Author's Notes: With apologies to Sia Furler. But, yeah - I give my first shot at Trio of Towns! Which, I've gotta say - Marvelous is on a roll with the series lately. Addictive stuff. (Though I'm just sticking to one town for now when writing, because the thought of trying to make Westown, Tsuyakasa, and Lulukoko plausible and realistic together? Jesus Christ.) Even though Yuzuki was my immediate choice for a husband the moment he was revealed, and Hinata's going to be second on the list... I definitely think these two make a pretty adorable couple in their own right, and I've been wanting to see how I could pull off this idea for a little while now.
I wanted to work in Komari somewhere, but figured this would probably work best with as few characters as possible. Also, I didn't realize it till after I got the idea, but this kinda takes cues from a few of Hinata's own flower events. Ah, well. Spin it as you will and all that. Well, I hope you enjoy reading this pile of utter fluff - feel free to leave a review, if you want, and thanks for reading!
This Is Acting
Despite the tension in the air, the pleasant April breeze playfully blew a few bright cherry blossoms across the cobblestones in the idyllic village. They danced over the cracks and bumps before coming to a rest on the surface of the river, sending a spiderweb of ripples across the water.
The breeze rustled his tousled, messy brown hair as well, and he ran anxious fingers through it, coming to rest over the trio of rattails at the back of his neck. His voice was solemn when he finally spoke, not looking up: "...Hitomi. I... I... what are you doing here? I thought you..."
Silence fell over the secluded little nook, punctuated only by the crinkling of cellophane, and crunching. Moments later, he spoke again:
"Well... I guess you probably hate me, after how I stormed off earlier..."
A few quiet gulps and a stifled belch followed this statement, punctuated by a mumbled "'Scuse me." The next words came out in a squeaky falsetto:
"Kenji... how could you think I could ever hate you? If anything, you have every right to-"
"Oh, no. You've gone mad. I knew this would happen eventually," a second, more amused voice interrupted with a chuckle, causing Hinata Takaoka to cough and choke as he inhaled his karinto with a startled gasp. Eyes watering and reddened face burning, he hacked roughly, his best friend suddenly thumping his back a few times and apologizing profusely. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you choke-!"
"S'alright," Hinata wheezed out in a rasp as, moments later, his airway cleared. Wiping his eyes and panting, he grabbed his soda and took a deep swig, the little glass marble rattling around noisily in the bottle with the action. "Y-you're cool, dude," he added, before stifling another belch into his fist, leaning down to snatch up the script he'd dropped moments before.
Plopping down next to him and shaking his head haplessly, Yuzuki Toyama raised his eyebrows, eyeing the script... and the opened bag of karinto sitting next to Hinata. And then back to the script, shooting a curious glance up at a grinning Hinata afterward. "Ah, a new play, eh? I think I feel even worse about almost killing you, now."
Chuckling and shaking his head, Hinata shrugged. "Ahh... you're good. I got an understudy in case that happens, anyway," he cracked with a little grin, causing them both to laugh. Trailing into a sigh, Hinata's shoulders slumped, and his smile hitched a bit. "But... yep, casting was called a couple days ago, actually..."
Noticing the change in his friend's demeanor, Yuzuki stilled his hand on its way to sneak a few karinto from the bag, his teal brows drawn into a concerned frown. While Hinata usually had a brief bout of jitters following a new casting announcement for a play, they usually faded quickly - and even then, his enthusiasm tended to shine through as well. This was new, however.
"What's wrong, then?" he asked quietly, giving Hinata a gentle nudge. "Did you... not get the part you wanted...?" Of course, it wasn't unheard of - there were only so many parts for each play, and so many gifted people vying for them. But the thought of someone with Hinata's talent being overlooked struck him as especially odd. If anything - especially lately - it seemed like the only plays he didn't get cast in were the ones he didn't try out for in the first place.
A wry smile crossed Hinata's face now, and he let out a little chuckle. "Okay, this's gonna sound totally stupid but... we're talkin' total opposite, here," he admitted, both confirming Yuzuki's suspicions, and confusing the older boy even further. "I... I got just the part I tried out for. Kenji Iwadare." Swallowing hard and biting his lip, he let out another awkward laugh. "I... I'm the male lead, dude. I - I got the starring role! Well, one of 'em, I mean - Aiko got the female lead. You know, you can have some of those karinto," he added as an afterthought.
