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“What did I tell yoU?” Natsume pokes at Tsumugi’s shoulder, vexed after the long day and irritated at his partner’s lagging behind. “Get your prescription updatED, and the headaches will go awAY.”
“It’s not that.” Tsumugi mumbles. He’s hunched at his desk, head in his hands. This is a semi-common occurrence for him, only made worse by his resistance to taking care of his health properly. Staying at the office until he can barely make it back to the dorms or god forbid, having to sleep in one of the meeting rooms for some unsuspecting victim to unearth the next day, that’s one thing. Refusing to get his prescription up to date because it takes a little getting used to is a whole other thing entirely, but Natsume doesn’t have bad vision so he wouldn’t know.
“I will drag you to the doctor myself—”
“Natsume-kun, it isn’t that.” Tsumugi repeats, subdued.
He had come in too quickly to notice, heated from something he’s already forgotten, but Tsumugi sounds much more drained than usual, if that’s even possible. There’s something distinctly pained in his voice, and for a split second Natsume wonders if he was wrong to come in so hot. He usually does, and it’s not like he never minds, but—
Tsumugi lifts his head. His eyes are pinched and the bags underneath seem exaggerated because—ah, he’s not wearing his glasses after all. Natsume is about to dive into another flurry of complaints when he catches something critical.
His eyes are glassy.
“What happenED?” Natsume demands. He’s still upset, but the direction has changed, although at who or what and why he doesn’t yet know.
“…I fell down the stairs.”
Never mind. His anger doubles back with a vengeance. “And you decided to go back to work instead of the hospitAL?!”
Tsumugi waves him off, but that only stokes the flames further. He always does this, disregarding Natsume’s suggestions when it comes to his health and safety, before turning around and acting like he’s the most perfect, obedient pet. It pisses him off to no end. “Are you an idiOT?”
“It wasn’t that bad!” He rushes to amend. “I was already near the bottom, then someone bumped into me and I fell a little.”
Ha. “A littLE.”
“I was holding some things, so I wasn’t able to catch my glasses and they ended up breaking. I guess I had a bit of a hard time.” He laughs half-heartedly.
He’s certainly the only one laughing. “You don’t know who did iT?”
New Dimension’s office building has two working elevators and one staircase servicing the entire building, cordoned off in its own area. And unfortunately, it’s stationed without cameras, so if Tsumugi can’t remember, there won’t be a way to easily remedy the situation.
Not that he would approve of Natsume’s “remedy” in the first place.
Tsumugi shakes his head. “I was a bit preoccupied… And I wouldn’t have been able to see who it was anyways.”
Natsume clicks his tongue. What a waste. Ibara could give him a name, thanks to his weird little spy mice that scurry around everywhere, but he’d rather not be indebted to that guy. He has his own methods to exhaust if it comes down to it.
“Don’t worry about me.” Tsumugi says bashfully. Natsume wants to smack some sense into him. “Treat it like karma for not listening to you earlier.”
That’s… somewhat unexpected. “So you’ll listen to me in the futuRE?”
Tsumugi chuckles. “Did I say that?”
He nearly does it right then. “We’re going back.”
Getting to the dorms isn’t the hassle he was expecting. For one, Tsumugi is used to a weaker prescription, meaning the extra blurriness does impair his vision some but doesn’t seem to make it impossible to make out the necessities, like the sidewalk, stoplights, or people walking by. Natsume also points out any curbs or stairs when they appear, and the one time he does stumble over his own two feet, Natsume is quick to steady him.
That being said, he’d prefer it if Tsumugi’s glasses problem be fixed sooner rather than later. It’s nice to be relied on every once in a while, especially when it’s someone as stubborn and self-sufficient as Tsumugi—it feels like a victory. But he doesn’t want anyone getting the wrong idea.
The good news is that Tsumugi is roommates with Ibara, a fellow poor-eyesighted warrior. The bad regards his awful personality and eagerness to take advantage of others. Their two younger roommates aren’t around either, so there would be no opportunity to use them as shields. In a friendly, non-violent way, of course.
