Archive of Our Own ^beta

Since Uki Violeta could remember, he had a rival by the name of Shu Yamino.

He’s an excellent rival, Uki had to admit— Shu was brilliant, polite, and painfully good at everything he tried his hand at. He’s even pretty; with those wide, sparkling eyes and cat-like smile, everyone he ever encounters gets a good impression.

Uki would be gracious enough to admit all of the above. But Shu Yamino is not the soft, nice kid everyone thinks he is. He has the biggest rebellious spark Uki has ever seen in a person, absolutely going B when ordered to go A. They never know when he’s lying, even if he’s obviously lying through his teeth. His voice gets higher, dripping with smugness (and a stifled laugh), and that glint in his gaze is always, always telltale.

“Seriously, why does nobody suspect you at all?”

Uki sat down at his desk, chest still heaving from the run all the way from the first floor to the fourth. “I swear at least three people saw you go near Mr. Li’s office.”

“I’m just giving him a nicely written card with handmade drawings,” Shu said, sounding far too cheerful and accomplished as he plopped into his chair. Uki wanted to punch him.

“If you consider satire doodles of him as a rooster ‘nice”, then sure.”

“Anyway, I won the dare. You owe me one,” Shu breathed, that smirk not quite leaving his eyes as he poked Uki in the shoulder.

Uki rolled his eyes. “Fine.”

Shu wiggled his eyebrows in a taunt. “Upload an ugly selfie on your main Instagram account?”

The professor walked in just as Uki choked Shu with a headlock.

The rivalry started long ago. Their mothers met because they delivered at the same hospital, but unlike their parents, Uki and Shu seemed to disagree just out of the womb.

The first playdate ended with Shu taking a bite out of Uki’s arm, which was simultaneously their first ER visit (with a scar to remember it). In kindergarten, Uki pushed Shu off the monkey bars and got his first-ever detention. Middle school had them both called to the principal’s office for skipping class (it was a dare, Uki always argued).

Their parents tried putting them together in hopes they could resolve this conflict, but at this point, they should probably give up. Uki could point out all the marks Shu had done on him, and he was sure Shu could do the same.

High school turned out a lot more peaceful as they both got sucked into the spiral of stressful school life. Glares were delivered across the room, occasional banter was thrown left and right, the usual dares that give Uki an adrenaline rush— but they don’t fight anymore, at least not with fists.

If he thought about it, Uki could probably say that he’s the most used to Shu’s odd sort of company. He could always count on Shu to throw a prank at him, say something wildly random to the teacher, or let him copy his math homework in exchange for snacks or a batsu game.

In a way, he liked having someone to annoy, since he’s probably an annoying person in his nature. Mutual annoyances— yes, that’s what he would call this dynamic he has with Shu.

“Truth or dare?”

Fulgur cackled menacingly as Ike sighed loudly in defeat. “Dare,” the latter said, earning some whistles and cheers from the others.

The classroom was unoccupied, golden sunlight illuminating the scattered desks and chairs. It was way past the last period, and the old guard could be coming up the stairs any moment now.

Uki was half distracted by the commotion. His friends were excited— way too excited, it seems, for Ike to get a dare. “Give us your best cat impression,” Shu chirped, laughing cheekily as he enjoyed Ike’s exasperation.

He was really good at imitating a cat, though— the chatter and squeals seemed tuned out as Uki fought the urge to fall asleep. He shouldn’t have stayed up to play that game yesterday, but he had beat Shu’s high score and that made it all worth it.

The Coke bottle swirled around again. Uki blinked. It was pointing at him.

“Uki, dare again?”

Uki nodded, more awake due to the sense of looming danger. Of course, Elira Pendora looked far too excited to be harboring any good idea, a smirk slowly creeping up her face.

“Uki, hold hands with Shu for a minute.”

Now he was fully awake. Shu was staring at him too, expression unreadable.

“What, are we doing this?” Uki asked, the question not really directed to anyone. He doesn’t care that much. It’s just holding hands— they’ve touched far more than that during their fights.

Shu blinked, then nodded. “Sure.”

“Wow, Shu and Uki? Shuuki?” Petra said with obvious interest.

“Go write a fanfic,” Fulgur laughed. “Okay, guys. I have the timer ready.”

Uki placed his hand on Shu’s experimentally. His palm was soft and warm.

“Nah, you have to intertwine your fingers for it to count,” Elira added.

“You’re pushing it,” Uki glared at her. He finally took hold of Shu’s hand and moved so their fingers were laced together.

There was an interesting visual contrast to their hands. Uki’s were slender and thin, nails manicured with delicate designs; Shu’s skin was tanner, fingernails cut neatly yet very sharp.

He raised their hands. “Is this fine?”

Elira was stifling chuckles. “Yup, yup— Uki, you are good at holding hands.”

Shu was surprisingly quiet during the hand-holding. Uki half-expected him to try taking control or to embarrass Uki by making flirty jokes about the situation, but there was only a firm grip and an averting gaze looking out the window.

It feels weird touching Shu’s skin when it’s not a fight. Sweat clammed their palms and Uki could feel his finger twitch in discomfort.

“Am I making you nervous?” He leaned in, purposely breathing on Shu’s ear. “Are you enjoying this, sweetheart?”

Elira sheeshed. Petra squealed. Enna made a weirded-out eww sound and hid behind Ike. Shu reacted exactly like what Uki wanted by scooting as far as he could away, shaking his head aggressively like a frightened cat.

Back to familiar territory. They were meant to annoy the fuck out of each other— it’s probably the universe’s law. Uki laughed, almost letting go of his hand in the process, but caught on anyway as the warmth fit firmly in his hand again.

“Alright, guys,” Fulgur said over the commotion, “It’s time. You can let go now.”

Like the tension released from a spring, Uki let himself slump into his chair as the others started spinning the bottle again. There was a weird sensation in his chest and he couldn’t tell if he liked it or not.

Shu had his head buried in his arms as the girls bombarded him with teases. It was rare to catch him so bewildered— and as Shu’s official rival, Uki could confirm it was fun to rile him up.

