.sugawara.
daichi and i had hidden ourselves right around the corner of the gym with our nerf guns to make sure that asahi would say all that he needed to.
"i feel like we shouldn't be listening in on this," daichi whispered.
i shifted around a bit.
"yeah, it's a little weird, but he did specifically tell us to hold him accountable. plus, if last night was any indicator, he would've ended up telling us about it anyway."
daichi tilted his head.
"i guess you're right."
he kissed my forehead and i smiled softly.
"yeah, when am i not?"
"pfft, ok, now we need to be quiet so we can hear what's going on."
i nodded and turned my focus back to asahi and nishinoya.
///
"no, i... i feel like you're still not telling me something about why we broke up," i heard noya admit.
"oh... well, actually..."
i held my breath. here it comes.
...any second now.
...come on, asahi, you can do it.
almost there...
just say it.
but asahi didn't say anything, he just looked extremely indecisive (more than usual).
i rolled my eyes, and in the blink of an eye, loaded a dart, took aim, and fired.
yes! i hit my mark- right on his neck.
"ow!" he cried out.
i giggled quietly to myself, and started loading another dart, just in case.
then i felt daichi's hand on my arm.
"whoa whoa whoa, was that necessary?"
"he was hesitating," i pointed out.
"it's asahi, he always hesitates."
i considered this for a moment.
"fair point, but i just wanna make sure he's able to tell noya what's going on. and if i have to, i will shoot him again."
daichi rolled his eyes.
"alright, but i'm keeping a closer eye on you. you can't just go around shooting him every time he pauses."
"ugh, why not?"
"like i said, he always hesitates. what if he was mentally preparing himself to say it, then you shot him and broke the moment and he wasn't able to say it?
"hmm... well, i guess you're right."
he raised his finger, bopped me on the nose, and in a teasing voice, said, "yeah, when am i not?"
i rolled my eyes, but there was a smile on my face.
"yeah, yeah, now hush so we can hear them."
he nodded, and we fell silent again.
///
this time, for sure, asahi had to tell him. maybe he was saying it in a roundabout way, but he would get there eventually.
besides, daichi was still not allowing me to shoot him again.
"no, it wasn't- i mean, i don't think it was horrible. i just... it's gonna be new and weird, and-"
"did you wax your chest?!"
dang it, noya, interrupting him. it's kind of funny that that's the first place his mind went, though.
"what?! no!"
noya looked slightly disappointed.
"aw, man..."
"wha- do you want me to?!"
he laughed.
"nah, i'm kidding, i'm kidding. i like your hairy chest just the way it is."
daichi snorted, and i had to clap my hand over to mouth to prevent myself from bursting into laughter.
my entire body was shaking and my ribs hurt, and i could see daichi was also struggling to hold back laughter.
i shook my head, took a deep breath, and wiped my eyes, which had started to water slightly. then i focused back in on the conversation they were having.
///
they concluded their talk rather quickly. i was frustrated when asahi promised to tell noya Next Wednesday, but as long as he actually did tell him Next Wednesday, there's not much i could do about it.
also, i felt bad for asahi when noya turned down his hug, and sucked the air through my teeth in sympathy.
in fact, this whole situation kind of- scratch that- really sucked.
i couldn't imagine going through the same thing with daichi.
once noya had left and asahi called out his last goodbye, daichi and i emerged from our hiding spots and walked over to him.
"are you alright?" i asked.
"you shot me in the neck!" he exclaimed.
i rubbed the back of my neck and smiled sheepishly.
"sorry. it didn't seem like you were gonna talk."
"if it's any consolation, i tried to stop him," daichi added.
"well, thanks. but i guess i kind of ended up chickening out again anyway, huh?"
"well... you made a start," i offered.
"yeah," daichi encouraged. "like you said, now you have a set date that you have to say something, which will hopefully make it easier. and remember, we're still here to make sure you say it."
"thanks, guys. it's getting kind of late though, we should head home and just facetime when we get there to talk about it."
"alright," daichi agreed.
"sounds like a plan," i said.
then, we each headed our own separate ways once we got far enough, and as soon as we got home, i entered a video chat with the other two.
"alright, so first of all, that one seemed way more laid back then the other one sounded. how do you feel about it, asahi?" i asked immediately.
"well, my neck feels kind of sore..."
"i already said sorry, didn't i?!"
he laughed heartily and i pouted, a slight blush rising to my cheeks.
"yeah, i know, i'm teasing. i guess i feel okay? better than last night, anyway."
"that's good," daichi said, and i nodded.
"so y'all were there tonight, but now it's time for the emotional unload, so prepare yourselves."
daichi and i fake-groaned in an over-exasperated way before cracking up with laughter.
asahi squinted.
"do you hate me talking about feelings that much?"
"sorry, go ahead," i prompted after catching my breath.
"okay, so it started fantastically, and i may or may not have been very startled that noya was outside the door."
"oh yeah, maybe we should've warned you."
"but it would look weird if we left the changing room then went right back in and then our again," i argued.
"eh, you make a good point. now keep talking, asahi."
"okay, so then..."
///
"so then he asked if i was trans, which was confusing? i mean, i know i have long hair, and maybe he was grasping at straws, but-"
all of a sudden, my attention was pulled by a notification in the corner of my screen. i frowned.
"hang on, asahi, i... i'm getting a call from nishinoya."
daichi looked a bit confused and asahi seemed concerned.
"that's weird... i wonder why he isn't calling tanaka instead... maybe you should take it, it could be serious."
"are you sure?"
"yeah, it's fine. i'll just pester daichi."
"alright, sorry. goodnight for now, guys."
they wished me a goodnight, and i accepted the new call from nishinoya.