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After school, late at night and with a comforting silence, Mondo laid in the bed of his dorm room with his hair fallen down and dressed in a simple tank top and some shorts. He loosened his muscles as he sank his weight into the mattress and gazed distantly at the wall right beside himself. He squinted to get a read on the calendar hung up on the wall, and it read clear as day— tomorrow would be Valentine’s Day!
And that meant nothing at all. He groaned in annoyance at the idea of it. Normally, Mondo didn’t celebrate those types of lovey dovey days. He’s chronically single! He has never had a partner in his life that made the day worth celebrating. It was just another damn day for him. Yet, why did he feel his heart slightly flutter?
He can imagine how it goes, and it makes him want to roll his eyes out of his skull— he’d go about his day surrounded by couples acting extra sweet to each other, tons of gift giving, and all that stuff. It happened every year since he’d been at Hope’s Peak, and almost every couple involved themselves with those activities. Most of that he’d pay no attention to and wasn’t of any convenience to him. Considering the small fact that his best friend, Leon, wouldn’t take any time out of his day for Mondo, because of his girlfriend Sayaka. Whatever. He could just go and ride around on his bike after school if he wished.
But this time..?
The thought of Valentine’s day… It felt different. Mondo felt different about it in general.
A year ago, he’d bat an eye at the whole occasion. This year, he felt a switch in perspective, and— as much as he didn’t want to admit it to himself— maybe now he wanted to take a chance and partake in it. A certain… someone changed the whole sentiment of the day for him.
Only a few months ago, he befriended that hall monitor, Kiyotaka Ishimaru. They had a bit of an unpleasant history at the start but now he and Mondo were very close friends, and they are inseparable.
Even the thought of Taka made Mondo’s heart want to burst into giddiness, and even the mere mention of his name caused a large grin on his face— and he felt no shame with that. He couldn’t get him out of his head, every single damn second of the day, and he didn’t mind that. He was a great man, sometimes strict, but with good intentions.
And now, Mondo knew it as clear as day; he fell for Taka like a dimwit. He was madly in love with him and would do anything for that precious soul. These feelings weren’t new (except he took a really long time to even acknowledge them), and now with Valentine’s just tomorrow, he might as well tell Taka how he feels, as scary as it sounded.
He couldn’t hide it anymore how much he adored the man. Everything about him was just perfect. Taka’s gorgeous eyes, his pure smile, his rough yet soft skin, the way his hands sometimes brushed upon Mondo’s, the abs hidden underneath his uniform…
Mondo blushed a deep crimson and a smile creeped upon his lips, to which he immediately hid his face in his pillow, even if no one was there to witness how excited he got. His body started to feel hot, from his ears to his chest all the way down to his lower stomach.
Mondo brushed all those sensations aside once he got a hold of himself, he slowly removed his face from his pillow and was a bit disgusted with himself. He laid there, in bed, feeling like a loser.
For a multitude of minutes, he pondered to himself about confessing to Taka. Every time he has even attempted to confess to a girl, the words wouldn’t come to him naturally; he’d mutter incoherent sentences and appear like he’d completely forgotten how to speak, and that would devolve into him immediately getting all nervous and start yelling like a complete idiot. It was always an awkward situation for the both of them. The thought of yelling at Taka— when he didn’t even mean to— the thought kept him up at night in fear.
On the topic of fears, he wondered about the same thing over and over; What if Taka doesn’t like him back? What if he completely ruins their friendship over this silly thing called love?
Mondo rocked back and forth on the edge of his bed with his palms on his forehead, his fingers tugging on his hair anxiously to keep himself calm. His stomach immediately twists into a knot at those thoughts he constantly endures. He knew he wanted to tell Taka his feelings, but how.
Suddenly, in his disarray of nervous emotions, he had an idea.
The idea of confessing to Taka face to face was something he couldn’t (or more so, wouldn’t) imagine himself doing. A new idea that appeared to him was he would relay his thoughts and feelings in a sweet and simple letter, then give it to him tomorrow, and it’d all be okay, assuming Ishimaru likes him….
When he thought of the idea, suddenly, his entire world felt less stressful. He’d contemplate it for another minute or so to decide if this is what he wanted to do. It wasn’t like he thought of anything better, and with such limited time he had, it felt the safest and easiest option that he thought very feasibly worked.