As their friends turned their attention to the next unfortunate victim of truth or dare, Uki moved over to Shu and poked his shoulder.

“What?”

Uki gave him that signature prideful smile that meant “I win again.”

Shu rolled his eyes. Just as Uki thought it was over, his hand was suddenly grabbed under the desk.

Shu smirked as Uki stared completely caught off guard at their laced fingers. That bastard even softly caressed the protruding joint where the palm connected, feathery touch eliciting a shiver down Uki’s spine.

“What the fuck,” he said under his breath, fully going to tear his hand away, but Shu shushed him as Ike looked curiously over to his side.

“Nothing’s happening,” Shu said cheerfully to Ike, waving him off. Ike squinted in confusion but turned his attention back to the game.

Uki tried to do the same, chuckling at how Enna had to flirt with a hysterically laughing Selen, but the warm weight of Shu’s hand under the desk kept distracting him.

After Ike got another round and was half-forced to confess that he had a crush on someone at school, Uki finally looked Shu in the eye again.

“You’re seriously keeping this up?” He said, still keeping his voice down to not alert anyone else.

“You can always let go,” Shu replied off-handedly, almost perfectly playing his part of an amused onlooker with that curl of his lip.

And Uki knew he was right.

They held hands for the entire game anyway.

Uki’s starting to think this competitiveness he had with Shu was getting a bit out of hand.

Sure, he couldn’t just decline when that familiar figure appeared outside the classroom window, smiling as he tapped on the glass as a way to say “Let’s leave”— but it was math class and they had an exam tomorrow that Uki desperately needed to pass.

At least it always was perceived as a taunt, and Uki knew that one, he was never someone who followed rules, and two, he was notoriously bad at controlling himself and not going along with whatever Shu had planned. So all he did was nod, ask the teacher for a bathroom break, and slip out the broken fence wire to the field outside.

“What are you up to this time?” He asked exasperatedly, not bothering to hide his annoyance. “Seriously, I have math this period. If I don’t at least pass—”

“You’re fine,” Shu interrupted, already moving to run across the tracks. “Like I don’t teach you all your math homework already.”

“If I have to take summer school it’s your fault,” Uki retorted, taking a few steps to catch up.

They don’t usually skip classes and be problem students— hell, there was one semester that they tried their best to keep their records clean (and slander each other)— but summer was an exception. The school was an old building without AC and staying in those brick-wall classrooms was the definition of abuse.

The cool breeze cleared away suffocation as Uki followed Shu to the tree they always stayed on. It was a sturdy, old oak tree that was maybe a story or two high but had lush, tangled branches that provided great seating and camouflage for avoiding the teachers.

Shu climbed up the branches swiftly, settling into a spot and unraveling a copy of a comic to read. Uki found a branch slightly lower than Shu’s and took out his math textbook and a pencil, carefully maneuvering so they didn’t fall down the tree.

Shu and Uki were never quiet or calm together. Shu was occasionally chuckling at the comic, the brush of flimsy paper pages turned blending into the rustling leaves.

Uki tapped the heel of Shu’s shoe with his pencil. “Hey, what’s the process for this one?”

Shu just nudged his pencil away with his shoe. He definitely noticed. That infuriating smile on his lips was all it took for Uki to poke at Shu’s shin, dragging the hem of his trousers up a little to reveal skin.

“What are you doing— hey, it tickles! Fine, give me your textbook,” Shu said, lifting his leg so it was out of Uki’s reach.

With a smug grin, Uki passed the book and the pencil over. He could always trust Shu Yamino with math.

Shu had very specific quirks when he was concentrating. His mouth would hang open a bit and his gaze somehow seemed sharper, like the funny, carefree guy lost all that and suddenly became very serious.

“Here, it’s done.” See, Shu is the best teacher because he never says things like “This is easy”. It’s not. Uki used to cry when writing math homework.

“Thanks,” he replied, scooting over to take the textbook. Letting his back lean onto Shu, he read the page again. The solution was written neatly in a corner, with the answers underlined twice with deeper strokes. There was also a little doodle of a frog next to it.

“Now I can’t erase it anymore,” Uki said. “I’m naming this frog…… Shu Hikarino.”

“Wait, why Hikarino?” Shu asked, head turning to almost rest on Uki’s shoulder. “Oh, Hikaru is light and I’m dark. That’s actually pretty good. You’re wasting this name on a random frog doodle?”

“You could draw another cuter one for me,” Uki offered.

He felt the wind messing up the longer parts of Shu’s hair, so he raised a hand to brush it away out of instinct. Shu had leaned in at the moment, maybe to take the pencil from Uki’s hand.

Unsuspecting fingertips grazed the soft flesh of Shu’s cheek and Uki swore they had been hit by lightning. Everything went silent, even the rustling leaves and calm wind, and his heartbeat accelerated steeply, only to catch itself in a hitch of breath; but he was definitely not the only stunned one, with Shu’s wide eyes and shoulders wrung taut.

“Here,” Uki managed to say as he tried diverting the attention. “The pencil. Draw a frog with a fedora and call it Vox Akuma.”

Shu laughed in that bright way of his, thank goodness. “On your math textbook?”

“Yeah, sure, whatever— hey, careful!

Uki caught Shu’s arm just in time as he leaned dangerously backward and almost fell off the tree. It was disorienting to suddenly be pulled to one side, but Uki was already on high adrenaline and firmly held onto Shu until he steadied himself.

Shu’s already surprised expression became even more shaken, and he kinda looks dumb this way. Shu Yamino was never dumb. To that realization, Uki couldn’t help but start smiling— quickly turning into full-on laughter as Shu started sputtering and blushing.

“Hey, stop laughing! I could’ve died!”

“You know what, were you so flustered you almost fell off the tree? That’s cute,” Uki said as Shu sighed ever-sufferingly into his palm. “Now finish drawing Vox Akuma or give my textbook back. I have like what, ten pages left to finish?”

“I’m not— seriously, that scared me so much,” Shu retorted, voice still breathy as he carefully moved onto a steady branch. “Did I drop your pencil?”