Yuzuki absently snagged a handful, bright brown eyes widening as the news sank in. "That's fantastic, Hinata!" he exclaimed sincerely, dropping the snacks in his lap and dusting his hand off on his yukata. Reaching over to gave Hinata's shoulder a congratulatory squeeze, Yuzuki noted that despite his quiet thanks and the pink tinge now tinting his cheeks, Hinata's demeanor still seemed quite anxious. About to ask what the problem was, Yuzuki felt the question quickly die on his lips as the realization replaced it: "Oh... but this is your first lead, too, isn't it...?"
"Yeeeep," Hinata sighed, taking another pull of his soda and frowning as the marble blocked the flow of the liquid. He'd been working to gradually move towards larger and larger roles over the past year or so, but taking the leap to the front of the line had been crazy - what had he been thinking? He mulled over it for a moment, before pushing the answer aside. Stupid, stuuuupid reason, Takaoka. Find another one.
"Ahhh... who the hell designed these dumb things?" he added in an exasperated grumble as he came back from inside his own head, poking at the little glass orb in the bottle and wishing he could pry it out and just give it to one of the village kids to play with.
"A very bad person who hates soda and those who drink it?" Yuzuki offered, relaxing a little when Hinata cracked a slight smile at his joke. "You know," he went on, tapping Hinata's shoulder and getting the younger boy to spare him a sideways glance, "I can't imagine how nerve-wracking that must be for you... but... the director wouldn't have cast you if he didn't think you had what it took."
"Yeah..." Hinata sighed and nodded thoughtfully, giving Yuzuki another glance from the corner of his eye. "Thanks, dude. I-I'm just... kinda freakin' out a little, is all. The scene Aiko and I did when I tried out... I mean, the director loved it, but..." He raised his eyebrows and slapped the script with his free hand. "But then, there's this one scene in here we gotta do..." He let the statement trail off cryptically, leaving a curious Yuzuki to shoot him a questioning glance and hold out his hand.
"May I...?"
"Huh?" Frowning, Hinata clutched the script to himself in an almost instinctive, defensive manner, before relaxing and handing it over with a shrug. "Ah, sure... uhh... Act Three," he added in a mumble, scratching his blazing cheek and looking off to the side - on the opposite bank of the river, he saw a few of the local children playing hopscotch near the teahouse, and distracted himself from his troubled thoughts by watching them with a little smile as Yuzuki flipped to the indicated spot and began reading.
From Here On looked to be one of the longer plays Hinata had taken part in, Yuzuki noticed, eyes widening a bit at the amount of highlighted lines he'd spotted in his browsing. Idly, he snagged a few more karinto from the nearly-empty bag, munching and savoring the wonderful taste as he read. While the dialogue in many of the plays tended to be more stylized and dramatic, this particular play had a different feel to it - the characters spoke in a more down-to-earth manner, as though the playwright had listened in on private conversations between actual people and simply put their words to paper. It felt very... intimate.
He had no doubt Hinata could nail the part, as long as he didn't let his nerves drag him down - the dialogue was a lot more emotional and intense than what he usually had to work with, but Hinata did have a gift for embodying the parts he was playing as though they were who he'd always been, from what Yuzuki had seen. At most, he tended to get a little too sentimental when rehearsing if a particular part got to him, but when the curtain came up...
Oh, he thought suddenly, eyes snagging and hanging on a particular bit in the script that jumped out at him. He blinked in quiet surprise. Oh, wow.
Hinata's scratchy, sheepish voice pulled his attention away from the script: "...You, uhh... you musta just got to it, huh?" The younger boy was staring at the ground as though it were the most interesting thing ever created, scratching at the back of his neck and swinging a leg back and forth. Even though the bench they shared by the spa wasn't terribly high off the ground, Hinata was still almost too short for his legs to reach the ground without pointing his foot a little, and he scraped the toe of his shoe around the cracks between the stones.
"I did, yes," Yuzuki confirmed, eyebrows still drawn up in surprise. No wonder Hinata had been nervous. While he knew his best friend had been kissed before - And that's enough of that, now, he admonished himself, as the thought made his stomach tight with childish jealousy - the thought of doing it in front of a large crowd, with critical eyes watching...
Yuzuki had to admit that, despite how easily he took most things in life, even he'd be freaking out a little at the thought.
He also had to admit to himself that - for a brief, shameful moment - he cared very little for Hinata's co-star, Aiko.
Stop that. You're twenty-four. Not twelve.