He’d never written a love letter before, or anything romantic like that. It sounded like something that Sayaka would be a hundred times better at doing than him, and he was half surprised that he thought of the idea, because he immediately assumed it'd be very girly to write one. But fuck it, he was gonna do it, he'd already set his mind to it.
It was already late into the night (and on a school night no less) when he made his decision. At this moment, he called his bestest friend, Leon, to come to his dorm room. Other than Taka, Leon is someone whom Mondo trusted deeply– he’d shared tons of information and a multitude of secrets with him, and so he’d also mention this plan to him as well. Plus, he had a girlfriend. Maybe he had advice for Mondo?
He called Leon on his phone. He sounded reluctant to show up because he had just been rudely awoken from his slumber, but with minutes of persuasion and with having the benefit of being best friends— he eventually agreed, even if he sounded overly grumpy about it.
The biker pulled all his long hair into a messy bun, to keep strands of hair out of his face and to not look like a mess simultaneously. He threw on his long jacket that he always wore to feel more comfortable. He sat on the edge of his bed while he fidgeted with his fingers while staring at his door, awaiting in suspense.
It didn’t even take a minute for Leon to arrive— their dorms were so damn close to each other. Kuwata knocked a few times before he invited himself in with ease and not a care in the world, and he appeared to be much peppier than he sounded on the phone call. He looked over at Mondo, his expression immediately contorting with just one glance at the biker.
Mondo was a small hunched ball of anxiety. He sat on the edge of the bed, staring directly down at the ground near his feet, nervously fidgeting with his fingers and very apparent beads of sweat around his temple and cheeks. Leon raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms and starting to draw conclusions to why his friend was so worked up.
Leon closed the door behind him, walking a few steps further into the room. “Dude, what the hell's wrong with you?” He asked with a tone of annoyance, but hidden under that tone was sincere worry for his friend. Mondo lifted his head up and towards Leon, his deep lavender eyes narrow but pleading. Leon’s expression softened slightly, he approached closer to Owada.
Owada fixed his posture to something more straightened and shifted his weight around on the mattress. He placed his arms by his sides, clenching the blankets for dear life and let out a deep low sigh of frustration, his head dropping lower in defeat as he sighed. Leon stood beside him by the side of the bed, furrowing his brows as he glared down.
“I don’t understand.” Leon flatly stated with honesty, glimpsing down at the biker with discontentment. Mondo didn’t move for a couple moments, except for the rise and fall of his chest. Kuwata patiently awaited a response— which was surprising, for how pissed off and impatient he feels when he’s tired.
Eventually, Mondo lifted his chin up towards the baseball star. His eyes were narrow, they appeared tired but also uncertain, and that was a look in his eyes that Kuwata had never seen in him, he was always a very confident and carefree man. Also, if Leon wasn’t mistaken, he could’ve sworn there was a small blush on his cheeks, but it was so subtle.
“I, uh, I gotta ask ya somethin’. I need help.” Mondo said softly, sounding unsure with every word he spoke. Leon gave an expression of piqued interest, his eyes widening a bit, waiting for him to continue.
He shifted on the mattress. He relaxed his muscles and let himself lay back a smidge, his tense fingers releasing their grip on the sheets. Mondo looked back to Leon’s glare, and he gave an awkward, but more hearty smile that made the vibe feel less intense in a few seconds. Leon’s judgemental glare softened and his crossed arms loosened a bit. Mondo placed his hand on the back of his neck.
There was hesitation as he muttered incoherent words. He didn’t know what to say, which really tested Leon’s dwindling patience. Mondo’s pupils swayed around in different directions as he thought out his next words.
Then, he looked back towards the baseball star. “Ya won’t tell anyone..?” Mondo muttered, looking into Leon’s icy blue stare.
Leon rolled his eyes, dropping his arms to his sides and a smirk creeping on his lips. “Of course not, Mon. Just tell me.” He reassured.
Mondo smiled softly at his words. He took a deep breath. “I’m, er, in love with—”
“–With Taka.” Leon finished his sentence, cutting him off with ease. His tone was so sincerely nonchalant, almost monotone— like he already expected this answer from a mile away. His brows were furrowed, looking unamused with a slight frown on his lips. Mondo looked up at him with wide, stunned eyes. Was it really that obvious, he wondered?
He continued on, unbothered by Owada’s stun. “We know. Everyone knows. You two are so FUCKING obvious, it kills me that you aren’t dating yet.” Leon frowned as he gripped the top of his head in frustration, furrowing his brows. He recomposed himself after he let out all the air in his lungs and calmed his muscles.