This is all Natsume’s scheming, but it ends up being for naught because Tsumugi’s room is empty. He half considers suggesting one of them get ahold of Ibara over the phone, but there’s no telling how busy he’ll be, and there’s no way of predicting what he’ll want from them for interrupting his important business. He himself doesn’t want to be stuck under Ibara’s thumb, but for someone like Tsumugi… It’s a lost cause.
“I can find Rei-niisan.” Natsume sighs. “He’ll know what to dO.” He doesn’t really want to do that either, not because he doesn’t trust Rei, but because he doesn’t want to rely on him for too much. He’s more than capable on his own, and the last thing Rei needs is another bothersome thing on his plate. Still, it’s something he’d be willing to do for Tsumugi’s sake.
“Ah, because he’s friends with Keito-kun?” Natsume stops at the foot of Tsumugi’s bed, pausing before taking a seat.
“I suppoSE. Whether he would part from any of his dearLY beloved glasses, though, I wondER.”
“Speaking about robbing someone so openly, I didn’t expect you to be involved in such unscrupulous activities, your Majesty.” Both Natsume and Tsumugi startle at the voice.
Natsume is the first to regain his bearings. “We’re noT.” He’s learned that the best way of dealing with Ibara is not to deal with him at all, and the second best way is to flat out contradict anything he says, although he suspects that’s just another way of playing into his hands. It’s all landmines and tripwires with that guy. That’s why he doesn’t interact with him.
As if having heard his inner dialogue and meaning to spite him, Ibara begins walking towards them. He’s carrying a small rectangular box that is most likely—
“A glasses case?” Tsumugi mumbles.
“Yes. I got your message, although I doubt this will be very helpful in your situation.”
Tsumugi takes the box as Natsume processes his words. “You messaged hiM?”
Inside the case are a pair almost indistinguishable from the ones Ibara currently wears, almost rectangular with a thin, metal frame. “I thought about what you told me.”
Natsume tells Tsumugi lots of things, which evidently and professedly do not stick, so he has no idea what he could be referring to.
“About being proactive.” He continues, gently picking up the glasses. “I knew you would worry, so I reached out to a few people for help.”
For a moment, Natsume doesn’t know what to say. He obviously doesn’t worry, and about Tsumugi of all people… The idea is so outlandish he doesn’t know how to feel. Instead, he thinks about reality, and the consequences of one’s own actions.
“So you asked hiM.” He finally says flatly. The words taste awfully bitter.
“Is there a problem with that?” Tsumugi asks.
Of course there is. You can be so careless and easy to manipulate, and you have no thought for your own safety. Although he’s technically a higher-up, he’s still vulnerable in comparison to the vice president of Cosmic Production. He’s less worried about the company, because Tsumugi isn’t mindless about those matters and Ibara knows that, but about his personal position. He’s too willing to self-sacrifice on a whim, and the only person he should even be considering that for is Natsume, and only when he himself allows for it. Which he never would.
So he has many problems with that, but he won’t admit to any of it aloud. Not only will his pride not allow it, the humiliation would probably kill him before any of Ibara’s blackmail or extortion gets the chance.
“Ah, it seems this won’t do.” Tsumugi says. He has the glasses on for a split second before he quickly takes them off and puts them back in the case. “Sorry for making you come out of your way.”
“I was on my way back already, so there was no issue.” Ibara says. “I did not expect it to work out in the first place.”
“You didN’T?”
Ibara laughs. “He is myopic. Those would have only made things more difficult.”
That seems kind of rude. But Ibara has never been the type to meaninglessly insult somebody. Natsume solves it quickly. “He’s nearsighted, and you’re nOT.”
Ibara smiles, retrieving the case from Tsumugi’s hands. “Precisely. I wanted to give him a chance to try lighter frames. How did they feel?”
Tsumugi hums. “Not as heavy as I’m used to. I don’t think it’d be an issue at the office, but… I wonder if they’d fly off my face when performing.”
“Well, that has certainly never happened to me before, but everyone is different.”
“VetoED.”
“Natsume-kun?”