“It’s in your lap, silly,” Uki said, “You’re so funny when you’re caught off guard. Imagine if I told Selen about this.”

Shu glared at him. “Don’t.”

“Say please?”

“Please,” Shu replied, and Uki kind of wanted him to be more affected by that.

“Alright, then.”

“I might have to tell Mrs. Violeta you skipped math class, though, since she especially asked me to look after you—”

“She absolutely did not,” Uki interrupted, “I swear, if you tell her, I’m kicking you off this tree.”

“Nah, nah, okay fine!” Shu moved away as quickly as a startled cat, picking up the pencil and resuming the drawing.

Uki leaned back onto the tree branch, watching as the soft breeze faded into silence.

He might’ve gotten into some trouble with the math teacher later, but he was having a stomachache and was in the restroom the whole time. Uh-huh.

Maybe high schoolers shouldn’t have alcohol at their parties.

Uki had forgotten who brought out the golden bottles first— probably Luca, who raided his parent’s wine cellar (not without being spurred on by a group of very convincing girls)— but the living room was a complete mess.

“I might puke! I might puke!” Elira yelled as she hung over the edge of the sofa, glass still in hand while Selen took an entire swig out of a bottle. Petra lay motionless on the ground except for random sighs coming out of her mouth. Fulgur was singing at the top of his lungs into the karaoke machine, Luca seemingly so drunk he could only laugh and stumble around, almost falling onto Mysta, who was moaning uncomfortably crouched in a corner by the coffee table. Ike and Vox were nowhere to be seen.

Uki doesn’t feel so well, but at least he could still see straight. Standing up (and immediately placing a hand on the armrest to steady himself), he moved slowly down the hallway to the bathroom.

Passing the kitchen, he saw Shu slumped on one of the dining chairs, one side of his body completely dangling off the edge. Without any form of judgment, Uki moved as fast as he could catch Shu before he face-planted into the carpet floor.

Maybe he should’ve thought more before moving so fast. Ugh, now he kind of wants to puke.

Shu was asleep peacefully, a red mark from pressing against the cushion on his left cheek. His hair was disheveled and brushed off his forehead, making him look like some kind of penguin with a mohawk.

Uki pulled the limp body up and hoisted him on his back, huffing to handle the weight. It certainly would’ve been funny if Shu fell on the floor and woke up, but considering how drunk he is, leaving him there with the biggest hangover ever coming in the morning is too cruel for Uki’s moral standards.

It’s hard to recall another moment between them that’s so…… quiet. The air wasn’t filled with the usual jabs, taunts, and jokes. Instead, all Uki could hear was the distant rumbling of their friends probably breaking something, his muffled footsteps, and Shu’s soft breathing right next to his ear.

Uki had to constantly readjust Shu’s position on his back since he was falling off with every few steps. The way back to the living room felt like forever, yet the steady weight felt reassuring rather than a burden.

Finally stepping back into the room, Uki heaved and huffed before finally setting Shu on a smaller sofa away from the karaoke. His chin lay limply on his chest, and Uki was getting worried that he might suffocate or something.

“Fine,” he said out loud, voice probably drowning in the chatter as he plopped down next to Shu. Gently, he placed a hand on Shu’s cheek and maneuvered him over so his head rested on Uki’s shoulder.

In his far left sight, he could see Ike and Vox slip back into the living room through the hallway door. Ike’s face was red, shirt collar looser than it originally was, exposing a plethora of suspicious-looking bruises. Vox’s hair was disheveled and flying in all directions, but the most tell-tale was him not even buckling his trousers up yet.

“Had a nice fuck?” Uki drawled.

“Oh shit— you scared the daylights out of me,” Ike jumped, immediately clutching his forehead and groaning. “I thought you were asleep.”

“Wanna sit?” Uki offered, “You look pretty dizzy.”

“You can sit in my lap,” Vox said, voice deeper and more hoarse than usual. “Or the other way around.”

Ike sighed loudly and sat on the sofa, purposely scooting away when Vox tried sitting on him.

Vox made a little noise like he was hurt. “How cruel of you to reject me like this, Ike Eveland, after we had the hottest make-out session in our friend’s parent’s closet— ”

“Shut up, you’re being embarrassing!”

Uki blinked wearily at the confession he did not voluntarily hear. “I wouldn’t say I expected that, but I kind of did.”

“Hey, where have y’all been?” Luca asked enthusiastically, an arm around Mysta as they stumbled over, nearly splashing them with beer. “Having fun?”

“Geez, you look like two couples,” Mysta slurred, his balance wobbling as he almost slammed into Luca’s side. “Bro, where’s the toilet? I need to puke—”

“We are dating, as a matter of fact,” Vox said maybe a little too loudly as Mysta dashed to the doorway. A courageous decision, because Uki could already feel the nausea coming up with such an abrupt move.

“What?” Elira suddenly shouted over the music. It was incredible that she could hear that from in front of the TV. “You’re dating Ike Eveland?”

“Ike Eveland agreed to date you?” Selen yelled into the microphone with just as much disbelief.

“Please, not me being name-dropped three times in two minutes,” Ike tried saying over the loudness, but Vox was teasingly placing more kisses all over his cheek and wasn’t being very convincing.

Uki felt a stir in the warm body next to him that quickly stopped. Shu moved a bit in his sleep, almost nuzzling into his nape and breathing warmth on the skin of his neck.

“Hey, are you awake?”

No response.

“How much did he drink?” Luca asked.

Uki poked at Shu’s shoulder. His brows furrowed in a cute little frown— then arms circled Uki’s waist in an embrace.

“Woah,” was Luca’s response. “You dating too?”

“No,” Uki said maybe a little too quickly.

Shu must’ve been treating him like a stuffed animal or pillow because he was latching almost his entire body weight onto Uki, arms around his waist and thighs moving to straddle his pelvis area as if he was unconsciously seeking body heat.

“Woah, you two…… are you dating too?” Ike piped in, smoothing out his shirt as Vox pouted at him from the far end of the sofa.