A deep blush appeared all over Mondo’s face, up to his ears and all the way down to his neck in utter embarrassment. He placed a hand on his mouth and turned his head away from Kuwata. He narrowed his eyes.
“Does Taka know that I like him..?” He asked in a mutter, somewhat afraid of getting an answer.
“Nah. He’s super hella dense.” Leon stated bluntly. Not gonna lie, Mondo sorta agreed with him. “So, anyway, what did you need help with?” Leon steered the conversation back to what it was originally. Mondo almost forgot he needed help in the first place, he had been so caught up with how easily Leon (and apparently everyone else) was able to read him and his feelings.
Mondo cleared his throat and looked back towards Leon, his eyes having a more determined look in them. “I wanna write a letter for him. Tell him how I feel and shit.”
The man proceeded to reach into his jacket’s pocket where he took out a small piece of white lined paper with his left hand that he already held in his possession. With his right hand, he grabbed an average mechanical pencil that was left on a table next to his bed.
“Okaaay..” Leon dramatically extended the word, raising an eyebrow and narrowing his eyes. “So do it.”
“You make it sound so goddamn easy!” Mondo complained loudly, his tone shifting to irritation as he forcefully pushed his chest down backwards on his mattress, leaving his legs dangling off the edge of the bed and feeling the weight being forcefully pushed down as he gripped the objects in his hands tightly, scowling directly up at the ceiling. He and Leon were silent for a moment; Leon crossed his arms and bit the inside of his cheek while Mondo took a deep breath to calm himself. He lifted his upper half back up slowly, using his arms as support and then stared down at the ground in even more silence. Damn, everything felt so tense now, unintentionally. He didn’t mean to raise his voice, but he really wanted to get this perfect, because he couldn’t bear the thought of Taka rejecting–
No, he won’t even finish that thought. Everything will be perfectly okay..!
Leon’s expression softened to something more empathetic, his eyes more kind and his irritated energy was replaced with something lighter. Mondo felt a light dip in the mattress as Leon seated himself closely next to him with a quiet sigh. Leon relaxed his muscles and turned his head towards Mondo. His look became more serious.
“You’re stressing yourself out for no fucking reason, Mon. Just write exactly what you want to tell him.” Kuwata said honestly.
Mondo looked towards Leon, his eyes narrow. Leon wore a sincere grin on his face with a thumbs up, trying to encourage his friend to write. Mondo’s expression softened, his eyes widening a bit. He looked back towards the blank paper in his hand that he crumpled up in his grip without even realizing.
He kept constantly reminding himself that he could write the letter, and if he didn’t feel like giving it to Taka then he could disregard the whole plan easily and move on– and he might as well write something, even if he didn’t go through with it, because he is very aware he didn’t have that much time.
Mondo exhaled as he narrowed his eyes in concentration. Leon shifted away from the other to give him more space. He leaned in closer to the paper comfortably, his hand shaking a subtle amount until he started to write whatever came to mind, slowly. And there was a lot, too. There was a safe and warm silence as he wrote that made it easy to focus, and also calmed him.
It had been minutes since Mondo began writing, and the more he did, the bigger was his smile that seeped onto his lips. Leon was glad he was enjoying this, but he was a bit bored out of his mind, tapping his fingers rhythmically on the bed. He felt himself going insane from the only noise in this soundproof room being the loud scribbling of the pen that burned into his ears.
Leon peered over Mondo’s shoulder to see what he was scribbling on the letter, his eyes were big and curious. He only got a few glimpses but damn, Mondo’s handwriting needed some real work– he couldn’t read shit. He didn’t say anything about his odd handwriting but he continued to stare. Mondo very easily felt his presence; he could feel his breathing on his neck and it didn’t feel nice whatsoever.
His smile faded to a line as he whipped his head around towards Kuwata. “Stop. I’m tryna’ focus!” Mondo barked, turning his attention back to his letter quickly. Leon moved further apart from him, rolling his eyes. He looked the other way, his eyes half closed and his lips a small frown, pressing his palm to his cheek. Mondo didn’t mean to sound as harsh as he did and bit his tongue.
After five more minutes passed, Mondo’s scribbling ceased as he shifted his position and straightened his posture. He stared blankly at the written note in front of him, his eyes rereading it over and over. Leon peered over his shoulder once again with a curious spark in his eyes, his eyebrows raised. He knew it was immoral to read a handwritten note only meant for Taka’s eyes, but his curiosity immediately got the better of him. It wasn't like he could understand it effortlessly nonetheless.