"...Yuzuki?" Hinata prodded, a note of worry in his voice at his best friend's silence. While Yuzuki typically did contribute a more companionable form in response to Hinata's usual excited prattling, this was different. More... brooding. It didn't really suit him.
Staring at the script a bit longer, Yuzuki tapped his long fingers on the edges of the stapled stack of papers, squinting one eye, and then the other. His mouth was twisted thoughtfully, in an almost comical manner - the same look he held when he was mulling over a new idea for a hairpiece, or working with the materials to actually craft said piece.
"...Would it help you any if we rehearsed it some?" he finally uttered aloud before he could stop himself, the tone of his voice light - yet, Hinata felt such a weight attached to the words that he wouldn't have been surprised if all the birds in Tsuyakasa vacated the trees in response, or if the children across the river abruptly stopped their laughter and excited chatter. Maybe the sky would turn a fiery crimson and be rent asunder, opening up an inescapable portal to Hell.
Regardless, everything continued on as normal, with only a light breeze gusting past to ruffle their hair and clothes, and make the nearby spa's sign sway slightly. Eyes wide, Hinata eyed Yuzuki cautiously.
"Rehearse...?" he repeated dumbly, watching as the wind sent the older boy's long, thick teal hair fluttering about and obscuring his expression. Yuzuki often did help him rehearse some of the more trying parts of his plays, usually at Hinata's request - though, try as he might, Hinata couldn't get him to ever agree to practice if Yuzuki had to play a female role. Still, Yuzuki was a pretty decent actor himself, possessing natural elegance and a quiet, gentle, encouraging strength that helped their unofficial rehearsals go smoothly and bolstered Hinata's own confidence in turn.
Their friend Komari was generally more willing to help out in the "female role" department - "So long as we don't gotta do nothin' weird!" she'd added insistently - but while she was an excellent friend, she was a pretty lousy stand-in actress, oftentimes getting distracted, or bursting out into giggles and cracking corny jokes that threw off their concentration for the rest of the rehearsal.
Hinata cleared his throat, going on and ignoring the burning in his cheeks: "Like... uhhh... you mean the play...?"
That's right! Bring that eloquence to stage, Takaoka! Knock 'em dead!
"As much as you feel you need to," Yuzuki responded in a cordially cryptic manner, turning to flash a gentle smile at Hinata. Yet, there was something else dancing in his eyes, something more than reassurance... "Hinata, I know how important this is for you... and I'd like to think I can swallow my pride and stop being silly, to be able to help you as best I can. Even if I... if I have to help you as Hitomi," he added after a moment's hesitation, clearing his painfully-dry throat. That bottle of melon soda sure looked heavenly right about now. "We don't have to make it... weird for us, of course."
Weird. There was that word again. They both let it hang there, neither wanting to prod at it and admit what it implied.
Suddenly realizing just what he was saying to his best friend - the friend who joined him frequently to snack, or hang out in the spa, or who occasionally snuck him scraps of leftover materials from Ra Man's for inspiration if he was feeling blocked on designing a new hairpiece, and whose million-watt smile and short-yet-fit frame made his hormones go haywire lately - Yuzuki looked to the sky and rubbed the back of his neck, playing with his long ponytail and grinning sheepishly. He tried not to focus on the much more awkward sensations in his lower body that the increasingly-intimate mental images had caused. "Of course, it's just... ahh... an offer, of course. You don't need to worry about it. I know it's a little... strange, coming from me. A little ridiculous, rea-"
"Uh," Hinata interrupted, voice cracking just a bit as he, too, looked elsewhere, "actually... I, ahh... don't mind? Like, Komari... well, I really don't wanna ask her since this is kind of a huge deal and all, and I think Hell's gonna freeze over 'fore I ever ask Kasumi..."
Yuzuki couldn't help but chuckle and nod at that. Hinata would most likely end up in the river in pieces if he even dared try.
"I mean," Hinata continued, laughing awkwardly, "if - if you really wanna, that's great and thanks a bajillion and all, just... you're sure you're cool with playin' a chick for this, dude? I don't want you feelin' like - like you gotta do somethin' you're uncomfortable with, y'know?"
That was true, Yuzuki mused - while his face had become a bit more angular, his voice had deepened, and his tall, slender frame now bore some light muscle upon it from years of hard work strengthening his body, he would still get the occasional "Ma'am" or "Miss" on the streets from strangers - most of whom were taken aback at his clearly-male voice when he responded politely.
