed it at my feet, and we all grabbed some eggs and bacon. It was delicious, just like the cheesy noodles yesterday. I would’ve made a comment, if I wasn’t busy scarfing down all that now too tiny body could hold. “Man, I don’t know where you put it all. Does my hoodie give a metabolism buff or something?” I choked on the food, not only at the fact that he made a decent joke, but that I grabbed his hoodie. Terasaka put his hand on my back, “Be careful there, Shrimp. Don’t want you dying in my favorite hoodie.” I blush, thanking the god forethought for his blessing today. Nagisa gives me a small smile, and I look away, unable to hold his gaze without blushing more. I calm down enough to finish my food, at a much slower pace.

Nagisa didn’t say anything about the blush, but he knew. “Alright everyone, we have our camouflage practice in about 10 minutes, so go get all of your gear.” With that, mostly everyone went to get their bags and paintball guns. Nagisa and Karma stayed behind to do the dishes before we left. Terasaka and I had to grab our bags as well. I find my stuff easily, but Terasaka starts looking around the tent, almost like he lost something. “Can’t find your bag?” I ask, gearing up for an insult. He shakes his head, “No, I can’t find my water bottle. Is it in your bag?” Now I shook my head, how one loses something before the first day is even over, I don’t know. I humor him and look in my bag. I start taking everything out and laying it on the floor. Leaving everything in it’s own neat little pile. My book, some magazines that are probably Terasaka’s, my water bottle, extra ammo, more extra ammo, and my gun. “Nope, not in here.” I look up to see Terasaka dumbstruck, like normal. “What? Is it that surprising you lost something?” I asked. He starts stuttering, but before I can ask, he leaves the tent. I shrug, and I start putting everything back, except for the magazines.

I take one look at the magazines and freeze. They were gay porn magazines, not something innocent. I panic, Terasaka saw those, and he just left the tent. I didn't pack those, I know I didn’t. I sit there, frozen in fear. He knows, the one person I didn’t want to know, and he knows. I sat for who knows how long, but it was long enough for Nagisa to come get me. He saw the magazines and just sat there with me. “You doing okay?” He asked in a hushed tone, trying to be soothing. “He knows. He knows I’m gay. I can’t, I can’t go out there. He probably already hates me.” I start trying to grab my bag, but I drop it. All of it’s contents fall out. I start packing it all again, my hands shaking the entire time.

Nagisa grabs my hand to still it, and he talks to me in a calm voice. “Itona, it’s fine. He doesn’t hate you, I’m sure he’s just shocked. He didn’t expect it.” I keep packing my stuff. “You can stay here if you want. You don’t need to go to the training.” He said. I shook my head.

“If I don’t go then people will talk. And if they talk then I’ll be out before I’m ready. I need to go out on my own terms, in my own way.” I said definitively. I finish packing, and Nagisa gives me a nod of approval. I head out of the tent and I’m met with concerned looks. I flash a smile and give a thumbs up. With my backpack on, I follow Nagisa to the location. Girls were still gossiping, and it was making me shake. Terasaka was in the back, with me right behind Nagisa. I was still wearing his hoodie, but it made it a little easier. I felt like I wasn’t alone, like he didn’t run out of the tent. I fall out of line and start walking towards the open forest. I just need to get away.

Chapter Text

I see Itona move to towards the back edge of the group and head towards the forest. I was still trying to process what happened earlier, but my body followed him of its own accord. No, stop. He needs time to think. But I kept walking. Once I gave the group enough time to continue on, I grabbed Itona’s shoulder. He jumped, but turned around to look at me. “Why are you walking away from the group?” I asked.

He looked like he was about to cry. “I-I, I don’t…” He stuttered. I was in no mood for this. He’s run away too many times for me to count or desire. Both him and I have been avoiding this, well, I’ve been avoiding this.

“Alright, you listen here.” I stated sternly. I had a scowl on my face and I knew I was scaring him, but I couldn’t stop what my mouth was doing. Even if I could I don’t know if I could start again. “I’m sick of you running off ‘to think’. Is this because you’re gay? You think that makes this okay? It doesn’t. It leaves us hurt, all of us. We care about you. I don’t care if you’re gay. You don’t see me running off. I don’t know how hard it is for you to accept it, but I can’t deal with you running any more.”

Itona got an angry look on his face. Whoops. “You know what? Fuck you. You don’t know what I’m going through.” He said as he poked my chest. “I’m not even gay. I don’t know what makes you think that.” He turned to walk away.

I grabbed his shoulder. “Oh no you don’t.” I turned him around to look at me. Angry scowl and all, I may have messed up. “You don’t get to walk away from this. This is long overdue. I don’t know how those magazines got in your bag, but no straight guy acts like that after what happened there. I don’t care if you’re gay, Nagissa doesn’t care if you’re gay, NO ONE CARES IF YOU’RE GAY! You wanna know how I know? CAUSE I’M GAY!!” I yelled. It echoed through the woods. Everyone on the hike probably heard that. I’m not making very good decisions.

Itona has a shocked look on his face. SHIT. I have a feeling he’s gonna dart. Panic mode! I grab him and pull him into a hug. “I didn’t mean to yell, I just didn’t know what to do and I was getting upset, I didn’t want to-” He breaks out of my hug and lunges towards my face. It was a surprise kiss, and once I knew what was going on I melted into it. I bent down a little to make his job easier, and I put my hands on his hips. It felt amazing, there was no way to describe it other than bliss. Both of us were inexperienced, but it didn’t take anything away. After a few minutes we both came up for air. I just stared into his eyes, and he did the same. It was perfect.

Then I heard the cheering, the entire class saw everything after the screaming, or so I presume. Itona blushes, but just digs his face into my chest and I rest my chin on his head. I can feel the smile he has, and it’s contagious. “Does this mean we’re-” He tries to say. I interrupt him before he can finish though.

“Yes, yes we are.” I can’t control the grin that creeps on my face. I hear Karma yell something similar to ‘I told you so’, I can’t be bothered to deal with that. I just ignore it and kept holding Itona, my new boyfriend.

Sunday
Itona

I regain conscienceness with something wrapped around me. I begin to panic, but then I remember what happened. I stop struggling and accept the embrace, as if I had the choice. It was such a simple thing, to be held by someone else, but it brings so many people such joy, and I guess that includes me as well. I dig my back further into my captor, wanting to be closer than physically possible. He pulled himself closer, but I don’t think he was awake yet. I drifted off to sleep shortly afterwards, in complete bliss. Who knew life could make such a u-turn in one day?

-Later-

I wake up to a blinding light in my eyes. I hear Terasaka groan behind me. I also hear a few faint giggles, realizing what happened I begin to panic. Squirming to get out, but Terasaka held me down. “Shhh, it’s okay.” I heard him whisper. I don’t think he knows what’s going on, but it soothes me nonetheless. I feel him get up and I hear more laughing, thankful he doesn’t sleep without pants on. He picks me up, sleeping bag and all, and then puts me in the tent. He throws on a shirt and kisses my forehead. “Morning shrimp.” He said as he left the tent. This is gonna be an interesting relationship, but a great one.