“No,” Uki repeated. He could feel his face getting warmer. It was very distracting to have Shu look so peaceful and unguarded, a soft body pressing into his side, that yellow strand of hair tickling his chin; yet a part of him found it comfortable to fall asleep this way.

“Sure, whatever you say,” Ike, with his gracious heart, had said.

But Uki never mentioned the incident with Shu afterward, even though he often got reminded of it randomly in the night. He knew Shu would be embarrassed and it would be funny.

It just wasn’t…… funny this time.

Anyway, at least he has blackmail material for a future dare.

School trips are always chaotic. A hundred teenagers who are unhinged unlike adults yet can stir up more trouble than mere children— Uki could already sense their teacher’s voice getting hoarse trying to yell over the commotion.

“Please get in line everyone— remember to get your hand stamped so you can leave the paid area for lunch!”

Uki was squinting at the smudged cartoon of maybe a shark on his hand when his friends caught up to him. Elira had an arm slung around Petra’s shoulder and her other hand curled around the strap of Shu’s fanny pack, dragging him over.

“Y’all want to get ice cream first?” She asked, “The shark section is so crowded right now, I don’t even want to get in.”

“See, this is what happens when you group a bunch of introverts,” Uki replied. She was right, though: it was probably a bad idea to visit the sharks now. He doubted they could even see anything through the wall of people.

Shu smoothed out the aquarium brochure and brushed his hair out of his face. “What about the penguins?” He asked, pointing at a corner on the second floor. “I like penguins.”

“Good idea! Let’s visit my family,” Petra piped up.

Elira shook her head. “That area is in maintenance. It’s written on that poster over there.”

“Aww, that’s such a bummer,” Petra whined as they started walking towards the ice cream parlor. “What’s a trip to the aquarium without penguins?”

“To be fair, usually we go to aquariums to see fish,” Uki replied distractedly. Why were there thirty different flavors of ice cream in an aquarium cafeteria? Mango sounds good, but there’s a large display in front that said their special was sea salt. Or he could go for chocolate, but that’s basic and cheap, watered-down chocolate is arguably the worst.

Nobody seemed to be paying attention to Uki’s dilemma, though. When he finally decided to try sea salt ice cream, his friends were all staring at him intently.

“What do you want,” Uki asked in a flat tone.

“Let’s go to the penguin exhibition,” Elira said, her gaze unmoving. Petra nodded enthusiastically in support.

Shu had a small smile on his lips Uki had begun to know as cheeky. “Please?”

Uki coughed to cover up how caught off guard he was. “We’re sneaking in?”

“Yeah,” Elira whispered. “Are you in?”

“Even goody-two-shoes Shu Yamino is going with us, so, of course, you’ll go too,” Petra replied snarkily. Shu whined about something along the lines of “What do you mean”.

“Alright,” Uki had to raise his voice above the commotion. “I’m in. I want ice cream after this, though.”

The entrance to the penguin section was blocked off by a fence and some tarpaulin, accompanied by a sign reading “Keep Out”. Sneaking past was surprisingly easy— they just had to step over the fence and rearrange the tarpaulin back to its original position.

Even though the area was supposedly in maintenance, aside from the construction material piled along the walls, the exhibitions were still lit up with penguins lounging in them.

Elira and Petra soon got carried away with all the cute animals swimming and waddling around. Uki turned to find Shu, who was still only a few steps from where they entered.

“Scared?” Uki just had to ask, smirking in the dim lighting. “You’re the one who begged me to come in with you—”

“I did not,” Shu retorted, trailing after Uki as they ventured into the hallway. “I’m just worried there might be construction workers in here.”

“It’s going to be fine. Just tell them we got lost. Plus, haven’t you thought about the possibility before coming in?”

“Yeah…… I might be just overthinking how we might get caught,” Shu replied, pulling his hair out of his hoodie hood. “I can’t get another detention. Last time I was there, I put a glitter trap in my assigned seat.”

“That was you? Oh god, imagine if the teacher sat in it. You’re going to be so dead.”

“Hey, Shu!” Petra said suddenly, not bothering to keep her voice down. “This penguin has your hairstyle!”

Uki had flinched at the sound, but he was much more startled by someone tugging on the sleeve of his sweater. Shu quickly let it go, leaving Uki behind as he caught up with the girls to see that penguin.

What was that and why was it cute?

It was getting hard to differentiate between the anxiety of getting caught and whatever Shu’s doing to him. Either way, Uki was getting nervous. The relaxed penguins and their little beaded eyes now felt judgmental.

Petra was still chatting carefree with Elira, though. “See, there’s nobody here with us. I bet this place is so crowded on usual days. It’s like we are VIP visitors!”

“Lower your voice,” Elira replied, although she was not whispering either. “You’re going to scare the penguins.”

“Or a construction worker,” Shu interrupted. “I think we should maybe not walk that far in.”

“Shit! Shit, guys, there’s someone there,” Uki hissed, pointing at the end of the hallway. “See that shadow on the canvas?”

“Who’s there? Hey, the penguin exhibit is closed!” a man had walked out from behind the enclosed construction area, rubbing his eyes with his arm as he adjusted his helmet. “You kids—”

Petra squealed as Elira grabbed her by the wrist and ran off an opposite hallway.

Uki turned back around. “Curse your impossibly accurate intuition.”

Shu just took his hand and ran.

“Here, hide in here,” Uki whispered out of breath as he stopped Shu midway down a random aisle, both of them stumbling into the cramped space as the door clicked shut.

It was probably a janitor’s closet. Uki could feel the jab of a broom handle next to his waist, the damp smell of disinfectant permeating the air. The initial panic had died down until he noticed what position they were currently in.

Shu’s sitting in his lap, practically straddling his thigh and shoulder cramped uncomfortably into the side of the closet, breathing close to Uki’s neck.

Uki could feel blood rush immediately to his face, adrenaline pumping through his veins with quick heartbeats. Shu’s smile froze, gaze panicked and averting as pink bloomed across his cheeks.

