None of the two boys talked much as they hung out in Karma's room. The only sounds that one could hear were the synchronized breathing of Nagisa and Karma and the sound of a pencil against the paper. Karma had left Nagisa to deal with the homework alone since the latter said he already understood Karma's explanation about it, and told him to notify him when he's done.
It took Nagisa a while to finish the homework. He put his pencil down, and that was enough to let Karma know that he was done.
"Good, you're done." Karma spun around to face the blue-haired boy and his homework. Taking the pencil into his hand and turned the book his way, he said, "Give me a while, okay~"
"Alright," Nagisa responded with a nod. He watched as Karma skimmed through his work, checking for false answers. He watched as those golden orbs moved around, reading, blinking. He really liked to observe the other male. He liked how his red hair was so beautiful. He liked how some of the red strands fall over Karma's eyes, but at the same time he also did not like it inasmuch it was blocking Nagisa's view of Karma's face.
And he didn't know why, but out of the blue, he blurted out a question.
"Karma-kun, do you like Okuda-san?"
He did not mean to ask that.
The owner of the name seemed startled. He gave Nagisa a look of surprise, his eyebrows raised in perplexity. "What's with the question?"
Nagisa's face flushed bright red, the redness almost rivalling Karma's hair. He looked the other way so that the redhead will not see his red face, which he highly doubted. "Ah, no, it's just…You remember that time when Class E boys talk about girls they like?"
Karma gave him a nod as he continued to check Nagisa's homework. "The school trip? Yeah, I remember," he said. "Oh, yeah, I recall saying that I like Okuda-san."
Detecting a sense of slight jealousy tugging his chest, Nagisa bit the inside of his bottom lip. "So… Were you serious that day?"
Golden eyes were still glued on the homework and his hand was still writing the correct answer of some of Nagisa's wrong answers. It was as if he was more intrigued in the homework than the present conversation. Under the table, Nagisa was fidgeting his thumbs, nervous of the upcoming answer.
"Hm…I wonder," was all he said, much to Nagisa's disappointment. Karma's hand stopped suddenly as he looked up at the ceiling, as if imagining something. "I mean, it's not like I dislike her. She's comfortable to be around with, and it's pretty nice talking to her. She's also a good companion, and trustable, too…"
A sharp pang of jealousy caused Nagisa's chest to ache and swell up as Karma kept on blathering about Okuda. Karma didn't even realise Nagisa was observing his every movement. The redhead's eyes were still affixed to the ceiling, and even though Nagisa didn't want to think about it, it was as if Karma was visualizing an image of Okuda.
"…And most of all, she seems capable of making a lethal poison!" Karma finished with a mischievous smile painted across his lips. But then that smile turned upside down instantly when he noticed the dejected expression Nagisa had on his face. He knitted his eyebrows in bewilderment. "Is there something wrong, Nagisa-kun?"
Hearing his name being said, the blue-haired boy jumped abruptly, clearly taken aback. He quickly flailed his hands around in front of him in a dismissive way. "A-Ah, no! It's nothing, Karma-kun." That statement didn't seem to convince the redhead much, and on the contrary, the suspicion on Karma's face grew thicker. Tense, Nagisa continued, "You seem to like her very much, Karma-kun."
Karma stayed silent for a moment, taking his time to study the expression that was currently on Nagisa's face. The shorter boy thought he saw a glimpse of mischief on Karma's face, but then shrugged it off. Karma put his chin against the heel of his palm as he tapped the homework several times with the pencil he was holding. He averted his gaze, saying, "Well, clearly she's not the one I like."
That was only one sentence, consisting of eight words. But that seemed enough to bring back Nagisa's hope.
"Then, who's the one you like?" Nagisa asked, his face showing that he was eager to know.
But Karma arched an eyebrow. "Why do you want to know so much?"
A crooked smile cracked across the blue-haired's features. He brought up a finger to his cheek, scratching it. "W-Well, just curious…"
Karma gave him a long, dubious stare, causing the other male to be nervous. Seconds had passed, albeit felt like eternity to Nagisa, when Karma decided to open his mouth once again, accompanied by a devious smirk.
"Aha~ don't tell me Nagisa-kun has a crush on me?"
For the second time, red hue crept up to Nagisa's cheeks. He tried his best not to look away. "E-Eh?! N-No, that's not…" Nagisa trailed off, for he did not know how to finish that sentence correctly.
The devious smile was still dancing around Karma's features as he snickered. "I'm right on the money, am I not?"
Nagisa didn't answer. He just kept on fidgeting his thumbs out of agitation under the table, his eyes refusing to meet with the other's red ones. His gaze was fixed on the table that was separating the two of them, and he was glad for the existence of the table. Because if it weren't for the existence of the table, he would feel much more embarrassed than now.
The sound of the pencil's taps filled the room, signing that Karma was waiting for Nagisa's honesty. "Just spill it out, Nagisa-kun."
Swallowing his own saliva, Nagisa stopped fidgeting his thumbs and clenched his fists, gaze still fixed on the table. Being stubborn was one of Nagisa's traits, after all.
He could hear Karma clicking his tongue, muttering an "Oh, geez…" as he leaned forward and now he could feel a finger below his chin and somehow his face began to feel hot once again and he could feel his heart beating very fast and for some reason that finger tilted his head up, forcing his aquamarine orbs to meet a pair of golden ones, and he could feel Karma's breath against his face and then—
He could feel Karma's lips pressing against his.
The warmth of his mouth sent a current running through Nagisa's body. His face heated up as the kiss did the same, but when he was about to enjoy it more, Karma pulled away, a smirk dancing across his features.
"Pff, your face is sooooo red~"
Nagisa couldn't say anything. He was out of everything—breath, words, energy. All he was able to do was just stare at Karma who was getting back to his original business, to rectify Nagisa's incorrect answers.
Here the blue-haired boy was lost words, and Karma was acting as if nothing happened. As if the kiss didn't happen.
"Nagisa-kun, you've got four numbers incorrect here. I wrote down the correct answer. Try to figure out where you did wrong."
When Nagisa didn't respond, Karma looked up from the paper, at first surprised when he saw that Nagisa was looking at him incredulously, but then a look of amusement emerged. "What?"
"—What was that all about?" Nagisa said loudly, seemingly trying hard not to shout.
"Wasn't it obvious enough?" Karma arched an eyebrow, smirking. The look on his eyes was screaming; guess it yourself.
"Uhm…" For the umpteenth time for today, Nagisa was again fidgeting his fingers. But he couldn't let his nervousness take over him again—he needed to say it clearly. Nagisa cleared his throat and took a deep breath, building up courage inside of himself before looking up to Karma, once again meeting his pair of golden orbs.
"K-Karma-kun likes me, right?" Although he did his best to prevent himself from stuttering, he still did.
But Karma's words made something in his stomach turned upside down. "Ahaha, wrooong~" the redhead laughed.
A look of despondent and humility were painted clearly across Nagisa's countenance. "E-Eh—what do you mean I'm wrong—"
Karma didn't speak to respond, but he motioned for Nagisa to come closer. Albeit still feeling dejected, he did what the former said. He leaned over the table, toward Karma, and that was when the latter swiftly put another finger below his chin, giving him a soft peck on the lips.
Nagisa's face scorched in embarrassment, but he hadn't the nerve to look away from those wondrous pair of golden eyes.
When they pulled away, Karma split the first genuine smile of his for today across his face, as he said, "I love you, Nagisa-kun."