He was, however, glad that the muscle under his eye had finally stopped its twitching whenever that happened.
"Hinata, I'm offering," he pointed out gently, though his heart was hammering in his throat. It was just like Hinata to be sweet like that and give him an out... but was it just because he cared about Yuzuki's comfort? Or did he sense something else there...? "Like I said, it's your call. I just... err..."
He trailed off, not knowing how to proceed from there. His earlier self-admonishment resurfaced - You're twenty-four. Not twelve - though now, it wasn't focused on his jealousy. But I must have made this so awkward for him, now... what was I thinking?
Hinata drew in a deep breath and tapped the script on his lap a few times, having discreetly taken it back from Yuzuki a moment ago. He swallowed hard. "Sure, man. Yeah - thanks. Seriously. Can... can we maybe do this later, then? Y'know, whenever you don't got nothin' you need to be workin' on," he added, eyes shut as he awaited a response. He wasn't quite sure what sort of response he wanted at the moment, but...
"...I'm free tomorrow night," Yuzuki told him after a few long, painful centuries that were probably seconds to people whose stomachs weren't fluttering hard enough to render them airborne. "If that works for you - I just have a few more orders to work on before then, but... would eight be fine?"
Eight. Eight... eight o'clock at night, when it would be dark out, and the streets would be pretty much empty for the evening except for a few stray cats, and-
"Perfect," Hinata agreed, cringing as his voice cracked again. He cleared his throat and grimaced, trying again in the hopes of throwing a more casual tone over the entire deal: "Eight's cool with me. Thanks again, dude. I... gotta go now, though," he added, wanting to bolt home as fast as possible so he could figure out what the hell was going on with his life all of a sudden. "I, uhh... gotta... see how Mike likes the new food I got him, and... uhhh... y'know." Here, he flashed an awkward grin to his friend and rubbed the back of his neck, feeling like the world's biggest dumbass at that moment. "And if he didn't, I... gotta... feed him, and... uhh... change his litter...? Cause... Sumomomo - Sumomo... probably... didn't."
Shouldn't actors be better at this shit? he admonished himself, stifling a groan at how stupid he must have sounded - nonetheless, Yuzuki gave him a similarly-strained smile and nodded in his usual, eternally-patient understanding.
"Oh, of course. Me too. Umm... I mean, those orders," he added with a self-deprecating chuckle, which Hinata shared. "Not... feeding Mike. Ahh... well, then - tomorrow at eight! Right here?"
In the secluded, quiet, beautiful spot by the cherry tree, in the shade of the spa. Under the moonlight, reflected in Hinata's eyes... have I gone mad?!
"That's totally cool with me, babe - bro! Dude! Dude," a mortified Hinata repeated, face flaming at his blunder as he hopped up from his seat and gave the flustered Yuzuki a hasty, rather painful fist-bump. "Uh - yeah, then! Catch ya tomorrow night, man!"
And he was off like a racehorse, weaving through the late-afternoon crowds as he cut past Ra Man's and stopped by the shrine at the north end of town, sending a quick prayer to the local deity to make him less of a hopeless dipshit.
Yuzuki, meanwhile, was left flummoxed and conflicted on the bench they'd shared moments ago, with the remains of Hinata's forgotten snack sitting ignored by him. Wondering if he was more excited or terrified for tomorrow night, he took a deep breath to calm his nerves and clear his mind, before rising to his feet and briskly making his way home - no need to concern his grandparents with these sort of petty, silly troubles. Especially not when he planned to lock himself in his workshop with his less-than-pure thoughts of Hinata until it was time to help with dinner, and hope they didn't ask any uncomfortable questions at the table later.
Yuzuki wasn't sure how he made it through Friday without fainting, or how he managed to finish his orders and ship them out like a normal, functioning human being whose heart wasn't smacking against his ribs like an out-of-control jackhammer. He silently thanked his lucky stars that he'd already had the designs planned out and finalized days before - which had been hard enough with Hinata on his mind so much lately. It was building up to something, he was sure, but... what?
That's totally cool with me, babe!
Surely, he'd heard wrong. Surely, he'd just been so awkward and ridiculous and possibly creepy that Hinata had gotten his own wires crossed and misspoken, and would probably call the whole thing off and rehearse with Komari after all, right? Or Aiko, he thought as he made his way into town, frowning and kicking a pebble in his path as the idea took root in his mind.
