"You are?" Megumi questioned him. "Are you sure?"
"What do you mean am I sure!" Yuji said. "Of course I am! I've never been more sure of something in my life!"
Megumi was still processing it. Yuji. In love. With.. with me? With me!? Is he for real?
"Why me though?" Megumi didn't believe it. "There are plenty of other people you could be in love with." And there are plenty of other people out there better for you than me.
"That doesn't matter." Yuji shook his head. "I'm in love with you. And only you. Whether you accept it or not." He said, with absolute conviction.
"I like you, Megumi." Yuji was blushing and wanted to cover his face but he stayed firm in his words.
"But why?" Megumi asked again. "All I've ever done is push you away, spend your money, and free load at your house. I'm just a giant burden on you. How could you be in love with me?"
Something in Yuji snapped again. He got annoyed. He was tired of hearing Megumi rambling on about how he was useless, or a burden, or unworthy to believe. He decided he needed to put some sense into Megumi. Right then and there.
He grabbed Megumi's face and looked at him, straight into his eyes, and yelled, "I've never thought of you as a burden! Not once! Do you know how hard it is for me to hear you talk bad about yourself? Constantly, everyday, you put yourself down. And it hurts me!"
Tears threatened to well up in Yuji's eyes but he bit them back and continued. "It hurts me to hear that you hate yourself. If only you could see what I see. Because I love you!"
Megumi's eyes widened. His ears were also ringing because Yuji was so loud.
He kept going. "I don't care about you being a burden or how worthless you think you are or anything like that."
He let go of Megumi and spoke a bit a softer. "Because you made happy. And I want to make you happy. And that's all that matters to me." He sobbed.
Megumi reached out his hands towards Yuji and squished his cheeks. Yuji was startled by his gesture. But the message had gotten through to Megumi. He smiled. You make me happy too.
He wiped Yuji's tears at the corner of his eyes with his sleeve and said, "If I'm really the one you want then. Okay." He accepted.
"I'm in love with you too," Megumi said.
Yuji couldn't believe the words he was hearing. Megumi was in love with him too. It was like a dream come true.
"Then does that mean we're dating?" Yuji said, with hope in his voice. His face lit up. He was like a puppy.
"Yeah." Megumi said. "That's typically what you do after you confess." Megumi slightly deadpanned.
"Okay. Then we're dating!" Yuji said giddily. "Good. Good.." He repeated.
Megumi looked at him. "Well what do we do now?" He asked.
They were still a bit awkward, as two teenagers in love usually were. Especially since it was Yuji and Megumi, who had both never been in love before and never entertained the idea of dating until now.
"Let's go on a date!" Yuji suggested.
"Right now?" Megumi asked. "But it's night time. It's too late to go on a date." For a smart guy, Megumi could be really stupid sometimes.
"No, no. Not now," Yuji waved off the idea and dismissed him. "Later. Another time. Let's do something else."
"Like what?" Megumi asked.
Yuji blushed. He was getting shy over what he was about to say. "Can I..." he mumbled. "Can I hug you?"
Megumi nudged him. "Why are you getting so embarrassed over a hug?" He teased lightheartedly.
Yuji got flustered. "Well I don't know! Because it's you! And you mean a lot too me." He gestured wildly in the air to hid his shyness. He spoke, a bit softer this time, "I just really want to hug you."
Megumi's ears turned red. Yuji looked really, really cute. "Okay" Megumi accepted. So he scooted closer to Yuji, and pulled him in for a hug.
They wrapped their arms around each other. Yuji buried his face in Megumi's neck. He felt safe. And it was soft. And warm. He could stay like this forever. He breathed in and took in Megumi's scent. He felt comfort knowing that he could be with Megumi, even though they wouldn't live together anymore.
Megumi pulled back a bit. "Did you just sniff me?" He asked. Yuji got surprised by Megumi's weird question.
"N-no," Yuji stammered. Even though he really did smell Megumi. He smelled good. But to Yuji's surprise again, Megumi started laughing.
He pulled away from Yuji and was giggling. "Hahaha," he laughed cheerfully. "You're so weird." He smiled. And then he held Yuji's hands. "I'm glad we can be together now." He spoke gently. His eyes softened.
Yuji's heart skipped a beat. I kind of want to... Well, I really want to....
"Can I kiss you?" He blurted out.
This time Megumi got shocked. "You already want to kiss me?" He asked. Megumi wasn't opposed to it, but they had just started dating.
I've been wanting to kiss you for a long time, Yuji thought as he remembered the time they shared that indirect kiss. A choco bun kiss.
"Y-yeah," Yuji suggested. He didn't think Megumi would say yes so easily, but it was worth a shot to ask.
To Yuji's surprise, Megumi quickly leaned in close to him, closed his eyes and kissed him.
On the cheek.
And Yuji turned three shades of red. He was also mildly disappointed because he thought it would've been on the lips, so he pouted. But it was okay. It still made Yuji happy. And in that moment, that was enough.
"There I kissed you. Are you happy now?" Megumi asked. He was blushing too. And then he reached up and touch his lips. That was the first time Megumi had ever kissed someone.
"Yeah!" Yuji smiled. "I'm really happy. Are you happy too?" He asked.
"Yeah." Megumi confirmed. "I am."
⤜-------⤛
A few days later, Megumi had finished packing all of his things. Even though he didn't have many items and he usually kept all of his items in one bag in the first place. But he remembered to bring a few things that Yuji had given him.
His dad's black car was parked outside. He was waiting for Megumi.
He was just at the entrance of Yuji's apartment, about to leave. And then to no surprise, Yuji tackled him into a hug.
"I'll miss you!" Yuji sobbed. "I'll miss you so much."
Megumi patted his head. "Don't worry, we'll still see each other at school everyday. And we still need to go on that date." He reassured him.
"We'll still always be together." Megumi stated. Yuji let go of him, relieved by Megumi's words.
"After I get a few things sorted out, you should come check out my new house." Megumi offered. Although I don't think I want Yuji to meet my dad..
And Megumi's thoughts betrayed him, as Toji came bursting through the door.
"Hey Megumi, what's taking so long?" Toji asked. "I'm getting bored waiting for you. I don't have all day!" He yelled.
Yuji responded. "I was just sending him off. We've been living together for a while and I just wanted to talk to him a bit before he left."
Toji stepped closer to Yuji. He towered above him. His face was just as good-looking as Megumi's, but that was where the similarities stopped. While Megumi was lean and on the skinnier side, Toji was buff and muscular; and his hair was flatter than Megumi's. Yuji gulped. Even though he was strong, he doubt he could take Toji in a fight if things escalated that way. He'd still die trying though.
"Who even are you?" Toji questioned. "Are you, by any chance, his boyfriend?" He asked, almost like he was threatening him.
Yuji was scared. But he still stood his ground. He stood up a little straighter, looked up, and looked him dead in the eye and said. "Yeah. I am. And what about it?"
Toji had an unreadable expression. For a few seconds, they were just standing there, looking at each other, in complete silence.
Then strangely enough, Toji gave him a forceful pat on the head. It was actually more like he was pushing Yuji down. Yuji was shocked.
"Good for you, kiddo." He smiled. "Megumi's a handful but make sure you take care of him. I don't know what you see in him though, he has no sex appeal at all. He looks like a twig."
Before Yuji could object, Toji had grabbed Megumi's arm and led him out the door. "See you around kid!" He slammed the door shut.
Yuji just stood there in confusion. But after a few minutes, he opened the door to see if their car was there. But they had already left.
"I hope Megumi will be okay." Yuji said, with worry in his voice.