Work Text:
Rui’s working on his newest invention diligently when it comes to him that he’s been thinking about Tsukasa the entire time.
This isn’t a very new revelation, at least for Rui, because he thinks about Tsukasa a lot. It’s just a fact, like all the other inevitable facts of the universe. The sky is blue, standard ABB robotic arms are the cheapest on the market, and Tsukasa Tenma takes up at least 80% of Rui’s brain space. It’s simply natural, when you’re partners the way Tsukasa and Rui are partners.
But this time, the thoughts are a little different. You see, the kinds of thoughts Rui normally has about Tsukasa are completely average, things like what play to perform next and interesting suggestions for stage props. These thoughts are off the regular path, so Rui pauses to take time and examine them, pinning the fleeting thoughts down like a specimen of butterfly.
There’s the thought he just had about Tsukasa’s hair. How soft it would feel under his fingers, if Tsukasa might let him touch it some day, and for what reason. What it would smell like, citrus or raspberry? Or another scent entirely, one that is befitting for a glowing star such as Tsukasa?
And then that thought led into Tsukasa’s fashion style. Rui vividly remembers seeing Tsukasa’s exact fish jacket in the window of a department store. Off-handedly, he had wondered if Tsukasa would ever let Rui style him. He imagines how Tsukasa would look in a soft sweater, maybe Rui’s sweater.
Rui examines another thought, one about how soft and fitting Tsukasa felt in his arms. The only time they ever made contact was when Rui helped Tsukasa with stage directions. A decidedly unattractive topic, but somehow the thought of Rui’s hands on Tsukasa’s slim waist, and cupping the nape of his neck, and fingers trailing down his arm makes his face heat and his cheeks burn.
He puts aside that thought and thinks of what Tsukasa looks like when he plays the piano. He’s only ever done it once in front of Rui, and he still thinks of that moment whenever he gets the chance. Tsukasa’s hair, illuminated by the soft glow of the stage lights. His face, uncharacteristically relaxed and open in the empty theater. The tink of the out-of-tune piano as his fingers dance over the keys, barely touching down before they move onto the next note, the next sound.
That thought is a special moment in time, one Rui cherishes like a precious jewel, but there are some mundane moments about Tsukasa that he loves too. The wind blowing in his hair as they sit on the rooftop together. When he squints at the mirror to put on his show makeup. The sweet taste of the cupcakes he bakes for their troupe. Feeling his soft hands tipped with callouses when they take their bows together at the end of a show.
Rui buries his uncontrollable smile in his hands. He doesn’t think these thoughts are going to stop anytime soon, and he sincerely hopes they don’t.