There were distant voices outside, ringing through the closet like an echo. Shu poked Uki in the cheek and tilted his head over to one side.

What, Uki mouthed. Shu shifted in his lap and gave Uki’s shoulder a nudge.

Uki shook his head in confusion. Letting out a little sigh, Shu leaned in closer and whispered into Uki’s ear: “Scoot over, my shoulder is squashed.”

Uki shifted slightly to give Shu’s arm more space, trying to ignore how the warm air on his sensitive spot made him feel weirdly warm beneath his stomach.

A sliver of light from the closet door lit up Shu’s eyes as he stared intently at the hallway outside. He was purposely not looking at Uki, the tell-tale sign being him still red all over.

Usually, Uki would try to tease Shu about how easily he blushes. But in this closet, their torsos squished into each other, it felt like crossing a line even with one spoken word or noise. All he could do was try calming down, stop whatever he was feeling down there, and wait until the coast was clear.

Since Shu was sitting in his lap, Uki could feel any movement from him and it was messing with his head. He could hear the low, uneven breathing and erratic heartbeats resonating in the small space.

This is weird. Uki couldn’t look at Shu’s face anymore. He raised an arm to cover his eyes, letting out a shuddering breath. He should try to ignore how warm the body on top of him is, how a strand of soft hair is tickling his neck, how he could see those fluttering eyelashes in such proximity— shit, he should stop thinking……

“I think he left,” Shu whispered.

Uki blinked out of his stupor. “If you think so, then let’s get out of here?”

Shu shifted to reach the clasp and the closet door clicked open, the two of them pretty much spilling out to the dimly lit hallway. Uki smoothed out his shirt, the lost warmth on his skin and release of nervous energy making him shiver slightly.

“Do you remember where’s the exit?” he asked, the urge to say anything to fill the silence taking over him. Although he did feel sincere in the question. They must’ve taken multiple turns during the escape earlier……

Shu was still silent as he seemed to be staring out into the distance.

“Shu?” Uki held out his hand to poke him in the cheek. There was a strand of messy hair perking up his head. Somehow, Uki placed his hand on Shu’s head instead and ruffled his hair.

Shu’s shoulders jerked in surprise as the atmosphere suddenly tensed, with Uki taking several steps back and a little noise getting caught in his throat.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“Hey, guys!” Elira’s bright, chirpy voice interrupted the sentence. “Did the guys catch up with you?”

Petra was following right after, huffing as she struggled to steady her breath. “Guys, we probably ran across the entire floor and there are two more guys. They didn’t see us, though.”

Uki shook his head. “Let’s leave quickly— I think they might still be looking around.”

“Shu, are you alright? You’re so red,” Elira noticed. “You probably ran a lot too, right?”

“I agree with Uki. Let’s just leave,” Shu replied. He was still blushing at the tip of his ears, glancing briefly at Uki before turning around towards the exit.

The adrenaline was slowly wearing down as complicated emotions seemed to swallow his heart, his mind replaying what happened. Shu was walking faster than usual, and Uki could only see the back of his head as they walked back to the main hall of the aquarium.

The rest of the day went by uneventfully— and worst of all, Uki didn’t get to try his ice cream.

It was truth or dare in the classroom again.

Seriously, his friends need to think of something else to pass the time because this game is starting to feel like a show that has been repeating on the HBO channel for a decade. It’s not like there’s anything new happening in their friend group— sure, Ike and Vox are dating now, but that might close off more options of dares than open topics for truths.

After another round of Vox sharing details of the relationship that frankly shouldn’t be shared, Ike grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the room for a “talk”. More likely a “knock-some-sense-in-him” session.

Uki was struggling with his history homework in a corner. It’s history, so he didn’t have a free pass like he did with math when he could just ask Shu to do it for him. He was biting the end of his pencil and trying to remember the day of the Boston Tea Party when Luca was dared to do a handstand, which he aced easily to nobody’s actual surprise.

Uki didn’t have to write his homework now, but it was a convenient excuse to not look at Shu after what happened at the aquarium. Shu wasn’t technically distant, nor did he ignore Uki when he spoke; however, there was no more knocking on his window during class and comfortable banter during lunch break. Their interactions would start lighthearted, but Uki would suddenly be reminded of how Shu breathed into his ear and tense up. Perhaps Shu felt the same way, because every touching of gazes across the classroom felt oddly intimate— like crossing a line.

“Let me boop this bottle,” Selen said, giving it a hard push. The green plastic whirled around until it stopped, pointing at Shu, who was trying to hide behind Fulgur.

“Nuh-uh,” Fulgur tsked, “Bro, you gotta play it fair. Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” Shu replied immediately, a chorus of disappointment and “come on”s erupting after.

Uki looked up from his homework. “Question: what are the Townshend acts?”

“That is not the question—” Elira said, “Uki Violeta, stop doing your homework! We’re playing truth or dare!”

Shu wiggled his eyebrows in that cheeky way of his, raising his voice more and more to cover the commotion. “It’s— um— the townshend acts are laws by the British government— they’re tax laws, right? Hey, let me answer, let me answer—”

“This is due tomorrow,” Uki replied idly. He had to at least get this assignment in on time to spare himself from having to get an A on the final to pass. God knows he doesn’t want to redo this grade’s history class.

Petra suddenly perked up and whispered in Elira’s ear, and both of them started to laugh. Uki has a bad feeling about this. As if on cue, Petra cleared her throat and asked: “Shu, what happened with you and Uki at the penguin exhibit?”

Don’t fucking look at me, Uki thought with all his strength, but apparently, history has weakened his mental power because Shu was staring at him in that bewildered, “something-definitely-did-happen” way and Uki groaned internally.

Selen started cheering. “Tell us! Y’all fucking sneaked in, right? Did someone show up?”

“Nothing happened,” Shu tried, but it was too late and unlike pranks that could be forgiven over a simple pleading, watery gaze, their friends were ruthless and without mercy.

“You guys were so red when we found you,” Elira pushed, “Were you guys holding hands while running away?”

