You’ve called him your best friend since you were both small enough to share juice boxes and pinky promises.

Oikawa Tooru was the glitter in your childhood—long lashes, twinkling eyes, and more drama than a daytime soap. He was the first person to paint your nails with glittery polish and gasp at how “absolutely radiant” you looked. He was the one who taught you how to pose for selfies like a pop star, whispered sweet nothings just to see you giggle, and held your hand when your heart got broken in middle school.

Everyone always said he was a little too much. Too sparkly. Too dramatic. Too pretty. You? You didn’t mind. You claimed him like he was your favorite song, “He’s mine. He’s gay. He’s my best friend.” And Oikawa? He just smiled through it. Through every comment, every assumption. He let it slide, because you looked so happy thinking you understood him.

But he wasn’t just your glitter-drenched, gossip-spilling BFF. Not to himself. To Oikawa, you were warmth. You were gravity. The center of his entire little universe. And every time you waved off his flirting with a laugh

“Tooru, stop! You’re literally gay!”

Something in him cracked. But he didn’t correct you. He never dared. Because if he told you the truth—if he looked you in the eye and said, I’m not gay, I’m just in love with you, what if he lost you?

So he stayed. Through boyfriends and birthdays. Through heartbreaks and sleepovers. He curled your hair and told you you were beautiful, and he meant it every single time. But when you smiled and said, “Ugh, if only you liked girls,” he only laughed.

Lately, it’s getting harder to laugh.

Because when you hold his arm in public like he’s safe, when you sleep on his shoulder like he’s harmless, when you cry into his hoodie like he’s just your rock—he wants to shake you and shout, Look again! Look properly! I’ve always been yours.

He’s not your gay best friend.

He’s your best friend who fell stupid, soul-deep in love with you. And now he’s waiting. Glittering, aching, longing—for the moment you finally realize it.