He knows Tsumugi too well not to notice his tacit, polite attempt at rejection. So he resigns himself to playing second fiddle for the moment. “The glasses disappear into your face, they make you look sleepiER. And I don’t want you distracted during practice by a pair of glassES. So I’ve decided to veTO.”
Tsumugi smiles at Ibara. “I suppose that’s how it is. Thank you for your help regardless, Saegusa-kun.”
Ibara looks incredibly off put, probably because his time was wasted, but he doesn’t comment further on the matter. Instead, he says, “The others have asked me to inform you to go next door, since you weren’t answering your messages.”
Tsumugi fumbles his phone out of his pocket. “Oh,” he says. “You’re right, I missed a few.”
Natsume cocks his head. “How many people did you contaCT?”
Tsumugi continues to scroll through his messages without looking up. “We have a group chat. Not that it’s been used before today, though.”
That did not answer his question. “You should go, thEN.”
That causes Tsumugi pause. “Aren’t you coming?”
He almost snorts. “What is there for me to dO? Go have fun with your frienDS.”
Tsumugi fully frowns at that. “But I like having your opinion on these things. You’re my friend too.”
“It’s more that you need my expertise as unit leadER.”
He laughs lightly. “That’s partially true.”
Natsume has more to say, but it doesn’t seem appropriate with Ibara still in the room.
“Don’t mind me,” Ibara says, his weird telekinetic ability apparently notifying him that he was being thought of. “I have an early day tomorrow, so I won’t be joining.”
“Ah, thanks for the reminder. And thanks again, Saegusa-kun.”
He doesn’t respond, already buried in what looks to be work he brought home. Natsume feels he should tattle to one of the other Eden members, although he doesn’t know them well, nor does he want to.
They step out into the hall, quietly closing the door behind them. Makoto’s room, where they’re going, is right next door, but Natsume stops Tsumugi from going further. “You shouldn’t thank him so much, you knOW.”
Tsumugi blinks at him. “Why not?”
Natsume sighs. He really does need these kinds of things spelled out for him, doesn’t he. “Because he’ll mistake it as you owing him a favOR. There’s stories about not thanking or giving your name to strangeRS, because they might be creatures called Fae in disguiSE, and they might put you in their debt and make you do awful thinGS.”
“Huh? I’m pretty sure Saegusa-kun is human?” Yet he phrases it like a question, as though he isn’t really sure. “He’s not a stranger either?”
Natsume shakes his head. “I’m not saying he iS. What I’m saying is people are just as devious as the creatures of folkloRE, and he’s the type to try and twist favors out of the unsuspecting passerBY.”
By the looks of it, Tsumugi is completely lost. “Whatever, nevermiND. Keep moviNG.”
Natsume has been in Makoto’s room a few times before. The common area is often busy with people discussing their issues, so Natsume and Sora meet with Makoto in his room on the rare occasion they all have a gap in their schedules. It’s a habit that stuck around from their days in the Game Research Club, or perhaps it’s more about conforming to tradition.
Regardless, the room isn’t new to him. As they poke their heads in, Tsumugi calls out, “Pardon the intrusion, and sorry for being so late.”
Makoto waves at them. “No worries. If anything, we probably should’ve thought about accommodating your schedule.”
“Ah, there’s really no need.” Tsumugi begins to argue, but Natsume places a hand on his shoulder. Now is not the time for a contest in politeness.
“It’s good to see you too, Natsume-kun.” Makoto says.
“Yes, yeS.” Natsume says. “I’m only here to give my expert opiniON. No need to pay me any miND.” He looks around the room. On the roommate front, Adonis seems to be missing, and Chiaki sits on his own bed, busied with his phone.
“Shisho!” His voice comes first, and then Sora’s head pops out from behind Makoto. “Surprise!”
Natsume smiles, and it feels like the first genuine one of the day. “How unexpectED.”
“I ran into him on my way up here.” Makoto explains. “I mentioned we were meeting with Tsumugi-senpai, and Sora-kun got curious and wanted to check out the fuss.”
