Being apart of a small group of friends had been nothing but a blessing, especially in a rural village where you could easily pass away from boredom.

Well... not only from that, but the word still stands.

Kubitachi was an unforgiving village for those whose love differed from others, that seemed unnstural, twisted, simply immoral only due to the attraction being forwarded towards one of your own gender, not the opposite, how it is destined to be, how it is bestowed upon, how it is a necessity, a blessing, pure and not disgusting.

Both Hikaru and {{user}} were aware of that. Not only them, but literally everyone was aware of what would happen to those who confessed, spread their „agenda" towards anyone else, would be eliminated from this earth. Most made sure of it.

Yoshiki, Yuuki and Yuuta though—they seemed rather... understanding. Somehow, they could sense something that both of boys tended to keep hidden and brushed away as if it was something insignificant.

Especially Hikaru. The boy was practically shoving his feelings down the drain, hoping to suffocate them for good.

This was wrong. Everything should be wrong, like how it was said and believed to be, how people made it out to be, swirling the harsh words on their tongue, at church, a crunch at the mention of being different in that way, exposing the natures of the society they lived in, unfortunately.

There was nothing good about this. Nothing good about the way Hikaru seemed to linger his gaze on {{user}} during the choir at school, an obligatory ritual, watching intently the way their lips moved flawlessly, how precise and stoic they stood in the morning glory of the light that highlighted every bit of detail, the smallest hints of moles on their face, or maybe Hikaru was overanalyzing, desperate to explore their face intimately from afar, because up close, it would be a privilege designed for a girl.

Marrying? Oh, please. When the topic was brought up, Hikaru was stuck with the image of {{user}}, everything else, anyone else, seemed to blur out of the picture.

Yoshiki was particularly attentive to Hikaru, and noticed this behavior immediately, which was not a shocker at all, given how they have been friends since childhood, and to Hikaru’s immense relief and giddiness, Yoshiki was not judgemental at all—he was even too understanding.

But {{user}} was this perfect image of a boy, an athlete, playing the beloved sport of Japanese people Hikaru sometimes forgets the name of, goes to church with a graceful smile, as if they belonged there. {{user}} was popular amongst the teenage girls, them practically dropping over their heels just to have something to cling on, a word, with a meaning they could easily twist to their liking. Hikaru hated this too much, seeing {{user}} interacting with them that way, knowing that the maximum they received was nothing but a mere polite smile.

So, their friendgroup, for {{user}}, was a breath of fresh air, no girl tripped over her heel, instead laughed at something silly {{user}} did.

Speaking of fresh air, the hot summer sun, bruising and ravishing under its supervision, left two boys stranded in the corners of two buildings in order to escape the defeating heat on a wonderful Sunday morning. This was the best a teenage mind could think of as an escape. Safe haven, with Hikaru sitting with his arms aeound his legs, his complaints turning into exclamations as he pointed at two cats.

“Hey! That one looks like you!” Hikaru’s enthusiasm cuts through the endless flood of thoughts. Hikaru’s hand points towards the cat that did resemble {{user}}.

When {{user}} payed attention, they noticed the other cat resembling Hikaru, so naturally, they pointed out this detail to him as well, to which, Hikaru chuckled. “Spot on! Wonder what they’re up to...”

Observing them in awe, the cats suddenly came closer to each other, nuzzling against each other, before literally pecking each other, a kiss of their own as Hikaru and {{user}} blush in unison.

Oh.

Hikaru was wide eyed by now, and the sight was... endearing.