For how long it took to write, it was very unexpected at how little was written. There were a few sentences, and most of the words were just barely legible– like they’d been written by a toddler. But ignoring that, the words were sweet and genuine, filled with passion. Taka is going to be a very lucky dude, he thought.
Leon shifted his position back as Mondo sighed. “I—I guess this’ll do…” Mondo muttered with a not very confident smile on himself, the smallest hint of rosy blush dusting his face.
“So, was I just here for emotional support—?” Leon asked with a slight frown as he stood up and stretched, one eye closed and the other looking down at the biker.
Mondo chuckled softly. “I guess so. Thanks.” he stood up right after Leon, hiding the letter in his jacket’s pocket for safety, and dropping the pen on his bed not very gracefully.
Leon groaned dramatically. “Is that all our friendship means to you now?! I’m just emotional support?” He complained, but it was clear he was joking, since Mondo has known him for so long, which made Mondo laugh.
“Yep. Get used to it.” Mondo joked with a smile. Leon scoffed with a slight smile and shoved him on the shoulder lightheartedly.
“Goodnight, asshole. Good luck.” Leon said with a chuckle before turning his heel and leaving Mondo’s dorm, closing the door with a click. A few seconds of silence passed before Owada’s smile faded into a softer expression, and he looked down towards his pocket, pulling out the half crumpled paper.
He sat back onto his bed, hunched over, rereading the words over and over. Wondering, “Is this good?”
As nervous as Mondo felt, eventually, his eyes fell heavy and his new priority was to get to sleep. He read the note one last time— for good measure before he put it back into his jacket’s pocket. He took his jacket off, placing it where he usually kept it. He hit his head down on the pillow and muttered nonsense to himself and relaxed himself on his bed. Tomorrow was the day, and thinking about it too much made his heart race in excitement and nervousness that made him have a stupid and contagious red blush all over his face.
He succumbed to sleep quickly.
…
It was early in the morning, way earlier than he ever wished to wake up. Mondo hastily threw on his clothes and walked out of his dorm and down the hall, his heart feeling like it was about to beat out of his chest in anticipation. During the morning before classes started would be when lots of students started to give gifts to each other and acting lovey dovey, as he expected. He rolled his eyes to most of it.
He walked into his classroom— And it was no different. He noticed that Leon and Sayaka were all over each other. Sitting next to each other, their attention only focused on the other, smiling brightly and giving the other kisses on the cheek and feeding each other chocolates, as couples did. Mondo was very happy for them.
This was the first time in a while he’d actually shown up to a morning class—he was never really a morning person and he especially didn’t like showing up to class as he slept in most days. Whenever he does show up early on rare occasions, Kiyotaka would usually be the one dragging him to participate in them. So already, this wasn’t accurate to what he’d do on an average school day. He’d already gotten a few looks with his surprising arrival.
He knew he could’ve just given this letter to Taka after school, or even during the lunch break, but he ultimately decided against it. Waiting all day in anxiety would’ve driven him completely mad.
Looking to the front of the class, right in the front, being his energetic and stern self—as usual— was Kiyotaka Ishimaru. The same uniform, same posture, same everything that made him so loveable in the first place. Mondo couldn’t help but smile when he saw him, his heart starting to flutter and a red blush immediately appearing on his face like an idiot, but he felt no ounce of shame about that.
Owada took a deep breath, getting himself mentally ready to do this, then approached Taka slowly, his heart racing the closer he neared him. When Taka looked towards his way, his face immediately beamed in joy like he’d never seen before, and a blush appeared all over his cheeks. The two both walked up to each other with an uncontrollable grin that lit up the atmosphere for both of them.
“Mondo! You showed up earlier than I expected! That’s wonderful!” Taka exclaimed with a smile.
“Y–Yeah. I guess I did.” He replied, putting his hand on the back of his neck and darting his eyes to the side awkwardly. He could feel himself getting warmer, and he kept repeating to himself in his head over and over to stay calm— there was no backing out now.
Looking for reassurance, Mondo swung his head back towards Leon– who was located sitting on his desk with Sayaka sitting next to him, his arm swung over her shoulder lovingly. Leon noticed his stare and he looked at him wide eyed, not sure what he should do to help. He shot a quick glare at the hall monitor and then nodded his head towards him with an encouraging smile. Mondo sighed.