“Sora is also here to give his objective, expert opinion, just like Shisho!”
Tsumugi lets out a small laugh. “And objectively, how do I look right now?”
Sora tilts his head and doesn’t hesitate with his response. “Tired.”
“Wow, you sound a lot like Natsume-kun.”
Natsume raises an eyebrow at him. “Is that supposed to mean somethiNG?”
Tsumugi shakes his head lightly, his hair dancing in gentle patterns around him. “Only good things, of course.”
Natsume huffs. He’s no stranger to jabs, but he won’t forgive anyone who makes fun of Sora, even in jest. Tsumugi’s good in that he knows not to tread into that territory, but a little warning to keep him on the right path never hurts.
“It’s nice to see you haven’t changed.” Keito is sitting on the floor, currently looking up from the manga he holds open in his lap. He says it like he’s making a profound observation, and it peeves Natsume how patronizing it sounds, as if he’s some wise scholar and Natsume is a specimen. It’s a similar tone Tsumugi occasionally takes, although he tends more towards sentimentality than Keito’s brand of detached objectivity.
“Thank you for coming.” Tsumugi says politely. “I know how important your glasses are to you.”
“Have you forgotten?” Keito, characteristically, pushes his glasses up. “I keep many pairs for times like these.”
“Ah, I guess I never got to properly thank you for that time.” Natsume vaguely remembers hearing about this incident. Apparently, Rei took his glasses to use for his own purposes, and Tsumugi ended up running into a bookshelf and knocking it over on top of him. He was eventually rescued and Keito lent him one of his many spares.
Keito shakes his head. “They were safely returned to me, so I don’t require anything else.”
Bashfully, Tsumugi nods. “If you insist, then there’s nothing I can really do. I can owe you a favor in the future, maybe?”
Natsume’s mouth drops open in protest, but Keito beats him to the punch. “I might take you up on that. Here.” He beckons. “I brought a few in the same style as the ones you borrowed last time. They’re all a bit stronger, since I’m assuming your prescription has changed since then.”
Natsume shakes his head, but a smile creeps up onto his face. “See, even Hasumi-senpai agreES.”
“Hm? What’s this, all of a sudden?”
“Senpai refuses to update his prescriptiON.” He answers, matter of fact.
Keito pivots his head towards Tsumugi. Although the situation certainly doesn’t call for it, he levels him with an accusatory stare. “Is this true?”
Tsumugi lets out an awkward laugh. “I don’t like adjusting to new glasses, so even if they aren’t strong enough…” He shrugs noncommitally.
For a few seconds, neither Keito nor anyone else say anything, although he is the most aghast. “You’re going to go blind, Aoba.”
“I don’t even wear prescription lenses and even I know that’s bad.” Makoto says.
“You doN’T?” It’s news to him.
Everyone visibly turns their attention onto Makoto. “Ahaha… Did I trick you guys?”
Sora crosses his arms triumphantly. “Sora already knew that. Yuuki-sensei has no distortion around his eyes.” He chirps. That’s because Sora is smart and observant, unlike the idiot Tsumugi, whose eyes look like they’re about to fall out with how wide his sockets are. Natsume’s better at keeping his expression in check, although his little slip up earlier betrayed his surprise.
“Perhaps we should kick him out of the group chat.” Keito mumbles.
Tsumugi nods, a solemn, “I can’t believe it,” slipping from his mouth.
“No, wait!” Makoto cries. “I’m one of you guys, I swear! I have to deal with random smudges appearing out of nowhere, just like everyone else!”
Tsumugi and Keito exchange a glance before Keito sighs. “I was joking. They’re a part of your brand, even if they’re not entirely necessary. And, it looks like you take good care of them.”
It’s rare to hear him so earnest about something, but of course the one time it happens it’s about glasses. Makoto relaxes, a wobbly smile making its way onto his face. “Oh. Thanks.”
“Don’t worry, Yuuki-kun. It’s enough that you show people it’s okay to wear glasses.” Tsumugi comments like that’s not a completely insane thing to say. Natsume is no statistician, but he imagines that at least 1 in 4 people need or wear glasses, probably. Granted, it’s an odd thing to notice or take issue with, but Natsume is an expert in nitpicking Tsumugi’s words.