“You were almost caught?” Fulgur exclaimed, voice wavering in concern. “Oh my goodness—”

The only way out by then was to come up with a story that was enough to satisfy the curiosity while not as explicit as the truth. Uki’s mind was racing— they got caught? Maybe they were lost? Shu touched something that made him get a rash? Oh right, tell them the sandwich Shu had was alcoholic……

“We hid in a closet together,” Shu said, so quiet Uki almost didn’t hear him.

“WAIT WHAT— UKI VIOLETA Why did you not tell me!” Elira screamed as chaos took over the room again. Petra was hunched over laughing so hard she might be suffocating, and Fulgur’s grin was menacing as he said “Interesting” several times. Luca, as oblivious as he is, grabbed Shu’s arm to ask him to say it again because he didn’t hear it.

Uki was half-covering his face in mild embarrassment. Sure, it wasn’t a big— scratch that, huge deal that their friends now knew, but his cheeks were still heating up and a pool of anxiety was starting to form at the bottom of his heart.

He stole a glance at Shu, who was less annoyed than he anticipated. A small smile curled on his lips, face flushed in clear embarrassment and nervousness but there was no bite to it at all. A foreign warmth spread all over Uki until he had to snap out of it and slap Fulgur on the back of his head because that fucker was having a way too good time about all of this.

It doesn’t help that the mysterious, fated bottle had to land on Uki next. Five pairs of glinting eyes stared at Uki, waiting for his answer to “Truth or dare?”

Uki shouldn’t have glanced at Shu at that point. The latter shrugged, the realization of what was about to come seeming to dawn on him as discomfort crept into his gaze.

“Truth,” Uki said, making the decision. Knowing his friends, they’re definitely coming up with dark ideas for dares— a reenactment of the closet scene, he thought as he shuddered— and he hoped they didn’t ask any questions related to Shu. They’re reasonable enough— they won’t push it if Shu is uncomfortable, right? But would they notice in this situation……

“What are your thoughts on dating right now?” Fulgur asked. Selen whined about how it was a “boring truth question”, but Uki was relieved. At least someone could read the room.

It was easy to slip into the playful jabs Uki was used to delivering. “Not possible. Who would I date?” he said, smirking a little, “People I know are taken or too boring. And you all, are annoying as fuck. So a no from me.”

The reception was what he expected. Fulgur slapped him back on the arm and said something like “How dare you say that when I’m the bestest friend ever”, while Petra and Luca started explaining how they are not annoying, thank you very much. Selen, with her gracious heart, just laughed and cheered at the “audacity”.

The atmosphere had lightened with all the laughter, yet Uki still felt panic seeping into his bones despite desperate attempts to remedy it by laughing it off.

He glanced at Shu again, who was also laughing along. The smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Shu had said nothing, but Uki had fucked up big time.

It was exactly because of the silence that Uki was sure of this rift between them. There was no more talking because Shu seemed to be doing everything he could to avoid him. No more walking to the bus stop after school together, and he doesn’t even eat lunch at the cafeteria anymore. The times they had to meet in class, Shu’s big, purple eyes would briefly glance over and then quickly move away, like he was burnt by their intersecting gazes.

Even their friends started to pick up on the obvious tension. “What happened with you two?” Elira had asked one morning, stopping Uki by his locker. Luca pats him on the back when he passes Uki in the hallway in silent support. Ike sends him a wikihow article on how to resolve a fight between lovers, which brings up odd feelings but is still appreciated nonetheless.

It doesn’t help that the class art competition is coming up, and everyone is swept into action. Every class is going to decorate the blackboard in the back of the classrooms, and judges will evaluate them and pick the class that did the best to go on a camping trip.

“How are we supposed to win when class 106 has Maria and Aia?” Alban asked, resting his head on the desk as he sighed loudly. “This is unfair.”

“We have the penguin siblings,” Elira replied. Petra stammered “You guys sure?” and waved her hand in refusal, but stood up nonetheless after some “woo go Petra”s and encouragement from the class.

Shu perked up from his seat. “If you guys need me, then sure— you know my style of doodles, though. Not very impressive.”

“That’s much better than what I can do,” Sonny replied. Elira whined about how he was also good and they’re all flaunting their art skills in front of poor her.

“Sonny’s gotta join,” Alban says enthusiastically and bangs on his table as if he’s the one joining the project. Sonny agrees, in the end, and Uki looks at the commotion absentmindedly as he draws circles over and over on the back of his assignment.

The back of Shu’s head looked nothing different than usual, soft hair draping over his nape and shoulders. Uki suddenly felt a little annoyed. He was probably wrong to call Shu annoying, but technically they were rivals and he thought Shu was used to this talk— hell, all his other friends were fine with it. Shu was fine with it all through primary school, middle school, the big part of this school year, literally right up to that moment. What did he want? For Uki to swoon over him and tell him how much Uki wanted to date him? Does Uki want to date him?

He tried thinking about anything else to avoid the blazing warning lights in his head screaming “you’re trespassing”. A group of students were gathered around Petra, who had the sign-up form and was talking about the concept they were going for.

To be honest, they had a very good chance of standing their ground against the art god ensemble of class 106. Petra was organized and very resourceful, and Sonny had insane creativity that could definitely come up with ideas that could impress the judging team. And with Shu on the team, there was no way the project was going to fail. Despite their “rival” status, Uki could admit that Shu has a particular knack for coming up with ideas and organizing a group effort.

“Are you joining too, Uki?” Petra asked, her pen tapping on the clipboard holding the sign-up form. “I trust your sense of aesthetics much more than those other guys.”

Uki bit the end of his pen in thought. It might help his fluttering feelings to clear up and start making sense if he doesn’t see Shu that much for a while. See, he’s getting a little unsure about the “rival” tag on their relationship with each other— was it friendship, then? Yet that tag seems a little too generic, something not able to represent what they were. He still had to make sense of Shu’s reaction while not reading too much into it, plus figure out a way to resolve things.

He shook his head. “Not now,” he said, then quickly added. “Text me if you need some extra help, though.”

