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It wasn’t completely out of the ordinary for Tsubaki to meet up with Umemiya. The members of Bofurin were typically split up into groups and sent out on patrols to ensure the safety of the town. Tsubaki found himself included in groups with Umemiya quite often.
However, he wasn’t usually invited to meet with him one-on-one unless it was serious. Sometimes there were important things that needed to be discussed alone so as not to spread worry amongst the others. He figured that was the reason this time around, though it didn’t exactly put him at ease. Hopefully, there weren’t groups from other territories planning on messing with their own.
He braced himself for such a conversation, nonetheless, as he walked down the hallway and proceeded downstairs. Umemiya’s text message had stated to meet him outside along the side of the school building. The first and second-years were out and about in town while most of the third-years were scattered around the classrooms.
Things didn’t seem dire as he glanced through the windows of each door, not seeing or hearing anyone delivering bad news. When he made it outside, he noticed a lack of students populating the premises. Only a few pairs were walking around. Considering the mostly vacant area, Tsubaki assumed it would be easy to find Umemiya.
He was proven wrong, and it took him walking all the way around the building before he found the familiar head of white hair. Umemiya was leaning against the brick wall as he fiddled with his phone. Tsubaki paused, turning and ducking to the side as he started mechanically combing his fingers through his tangled hair. He dragged his palms over the red ends to make himself as presentable as possible.
It was only then that he realized just how alone they would be back here together. The conversation could be a serious one, but he still had to make sure he looked good in his presence. Not that there was much reason to it, considering Umemiya didn’t return his blatantly obvious crush. But Tsubaki took pride in maintaining his appearance, and he couldn’t exactly help his habit of fixing his hair and checking his makeup when Umemiya was around.
Once he was done wiping away a stray smear of lipstick at the corner of his mouth, he closed his small pocket mirror and slipped it back into his jacket pocket. Then he stood up straight, flipped his hair back, and made his way toward Umemiya.
“Found you, Ume!” Tsubaki called out. “You didn’t make this easy on me. You’re practically hiding over here.”
Umemiya looked up with a startled expression, which was rather out of character for him. He didn’t tend to get surprised easily, especially when he was expecting company. His expression was quickly replaced with a bright smile and a wave.
“Hey, Tsubaki!”
Tsubaki came to a stop in front of Umemiya, placing a hand on his hip and fanning himself with his other.
“It’s so hot today. What is so important that it needs to be discussed away from the rest of the school?”
“Ah, yes. I asked you to meet me. And now that you’re here, we can begin,” Umemiya said a bit robotically. He nodded and glanced away from Tsubaki, unwilling to meet his eyes. “U-Um, well. You know, the tomatoes are looking great. I found a few red ones the other day.”
“Oh. Is that so?”
“Yes. Yes. The bell peppers are also ripening quickly. Maybe we’ll be able to get everyone together for a feast soon.”
Umemiya was stumbling over his words and laughing in a strange way, his nervous behavior unbefitting of the grin on his face. Tsubaki had no qualms with entertaining his excitement, but he found it confusing enough to address.
“If you wanted to talk about your garden, why didn’t you ask me to meet you there?” Tsubaki said. “We could go up to the roof now. I’m curious to see the plants.”
Tsubaki started to turn on his heel as if to lead them away, but Umemiya flapped a hand out in front of him.
“No!” he said quickly. Pink dusted his cheeks when Tsubaki only looked at him with raised eyebrows. He relaxed his shoulders and cleared his throat. “Sorry. I just meant... that wasn’t why I asked to meet you here. I got off topic. I guess I’m just not good at these types of conversations.”
Tsubaki wasn’t quite sure what ‘type’ of conversation he was insinuating. He'd never really witnessed Umemiya in such a sheepish mood. There had been plenty of times where his usual cheerful demeanor was suppressed in the light of more serious topics. Right now, however, he was coming off a bit awkward and unsure of himself. He started opening his mouth only to close it again, looking off to the side. He seemed hesitant to meet Tsubaki’s gaze.
“What did you want to talk about then?” Tsubaki said, trying to prompt him.
Umemiya started pacing back and forth along the wall. He didn’t speak up right away, so Tsubaki just waited patiently.
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking recently. And I guess there are some things confusing me. I don’t really think about this kind of thing a lot... okay, that’s probably a lie. It isn’t something I used to think about. But now it’s been on my mind a lot more. And I can’t really ignore it since... well, circumstances keep making me think about it when I’m trying to focus on other things. Not that it’s anyone’s fault. If anyone is to blame, it’s myself...”