Natsume places his hand on Tsumugi’s shoulder, perhaps with a little more force than intended with the way he jolts in response. “Anyway, you should try on the glasses Hasumi-senpai brougHT. He came all this waY.”
Keito opens his mouth to say something, but he must think better of it. He gets up and places 3–three!—plain glasses cases in Tsumugi arms, before taking two of them back because obviously, he can’t handle all that at once.
The first pair looks like a perfect copy of Tsumugi’s former glasses, and this is further proven when he puts them on and looks no different than usual. “Everything looks slightly far away, even if it is clearer than I’m used to.” He doesn’t sound happy about it.
Sora nods, mirroring Tsumugi’s very unimpressed expression. “Too similar.”
Keito sighs and helps him with swapping to the second pair. These ones have a metal frame, like Ibara’s, but they maintain the larger, wider lens shape that better suits him, albeit slightly more angular.
When he puts them on, Sora perks up. “These look nice!”
The energy in the room brightens along with him. Not only are they somewhat different, these new glasses actually look really good on him. When Tsumugi turns to face him, Natsume is forced to agree, although he’d never admit it out loud.
However, Tsumugi wears a painfully neutral expression, his lips pressed together tightly. “I’m feeling somewhat dizzy.” He says after a few seconds. He shakes his head as he takes the glasses off. “I’m really not used to a stronger prescription.”
Makoto pats the spot on the bed next to him. “You should come and sit. It probably doesn’t help that you’ve been standing this whole time.”
Tsumugi doesn’t respond verbally, but he does sneak a glance at Natsume, one he catches. Natsume pushes him forward very lightly, so the fact that he stumbles is his own fault. “Just go.”
This time, he maintains eye contact for a prolonged moment, communicating in a language Natsume hasn’t learned. He throws these “knowing glances” his way all the time, oblivious to the fact that Natsume never understands them.
So he goes, the bed sinking underneath him as if to offer him an embrace.
Natsume does not join. He is content standing by the door.
Keito’s third pair is fitted onto Tsumugi’s face. These ones are similar to the first in that they look somewhat uninspired, and they’re axed immediately when Tsumugi complains about the strength of the lens. It seems these are the strongest Keito brought. They’re quickly forgotten.
The concensus everyone reaches is that when Tsumugi goes to get new glasses, he should go where Keito went to buy the second pair, or he should choose something as similar to them as possible.
As a joke, Makoto suggests they put his glasses on Tsumugi, even though they’re in a wildly different style than he’s used to. But he acquiesces, likely because Sora seems overly curious, and when he puts them on Natsume actually laughs. He already has a rounder face, so the round frames really do nothing but make him look awfully circular and even a little bug-eyed. Combined with the fact that the frames are blue, it just doesn’t work.
Sora tries styling Tsumugi’s hair like Makoto does, parting his bangs down the middle, but he doesn’t have much luck. For one, his hair is much wavier than Makoto’s, and every time Sora lets go it springs back into its usual position. At the end, it just gets more frizzy and displaced, and Tsumugi ends up looking like a very frumpy, displeased librarian. Or maybe like a lion that fell into a puddle and then had to be blow-dried. It’s hard to pinpoint.
He takes the glasses off and hands them back to Makoto with haste. Offhandedly, Sora mentions grabbing Keito’s glasses, to which he receives a flurry of rejections and refusals. Of course, this puts the image of Sora climbing Keito and then scrambling over his glasses into Natsume’s mind, which is really quite funny. Maybe he does want to see Keito’s glasses get stolen. He can always ask Rei about it.
“Anyway,” Keito interrupts, “I’m akin to legally blind without them, so they’re probably too strong.”
“Legally bliND? How bad is thAT?”
“It means a visual acuity of 0.1 or less.” Keito pauses. “Basically, I see things at a distance that the average person sees at 10 times a greater distance. So, for example, if you hold something up 1 meter from the average person, I can only see the same thing about 10 centimeters away. Without glasses, of course. Those who are legally blind still experience this with vision correction.”