Bad news emerged after a week.

Uki was called out to an ice cream parlor on Saturday evening after a frantic text from Petra, who worriedly rushed in as he dug into his matcha chocolate sundae.

“We need help with the art competition,” she said, plopping down onto a stool, not even bothering to order first, which is very uncharacteristic of her usual bubbly personality. “Something went wrong. Someone forgot to close the window after school, and the storm ruined close to half of the chalk art. Sonny told us because he was at video gaming club today, and when he passed our classroom, he found it flooded to the ankle.”

She spun on the stool once before locking eyes with Uki. “So you have to help us get this all fixed before Tuesday.”

Tuesday? Uki wanted to exclaim, but it probably wouldn’t help Petra’s obvious anxiety. She tapped on her phone, brows scrunched in thought, then threw the end of her scarf back over her shoulder before finally starting to look through the menu, all in a sophisticated frenzy Uki hadn’t seen from her ever before.

“Aren’t we supposed to go fix it now, if there’s so little time?” Uki asked, taking another bite of ice cream, a wave of unsureness washing through him.

Petra shook her head. “We can’t be at school without teacher supervision during the weekend. So,” she said dramatically. “I called you out— because I’m here to fix whatever’s going on between you and Shu.”

“How’s that have to do with anything?” Uki replied, ignoring how his heart lurched at the mention of Shu.

“You’re being weird with him and that’s making him stressed,” Petra replied, texting her ice cream order to the counter. “Seriously, what’s the problem? You guys don’t talk but keep looking at each other. Is this part of a teenage angst roleplay we didn’t know of?”

“He’s the one weird with me, alright?” Uki sighed. His sundae was getting a little too sweet for his liking. “It was after the aquarium, then the thing I said during truth or dare.”

Her brows furrow into a frown. “What thing?”

“The “all of you are annoying and I would never date you guys” thing. I meant it as a joke! I thought that was common knowledge!”

Petra looked deep in thought, then suddenly laughed. She spun on her stool again, this time looking straight at Uki.

“Maybe he likes you.”

Uki almost choked on his spoonful of ice cream and let out a string of very undignified sounds.

“You know, think about it— he was very flustered when you were in a closet together, and he might’ve found out his feelings…… then…… perhaps he felt rejected when you basically said he was annoying and wouldn’t date him.”

“It was a joke,” Uki retorted weakly.

Petra shook her head. “What you said still means that you won’t consider dating him.” She stared at a bewildered Uki, waiting expectantly for an answer, then huffed in annoyance.

“Okay, so. Yes or no questions. Do you find Shu annoying?”

“No,” Uki found himself saying. “…… Not in a bad way, at least.”

Petra physically cringed, judging by her exasperated groan and nails digging into her palm. “Next. Do you think about him daily?”

“Yeah? But don’t friends do that too?”

“See, this is why it’s frustrating for us,” Petra gestured, waving her hands about. “Two oblivious people pining over each other, then both convince themselves they shouldn’t have these feelings. What’s so bad about admitting it? You already act like idiots in love anyway.”

“Hold on, what?”

Petra stared at Uki with an incredulous look. “You can’t seriously only be considering that he might like you right now.”

“Wait,” was all Uki can say. “He—”

“It’s so obvious. That’s all I can say,” Petra said as she took her first bite of caramel butter ice cream. “Go talk to him, for god’s sake. Go pin him onto a wall and demand answers or something. Whatever! I can’t stand you two being so depressed for any longer.”

“Surely there’s a better way to phrase things,” Uki complained, but stood up from his stool anyway as he gathered his belongings. “He’s at his usual math class?”

“Why would I know?” Petra said. She gave Uki a pat on the shoulder as he left. “Go fix things! Don’t forget we need a normal functioning Shu by Monday!”

Shu wasn’t at his math class. Uki had taken the bus to the institute, and the nice old lady at the counter informed him that Shu had taken sick leave.

Strolling along the street with the sun almost setting, Uki thought about where Shu could be. Of course, he could wait for Monday to figure things out, but it felt like a wait too long. If he waited, the nervous adrenaline and determination in his gut right now would fade and he would never bring things up ever again. And he needed to fix this, whatever it was, because according to Petra there was a whole other thing their relationship could be. It was dizzying to think about, like his heart was swept off its feet and his world tilted on its axis.

On the fifth lap around the block, he stalled on one possibility. Shu might’ve snuck into school to fix the blackboard chalk art. It fit his personality of breaking rules, but it was uncharacteristic for him to be so fixated on a project’s early completion.

But there was no harm in trying, so Uki took the bus to school. It was less crowded than usual school days, with some weary elders in the priority seats. The sky rapidly darkened, and by the time Uki arrived at his stop, the clouds were murky blue and there was a light drizzle of rain. From the bus stop, some classrooms were lit up. Uki could tell that their classroom was one of them.

He started running. There was no reason to be running, but he was so close to the answer he’d been looking for all this time. So close, his heart was aching— or it could be the lack of air he was getting through his lungs, but at this point, it didn’t matter anymore.

Uki slammed open the classroom door, panting from running up four flights of stairs. The room was brightly lit, and the remains of rainwater on the floor were reflecting the bare ceiling.

Shu was standing on a ladder set along the middle of the blackboard, the hand drawing new patterns not pausing despite Uki’s intrusion.

Uki walked closer to examine the blackboard. Extensive damage was done on the left side, with wide streaks and handprints covering most of the faces. Shu was fixing the drawing of a boy on the right side, which seemed almost done, the dust from the chalk drifting to the floor.

It was obvious that Shu had been fixing things for a long time. A large portion of the damaged parts have already been re-sketched, awaiting the others to do the lineart again. Several wrappings of onigiri and empty water bottles were on a desk.

“Shu, it’s almost 8 pm,” Uki started. “Please go home. We can work on it tomorrow, okay?”

There was no response except for the scraping sound of chalk on the blackboard.