Umemiya was rambling. He tended to ramble when something was upsetting him, or when something was exciting him. Tsubaki couldn’t quite figure out which direction it was leaning toward. Still, he didn’t interrupt Umemiya. During times like these, it was better to allow Umemiya to get it all out of his system before he got to the point.
Tsubaki just didn’t expect ‘the point’ to be directed toward him.
“You like me, don’t you?”
Tsubaki froze, his body stiffening under Umemiya’s sudden attention. He was pointing at him almost accusatorily. Unsure of how to respond, he started with a simple nod.
“Yes. I like you, Ume.”
Umemiya seemed cynical of that answer, shaking his head with a frustrated sound.
“No. I phrased that wrong. I meant... do you have feelings for me?”
Tsubaki’s face heated up when he realized where the conversation was headed. It usually made him shy whenever other people pointed out his attraction to Umemiya. With Umemiya himself as the one pointing it out, Tsubaki wasn’t sure how to act.
Of course, he didn’t see a reason to deny it outright. Umemiya knew. Everyone knew. There was no point in pretending otherwise. He wasn’t ashamed of his feelings anyway.
“Yes. I have feelings for you,” Tsubaki said. “But you already knew this. And it’s not like I expect anything to come out of it. We’re friends, and that’s enough for me. Does... does it bother you?”
“No, it doesn’t bother me. But that’s the thing. I started wondering why it doesn’t bother me. I mean, not that it should or anything. Just... I like girls. I know that. But sometimes, I wonder...”
He stopped pacing and paused in place. Keeping his eyes on the ground, he took a step closer to Tsubaki.
“I like being around you, Tsubaki. More than the other guys. I thought maybe your appearance had something to do with it. But I don’t think that’s it. There’s a feeling I get just talking to you. I don’t know how to describe it because I’m not sure I even understand it.”
Tsubaki was becoming increasingly more astonished the more Umemiya talked. Umemiya had mentioned many times before that fights were like conversations, and Tsubaki was able to recognize that in his own experiences. But never had Umemiya expressed his emotions so openly like this through words alone. His personality was a silly one, so it wasn’t typical of him to display such a vulnerable side of himself.
Of course, Tsubaki was gradually becoming more and more convinced that this whole thing was a dream. If Umemiya was implying his interest in Tsubaki, well that just didn’t make sense. It was something Tsubaki had only ever fantasized about in the privacy of his mind.
“I’m not sure I understand,” Tsubaki finally said. “Are you saying you like me?”
“Listen. I don’t want to promise something to you if I’m not completely sure of it myself. I think I like you. But I’m also not sure what it is that I’m feeling.”
Tsubaki nodded slowly. “Then let’s start with what you know you’re feeling. What is it that you want to do now that you’re thinking this way? Why are you telling me all of this right now?”
Umemiya finally looked up at him. His arms were folded across his chest, shoulders tensed in his uneasy state. He seemed to be searching for a way to respond. His eyes flitted down to Tsubaki’s lips before returning to his eyes.
“It’s selfish of me. What I want to do.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re allowed to say no. Actually, I expect you to say no. You know yourself and what you want. Me? I’m not sure of anything. But I want to... I still want to...”
Umemiya let out an exasperated sigh, rubbing a hand over his face before pinching the bridge of his nose. He remained that way for several seconds before lowering his hand to reveal his red face and averted eyes.
“Tsubaki, can I kiss you?”
For a long moment, Tsubaki stood there motionlessly. His mind was blank, and then it was suddenly invaded with a whirlwind of thoughts. Most of them were focused around the fact that Umemiya kind of, sort of liked him, and he wanted to kiss him.
Umemiya wanted to kiss him.
Tsubaki was sure about a lot of things. He knew the type of heels he liked to wear, the brand of lipstick he preferred, and the free feeling he experienced while wearing shorts and skirts. There were people he cared about protecting, and people he’d learned not to trust.
Despite knowing a lot of things, he wasn’t sure how to deal with his crush asking to kiss him. The crush who wasn’t supposed to feel the same way toward him. Umemiya wanting to kiss him had never been an option on his mental list of possibilities.
He thought asking a few more questions might serve him well. It might be a good idea to ask why Umemiya wanted to kiss him in the first place. Did he feel like he might learn something in the process? Was he debating if he would even enjoy it at all, and wanted to try it out to make sure? There was a possibility he was experiencing guilt over his uncertainty.
Tsubaki knew he should ask. He should get all the facts before diving into things. Yet, the teenage part of his brain—the part that craved gratification from getting to kiss the guy he liked—prevailed over a large margin.