“Ah, I think mine was 0.4? 0.5?” Tsumugi shakes his head. “I really don’t remember.”
“You said 0.5 last time.” Keito confirms. “But that was two years ago. Who knows what it is now.”
“If you need a pair of glasses that aren’t too strong, you could borrow mine.” Chiaki says from across the room, phone abandoned. “Sorry, I couldn’t help but listen in.”
“Don’t you use them to read?” Tsumugi asks.
“That’s right! But I usually wear contacts, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Keito frowns. “Aren’t you farsighted?”
Natsume is somewhat lost, unfamiliar with the intricacies of glasses and the knowledge that seems to come with. Do reading glasses imply farsightedness? Is that what that means?
Chiaki shakes his head calmly. “It’s not that I use them only to read. It’s just more comfortable that way. I’m nearsighted, so my contacts are for the day to day.”
“Ah, I was under the impression you used your glasses for reading exclusively.” Keito says, although it sounds more like it’s something he’s making a note of.
Chiaki laughs. “I see why you’d say that. But don’t you remember when we were both snot-nosed first years?”
“That’s true.” Keito sighs. “You were a good kid back then. And Aoba was popular.”
Tsumugi shudders but doesn’t say anything. Natsume can’t help but frown.
“Well, enough about that!” Chiaki must notice the sudden fall in mood, because his tone is as light and obnoxious as ever. “Take them! And then bring them back when you have your business sorted.” Still, it’s refreshing how to the point he is.
Chiaki’s glasses are so nerdy, it’s hard to even imagine what Chiaki looks like in them since he has a sporty, outgoing image to uphold. And on Tsumugi, they’re much worse. He doesn’t look bad, he never does, but he does look like he’s about to give a lecture on quantum physics. Or, perhaps he’s going to present three budget plans and have all of them rejected before skulking back to his desk and starting again. And maybe he wants someone to comfort him after.
Presently, Tsumugi looks like he wants Natsume to save him from all of the attention. His eyes are especially pleading, framed by unfamiliar, bulky glasses, and for whatever reason, Natsume just seems to understand what it is he wants. Maybe it’s what they both want. So he gives in.
“Natsume-kun.” They’ve returned to Tsumugi’s room to settle, Ibara having deserted at some point during their absence despite his earlier proclamations.
Tsumugi approaches him on the bed, taking Chiaki’s glasses off and putting them gently on Natsume’s face. They settle uncomfortably high on the apples of his cheeks. “Were you worried?”
He wants to shove Tsumugi away, but he’s frozen in place despite the warmth that radiates from him. “Why would I do such a thiNG?”
Tsumugi chuckles. “Earlier, you gave me all those warnings about Saegusa-kun. And I could tell you were going to protest when I offered Keito-kun a favor.”
He would say something about Ibara, or Keito, but it’s more productive to criticize that which is in front of him. “Sometimes people whose heads are filled with algae need remindeRS.” Natsume scoffs. “I wasn’t worriED.”
Tsumugi gets even closer, almost as if he means to touch their foreheads together, like his arguments will reach Natsume faster that way. “I’ve been the vice president for a few years. I can handle myself around them.” Then, he smiles. “You look cute in glasses, Natsume.”
That ends up restarting his senses, and Natsume yanks himself backwards. There isn’t far to go, but he’s at least able to create enough space to breathe. “I thought you couldn’t sEE.” He hisses out.
Tsumugi doesn’t seem affected in the slightest, unmoving from his spot while his face remains frustratingly blank. “I can’t, unless I’m really close.” What with the murky, heavy atmosphere and the glasses distorting his vision, Tsumugi looks oddly far away. “I should’ve asked you first, I’m sorry.”
Natsume knows he should bite back, at least scold him for his situational ignorance, but he can’t, the usual sentiments refusing to come up. “Tell me next tiME.” He says instead.