“You can’t possibly finish this today,” Uki tried again, but Shu seemed determined to not spare him even a glance. His shoulders are tense, muscles strung taut from the uncomfortable position. The ladder seems a little unstable— perhaps could be extended a little more— and Uki was going to hold it steady, he was—

A loud crash rang in the room and Uki surged forward instinctively, Shu’s body weight collapsing over him as they both fell onto the ground. Uki flinches as his head hits the leg of a chair, arms tightening to pull Shu into a protective embrace.

“Are you okay?” Uki whispered, steadying them both until he finally turned to look at Shu.

He was crying. Tears were streaming down his cheeks, eyes red and puffy as Shu frantically tried to wipe them away with his sleeve— and Uki felt something in his heart snap.

For as long as Uki could remember, Shu never cried. He didn’t cry when Uki pushed him around or when he fell during a track race. It was so uncharacteristic of him, yet every drop of hot tears seared through Uki’s being like fire. His heart was constricting on itself, crumpling into pain and instinct mixed to hold Shu even tighter as he sobbed over his shoulder.

“Shh, it’s alright…… Are you hurt?” Uki gently pried a sweaty, sticky Shu off his torso and examined his arms, heart skipping a beat when he saw a large scratch on his elbow. “Here, let me look for a first aid kit—”

When Uki came back, the sobs had quieted into sniffles. Shu was staring at him through wet eyelashes, chest still heaving from the strong emotions.

“What’s wrong?” Uki asked as he prepared to disinfect the wound, pouring some alcohol onto a cotton swab.

Shu just stared at the motions of Uki’s hand, flinching when the swab touched the wound on his arm.

“Sorry, this is going to hurt—” “I’m sorry.”

Uki paused. Shu was looking at him properly now, something firm in his gaze despite the redness of his eyes and nose.

“The rainstorm isn’t your fault,” he replied, fully knowing the stupidity and perhaps cruelty of avoiding the elephant in the room. But there was at least a rhino in the same room too, and Uki wanted to deal with the easier problem first.

“I know. But I’m not talking about that.” Uki could only dumbly stare at Shu’s serious purple eyes as he took a deep breath and started talking again.

“I shouldn’t have ignored you— ghosted you, really. It was just getting hard to understand how to act around you…… why I do those things, or how I feel. And I told myself I would tell you after figuring it out. But I didn’t. You must be really confused. So, I’m sorry for being such a bad friend.”

“You’re not a bad friend,” Uki immediately said. He wraps the last bandage on the wound and pats it lightly. “You know, I shouldn’t have said what I said during truth or dare.”

“You meant it as a joke. I just didn’t know how to react and felt so confused by the feelings. My heart sank so much,” Shu piped in, smiling softly. “You know— maybe I like you.”

What the hell, did he just confess so nonchalantly like that?

It was a few open-mouthed, “absolutely shell-shocked like he was hit by a train” moments before Uki realized he said it out loud.

Shu’s smile shifted into something nervous. “I’m still unsure— wait, not that I don’t like you— I don’t know what I’m doing,” he rambled, “This is new. I don’t know. If it’s weird for you then we can go back to whatever we were.”

The corners of his lips twitched weakly, forcing out a grin. “We can go back to skipping math class in that tree?”

And Uki just had to hug him again, so he did. The frame of Shu’s shoulders trembled slightly in the embrace, and soon he could hear light, suppressed sniffles.

“Hey, hey, don’t cry,” Uki cupped Shu’s cheeks in his palms, forcing him to look at him. “I feel…… the same. I think. For a long time, too— I thought I liked teasing you and flirting with you because I like seeing you embarrassed, but in reality, I just thought you were cute.”

He had to pause to wipe away tears from Shu’s face. “And I didn’t want to face my feelings. I was stupid to think that going back to the rivalry dynamic would make things normal again.”

“I don’t hate you,” Shu suddenly said. His expression was serious.

“I know, you just told me you liked me,” Uki smiled, hugging him again. “I like you too. We can…… try things out if you want? There doesn’t have to be a label. We can be two people that really enjoy each other’s company.”

“And occasionally kiss,” Shu grinned, gaze sparkling, and Uki felt like someone gut-punched the wind out of him.

Suddenly breathless, he leaned in, foreheads touching as he laced their fingers together.

On the wet floor, with desks and chairs scattered around messily, Uki was at peace.

Like nothing could ever separate them again.

Since Uki Violeta could remember, he had a friend by the name of Shu Yamino.

Shu is brilliant like the spark of the golden evening sun, comforting as the gentle breeze up the old oak tree, dizzying like the course of alcohol through his veins, and much cuter than penguins waddling around in the aquarium. And Uki loves him so much.

“I did not expect the impact of you two being all lovey-dovey to be so strong,” Petra remarked as they lined up outside the classroom on Tuesday, quietly waiting for the judges to judge their blackboard art.

“We’re much more bearable than Ike and Vox,” Uki replied absentmindedly. He gave Shu’s hand an affirmative squeeze. The latter was wrapped in a jacket and a scarf, despite the July weather.

“This is suffocating,” Shu complained. His nose was red and he was sniffling.

“Who knew you would get a cold from sneaking into the classroom and working nonstop for god knows how many hours,” Uki retorted, tightening the scarf. “A cold in July is pretty impressive.”

Shu had an adorable pout on his lips. “You’re so mean,” he said, suddenly leaning closer to Uki’s face and placing a kiss on his cheek.

“Wha-what was that for?” Uki fought the blush that was steadily rising.

Shu smirked. “I just wanted to give you a cold too.”

And if any of Uki’s friends (read: all of Uki’s friends) tell him that they’ve been waiting for him and Shu to “stop pining” and “make out already”, Uki can happily ignore them because their love story is definitely a rivals to lovers romance.

Petra: “no it fucking isn’t”

Elira: “you know what’s a real rivals to lovers story? DRARRY”

Fulgur: “bro i’m happy for you but nah y’all just started flirting from the start”

Ike: “oh good help take some of my embarrassment”

Vox: “baby? Ike? Ike Eveland? oh here you are i haven’t seen you in an hour (wet kiss noise)”

Luca: “POG yeah you two are POOOOOOOOG”