“Okay,” Tsubaki said in a small voice. Where had his usual confidence gone? “You can kiss me.”
Umemiya finally looked at him. His eyes were wide with surprise, and he visibly swallowed. There was a moment where neither of them moved. Then Umemiya seemed to finally gather his bearings, stepping right in front of Tsubaki.
Tsubaki instinctively wanted to back away and put some distance between them. He wasn’t used to having someone’s face so close to his own outside of a fight, after all. Suppressing the urge to move, he kept his feet planted on the ground. He allowed himself to take note of how their heights matched up. Umemiya was technically a few inches taller than him, but his heels brought him up to about the same level.
Umemiya’s hand came up to gently brush his neck before resting against it. Tsubaki held back the shiver that threatened to wrack his body. The fingers skimmed further up his neck, one of them curling around a strand of hair to tuck it behind his ear. Finally, Umemiya leaned in and pressed his closed mouth to Tsubaki’s. It was short and chaste, but Tsubaki’s heart leapt into his throat, and he fought hard to stifle whatever squeak was trying to escape him.
When Umemiya pulled away, he looked at Tsubaki with an unreadable expression. Tsubaki glanced down to see the minor rosy stain from his lipstick present on Umemiya’s bottom lip. It sent his mind into a frenzy. There was something he really, really liked about seeing traces of his makeup on Umemiya.
He considered pointing it out to Umemiya, in case he wanted to wipe it off before they went their separate ways. But then a hand was settling around his hip, and Umemiya pulled him out of the sunlight into the shade of the side of the building. He turned him around and slowly backed him against the wall.
Tsubaki couldn’t move away like this, not that he wanted to. He felt smaller in this position, his body framed by Umemiya’s forearms pressing to the wall on either side of his head. His attention was taken entirely by the focused gray-blue eyes in front of him.
“Can I keep kissing you?” Umemiya said. “Is this alright?”
Tsubaki could only manage a shaky nod and an affirmative hum. He didn’t trust himself to speak under these circumstances. Not when Umemiya was closing his eyes and tilting his head to press his lips to Tsubaki’s again, this time slotting them together. Tsubaki let his own eyes close as they fell into a slow rhythm.
It felt nice having Umemiya this close. Tsubaki was perfectly capable on his own, but having Umemiya caging him in made him feel a sense of safety. He let Umemiya take the lead, simply allowing him to cup his face to angle him however he wanted.
It was a few minutes in when Tsubaki realized he could kiss back, and so he started sucking on his bottom lip whenever he got the chance, biting down just slightly to keep it there before releasing. This seemed to affect Umemiya, whose breaths turned a bit ragged whenever he was held in place. Tsubaki couldn’t help the grin forming on his lips when he realized just how much Umemiya was into this. And it was all because of him.
They broke away for breath, and Tsubaki took the opportunity to really look him over. There was bright red lipstick smeared all around his lips. Umemiya didn’t seem to notice or care much about it, his attention set only on Tsubaki’s face, flitting down to his neck every now and then. Tsubaki’s heart was pounding in his ears, and he vaguely wondered what Umemiya was thinking right now.
“Did you... do you like this?” Tsubaki asked, and he was surprised by how out of breath he sounded.
“I do. I really do,” Umemiya said. He glanced down at Tsubaki’s lips again. “I don’t really want to stop.”
Tsubaki’s face and neck felt like they were on fire. He was probably blushing as red as his hair. A surge of bravery rippled through him, and he reached up to slip his fingers into Umemiya’s hair.
“Then don’t.”
Something flickered in Umemiya’s eyes, and then he was dipping down to suck Tsubaki’s lip into his mouth again. The intensity increased as Umemiya’s kisses shifted from soft and gentle to hard and bruising. A hand slipped behind Tsubaki’s head to cushion it from pressing into the wall, and Tsubaki hummed in appreciation.
It wasn’t like before. Now that they’d both gotten a taste, it seemed hard for them to keep their hands off each other. Umemiya’s free hand was roaming up and down Tsubaki’s side, curling around his waist to squeeze and tug him closer. The rough treatment caused heat to spread throughout Tsubaki’s body, and he couldn’t help a small moan from slipping between their mouths.
Umemiya faltered at the noise, but he didn’t pull away. In fact, he only proceeded to suck harder on Tsubaki’s lips a moment later. Tsubaki squirmed in his hold, unable to hold himself back from letting out more sighs and moans.
“Sound so pretty,” Umemiya breathed against his lips as they were switching angles.