Rather than the neutral response he was hoping for, Tsumugi brightens. “Then let me look closely one more time, and I’ll take them off for you after.”
Once again, without waiting for permission, he makes Natsume’s personal space theirs to share like it’s the most natural thing in the world, knocking their knees together as if the contact means nothing.
“Right noW?” Natsume breathes out, caught between incredulity and a growing sense of caution.
He slows, like Natsume will startle and run off like a stray cat, placing a steady hand on his cheek. It’s soft and warm, although not as warm as his own face, given how quickly it’s heated up. “When else will you let me handle you like this?”
“Maybe some other time, if you ask politeLY.” Natsume grumbles, eyes averted. He’s mildly impressed by how disinterested he’s been able to sound.
Tsumugi thumbs across the skin of his cheek with barely-there contact, eliciting a suppressed shiver. “But you’d say no.”
He’s right, he was absolutely lying. Tsumugi could definitely ask for permission, but that doesn’t guarantee he’d grant it, and in almost every case he’s sure to face staunch rejection. “You don’t know that for suRE.”
Tsumugi chuckles once again, and it hammers home how futile it is to argue with him. “I research Natsume-ology for a living. I think I know you pretty well.”
He makes a noise of exaggerated disgust. “That’s so cheeSY, Senpai.” And yet it’s a sentiment he can’t refute, much like the caress that keeps him anchored to the spot.
“Is that so? But you seem to like it.” He comments casually.
“Don’t say things like thAT.” Natsume protests. “People are going to get the wrong idEA.”
Tsumugi tilts his head, and it manages to bring him ever so slightly closer. “That sort of thing usually doesn’t bother you. And besides, it’s just us.”
Natsume shakes his head. “You’re a person toO. And I can tell you’re getting the wrong idea right noW.”
Tsumugi cups his other cheek, holding him in place. “I don’t think I am.”
He is so close that Natsume has no choice but to hold his breath. The heat of it would betray how affected he’s feeling, and the quality of it, shaky or fast or audible, isn’t something he can control either. So he has to figure something out quickly, before he runs out of air.
“Natsume-kun,” Tsumugi interrupts. “It’s okay to be honest with me.”
Natsume snorts, an easy deflection. “Aren’t you a professor of Natsume-oloGY? Surely you can figure me out for yourseLF.”
Tsumugi’s eyes soften, but he removes one of his hands, letting air rush in and cool the spot down, which comes as a shock, and as a slight disappointment, which Natsume realizes with a growing sense of dismay.
But then Tsumugi brings his two fingers to his mouth and kisses them, lightly and without any fanfare, and then he presses those same fingers to Natsume’s lips. It isn’t of his own volition that the wind is knocked out of him, nor can he be blamed.
“Did you want something like that?” Tsumugi asks, the grin on his face growing steadily by the second. It isn’t in a mocking way, he’s probably not capable, but it’s something he can’t put his finger on. “I think you do.”
Natsume’s distracted, anyhow. He looks away, his eyes darting past Tsumugi’s hair and towards one of the walls. It’s indistinct, as he’s still wearing the glasses. Very interesting, though.
“Natsume-kun, please look at me.” There’s a strain in his voice. “I won’t make you ask for anything, so just answer me honestly.”
Against his better judgment, Natsume looks back. Tsumugi really is entirely too honest, his grin from a moment ago having twisted into an uncertain pout. It’s not his own fault he nods his head in a way that Tsumugi can feel reassured. But he’s rewarded when Tsumugi’s expression lightens.
“Then, I’ll just ask this one time, and if you say no, I’ll never ask again.” Tsumugi exhales sharply. “Do you want me to kiss you?”
“That’s not how you’re supposed to asK.” Natsume mutters, although he can feel something genuine pull up at the corners of his mouth. “You’re supposed to say, can I kiss you?”
The sweet, innocent smile he’s gifted is all the answer he needs. It’s the kind of rare smile that Tsumugi reserves only for Natsume, that he wouldn’t mind waking up to in the morning, the kind that makes him believe everything that preceded them and everything that awaits them will have been worth it. “Of course you can, Natsume.”