"I'm sorry."
Tadashi flinched when the ice pack touched the forming bruise on his cheek.
"Don't worry Tsukki. It wasn't your fault."
Kei lightly touched the swelling, a frown is his face.
"You'll get a black eye."
Tadashi's words were barely a whisper.
"Will… will you kiss it better?"
"Don't be ridiculous." The answer was automatic, a usual response to their usual banter.
But when Kei moved the ice pack and looked at Tadashi's flushing face…
Wait… is he serious?
"Ah–ahaha, well, since this whole day was like a date… I-I mean! The game arcade, and the p-park, looking at the dogs walking there… a-and the nice coffee shop… I thought that… maybe…"
"It was". Kei blurted.
"Huh?"
"I wanted this to be a date."
Tadashi lifted his eyes, wide in disbelieve and a bit of hope. "Really?"
"I know you like games. And looking at dogs and taking pictures of them. And I wanted to… say something to you at the café, but I don't know what came wrong."
Kei was startled when Tadashi suddenly laughed, his face in between a grin and a wince. "Tsukki! You provoked the guy at the table next to us. How can you not know what happened?"
The frown on Kei's face was now almost a pout.
"I had to. He was saying some shit about us. I planned everything but you intercepting that idiot's punch."
"Well, you wear glasses, you cannot get punched in the face."
Now Kei's face as beet red, noticing the meaning behind those words.
I had to. I wanted to protect you.
Wow. When did Tadashi become so cool?
"Thanks." Kei murmured, taking Tadashi's face gently in his hands, and placing a soft kiss where a nasty bruise was forming already. "My hero".