“Yeah?” Tsubaki said just as breathlessly.
“Mm. You’re so pretty. It drives me crazy sometimes.”
Umemiya peppered a trail of kisses from the corner of Tsubaki’s lip across his cheek, then traveled down his neck before settling there. He prodded the tip of his tongue into the area, grazing his teeth experimentally. Seeming to think better of it, he dragged his lips higher to the area right below his ear and began sucking at the skin.
A high whine escaped Tsubaki’s throat, and he immediately clapped a hand over his own mouth. He'd always been rather sensitive on his neck, and now it seemed that Umemiya was intending to take full advantage of that. As he licked and sucked the area, Tsubaki was vaguely aware of the high possibility of a mark being left behind. For some reason, he didn’t tell him to stop.
He probably should. He definitely should.
Then again, he had long hair that would probably cover it. That, and he liked the idea of a rosy stain on his skin—something resulting from his time with Umemiya. It would be something he could look at in the mirror later to remind him of what happened.
Umemiya dragged his tongue one last time over the area to soothe it before pulling away. When he seemed to be looking it over, he subtly winced.
“Shit. I got carried away,” Umemiya said. “Sorry, Tsubaki. Um, there’s kind of a mark. I don’t think it’s too bad but it’s... there.”
Tsubaki tried to steady his breaths before offering an answer. His mind was a bit hazy, and he fought to find words.
“I can cover it up with makeup,” Tsubaki said. “Don’t worry about it.”
He had absolutely no intention of covering up the mark, of course. It wasn’t like he cared if anyone were to notice it. Maybe he wanted people to notice it... not that he could tell them who gave it to him.
“So, um...” Umemiya removed his hands from Tsubaki’s waist and behind his head, straightening up. His face was flushed a bright pink. “That was nice. I-I liked it a lot. I hope it was good for you, too. I’ve never kissed a guy before, so I don’t have much experience. Sorry I’m so bad at—everything. What I’m trying to say is... uh... thanks?”
The corners of Tsubaki’s mouth twitched higher, and he couldn’t help letting out a laugh. Umemiya’s rambling and stuttering was a cute look on him. Paired with the smeared lipstick around his mouth and under his nose, it made things even more amusing.
“You’re so cute when you’re shy, Ume.”
Umemiya only stammered more at that, and it made Tsubaki giggle more. Umemiya turned around and ran a hand through his hair, but the redness was present even on the nape of his neck. Once he’d seemed to calm down a bit, he sighed and turned back around.
“I’m gonna go work in the garden. Or maybe patrol in town. I’ll see you later.”
“Wait, Ume. You have something on your face.”
Umemiya blinked a few times, furrowing his eyebrows together. Tsubaki fished out his pocket mirror and opened it toward Umemiya, whose face seemed to flush even deeper at the sight of himself. He laughed nervously as he tried wiping the lipstick off his face. It obviously didn’t work very well, so Tsubaki reached into his jacket pocket to find a small pack of tissues. He tossed it to Umemiya, who took one out to dab at his face while looking in the mirror.
Once his face was clean, he handed back the pack of tissues, and Tsubaki put them away along with his mirror. Umemiya offered his thanks, and then there was an awkward moment where he simply stood there. Tsubaki leaned back against the wall with his arms crossed, raising a curious eyebrow at him.
“Did you need something else?” Tsubaki said.
“Nah. Nothing. Just... if you want to do something like this again...”
“Did you want to do this again?”
“Y-Yeah. Maybe. Definitely. Sorry. I’m being too forward.”
Tsubaki shrugged, finally able to regain his confidence now that Umemiya was a shy, blushing mess. He smiled brightly.
“You could be more forward,” he said. “Tell you what. Go home tonight and think about where you’d want to take me next weekend. Then let me know what you come up with.”
“You... you mean like a date?”
“Oh! Is that what that’s called? Oh, Ume. You want to take me on a date?”
Tsubaki was laying the sarcasm on hard, but he just couldn’t help teasing Umemiya. Interestingly enough, it seemed to encourage Umemiya. The redness in his face had toned down significantly, and he was now smiling back.
“I’ll make sure to do that,” Umemiya said. He turned and started walking down the path alongside the building, waving at Tsubaki as he went. “See you later then.”
Tsubaki waved back with a smile. He waited until Umemiya was out of sight before pushing off the wall to walk the opposite way. There were important things he needed to do, like figuring out what outfit to wear for the weekend.
That, and he needed to spend some time daydreaming about the way Umemiya had kissed him.