“I… have somethin’ for ya.” Mondo spoke as he looked back at Taka, gazing into his deep, innocent crimson eyes. Taka nodded slightly with a smile that could send Mondo into a spiral.
He—hesitantly, and slowly— reached into his pocket. Taka straightened his posture and waited patiently. He felt the thin note in his pocket and before he could even take it out, Taka’s face shaped a heavy red blush.
“Wait! I have something for you, too!–” He blurted out quickly, almost in a shouting voice. Mondo paused— feeling a bit startled by Taka’s voice. Taka reached into his bag on his desk, shuffling through everything inside a little before he pulled out a small, clean white envelope with a heart stamp on it. He quickly put it into Mondo’s hands with a really red blush all over every area of his face, down to his neck.
“Here you go..!” Taka closed his eyes and grinned awkwardly. Mondo unashamedly blushed, almost the same amount as Taka. Leon smirked at him in the near distance, and felt like a proud father.
Since Taka handed Mondo an envelope, it was only right that Mondo had to give Taka what he planned to give him. Without much of a thought and more like an automatic motion, he handed his own letter to the hall monitor, before he indulged in what he received from Taka; It looked neat and felt pristine. On the back of the envelope was Mondo’s name written in cursive. Damn, impressive. He now started to feel a bit guilty he didn’t think to do anything fancier like Taka did.
He delicately ripped it open. Inside was a handwritten letter, something just like he decided to do. It read as follows:
Dear Mondo,
I cannot begin to tell you how much you mean to me, and what our friendship means to me. You are my bestest friend.
I need to confess something to you. I love you so much. I have no idea if you feel the same way towards me, but it's eating me up inside that I haven't told you, like I’m lying to your face.
I’ve loved you for a while. I hope you feel the same way. I want to spend this day with you, and only you.
- Kiyotaka Ishimaru.
….Was he dreaming?
Every word that Mondo read made his eyes go wider, and heart raced faster and faster— he almost thought he was about to die of happiness. There was an intense deep blush all over his face that he’d never be able to hide. His body felt severely warm. He could barely even process what he read, and the only thing he did was look back at Taka, his eyes wide and mouth agape, looking (probably) like an idiot.
Kiyotaka looked at him at almost the same time, the same amount of blush on both of their faces. His stunned agape mouth transitioned into a soft smile full of pure joy in seconds—the most childish he’s ever seen the hall monitor look. He looked so bright and pretty to Mondo, and the light from the windows hit him perfectly. He'll never forget that face now that he’s seen it. Oh my god, he just wanted to kiss him.
His contagious and beautiful smile caused Mondo to smile, too. Their energy in the room made everything feel so right, like it was meant to be. Mondo felt a weight off his shoulders that he didn’t realize was even there in the first place; it all felt more hopeful. He couldn’t imagine a feeling better than this.
“I guess we both had the same idea, didn’t we?” Taka finally stated, looking down at the letter that Mondo wrote with a blush and then back at Owada, continuing their stable eye contact.
“Guess we did.” Mondo chuckled.
Mondo put Taka’s envelope back in his pocket– to keep it safe for the rest of time. Taka did the same. Mondo approached a few steps closer to the hall monitor slowly, their eye contact unbreaking. He slipped his hand around his waist, holding onto it tightly, but not too tight, so as to not hurt him. His grin turned into a softer smile and his eyes narrowed, he bent down and gave a small kiss on his cheek to his beloved which caused Taka to blush bashfully.
“Hell yeah!!” Leon cheered from across the room.
Taka pulled away from Mondo slowly and he straightened his posture to something more stiff and like himself, but a very charming smile still laid on his soft lips. He raised his hand up and felt the area of his cheek that Mondo kissed with a soft blush on his face. He looked more tense in a way, but that might’ve just been his eyebrows.
“So, do you want to hang out after school..?” He asked Mondo, dropping his hand back down to his side.
“Fuck yeah, bro.” Mondo replied, his eyes closed with a beaming smile. Taka smiled back at him with a hum.
Since Mondo was in a good mood, a really good mood, he decided to attend this class with Ishimaru. The two sat next to each other. He quickly remembered how boring as shit the class is, and he could feel his brain melting inside of him for attending, but the pure joy Taka was in just because he was here made it bearable. And after school concluded for the day, they were going to make the most of this day that Mondo now had a newfound appreciation for.