Nonetheless, even as he felt a small wave of relief upon seeing Hinata's silhouette sitting by the spa, barely lit by the streetlamps, Yuzuki felt his heart simultaneously speed up even more as he made his way over the bridge, and leap into his throat when his best friend looked up and waved him over.
"Well... good evening," Yuzuki greeted lamely, waving back, and giving a slight bow. "I'm... here. I made it."
Cracking a little grin at this, Hinata nodded from his perch on the bench - one leg was tucked up underneath him, while the other dangled and swung back-and-forth. "Cool, yeah... so, here you go," he added, holding out a second stack of papers - a copy of the script. "I, uhh... Moriya let me make a copy earlier on my break, so... I... highlighted your parts. Err, Hitomi's, I guess," he added pointlessly, trying not to grimace at his fumble.
Their fingers brushed together briefly as Yuzuki slipped the script from his hands, and Hinata nearly jumped out of his skin at the contact.
"Are you okay?" Yuzuki asked, brows twisted in concern. He was already nervous enough for the both of them, after all - he didn't even know if he should sit down next to Hinata, or across from him, or just keep standing there, or run back home and-
"I'm cool," Hinata muttered after a moment, chewing at his bottom lip and clearing his throat as he got to his feet. "Just... gettin' myself in the zone."
Lying, lying-ass liar.
"You ready?" he added, looking up at Yuzuki with an awkward grin, and trying to ignore the way the silvery light of the waxing moon struck the older boy's features. When Yuzuki only drew in a breath and nodded, giving him a small smile in return, Hinata ran a shaky hand through his hair and nodded back, flipping the script open. "Alright... act three. Kenji and Hitomi, at the overpass..."
Yuzuki watched Hinata close his eyes for a moment, before opening them again - the anxious slump in his spine was gone, and he stood straighter, staring up at Yuzuki with a much more remorseful look in his eyes. The way Hinata could transform himself in an instant to get into a role always astounded him, moreso when he could watch it up close.
"...Hitomi," Hinata murmured softly, letting Kenji speak through him now. He sighed and averted his gaze. "I... I... what are you doing here? I thought you... well," he added with an almost listless shrug, kicking at the ground, "I guess you probably hate me, after how I stormed off earlier..."
Realizing that was his cue, Yuzuki quickly redirected his fascination, looking down at the script and allowing himself to be absorbed into Hitomi's role.
"Kenji... how could you think I could ever hate you?" he asked with a sad smile. "If anything, you have every right to hate me, don't you? I... the way I always teased you, poked fun at you. I never meant to hurt you, but... I... I forgot you..." His voice cracked slightly with the emotion in Hitomi's words, and he looked away, rubbing his arm. "That you had a breaking point..."
Hinata reached out to lay his own hand atop Yuzuki's, the warmth and softness of his skin almost startling the older boy out of his role. "No, I - I know what you were trying to do. I know it's not easy for you, and... maybe I forgot that. I just got... overwhelmed." He chuckled bitterly. "Maybe a little... scared, I guess. Because I wanted it to be real, and - and then it was. It hit me. It was, and I didn't know what to do with it."
Yuzuki looked over to Hinata in sorrow, lacing their fingers together. "But, all the times I embarrassed you... you must've felt awful." He squeezed Hinata's hand. "Kenji, I... I never meant to hurt you. And then it hit me, how much I must have-"
"You didn't, Hitomi," Hinata interrupted passionately, biting at his lower lip. His free hand, trembling and clammy, stroked Yuzuki's face tenderly. "Don't talk about yourself that way, okay? When I realized how much you really cared for me... it... yeah, it scared me, but I felt like I could take on the world, too. I don't want to lose that..."
Yuzuki swallowed hard, cupping Hinata's chin and tilting his head up a little. "Y-you - you don't have to lose it," he managed, faltering a bit as he spoke. "I was scared I'd ruin what we had if you realized it, but... I just... I love you."
"Uhhh," Hinata stammered in stunned response to the three words that definitely weren't in the script. His eyes went large as his mind barely registered Yuzuki closing his eyes and leaning in, pressing their lips together gently. They stayed like that for a few moments, only the crickets and the river contributing any further noise to the occasion before he finally pulled back - both of them were wide-eyed in shock at what Yuzuki had just done, and the older boy looked away, gulping and fiddling with the end of his ponytail.
"I... may have taken things a bit too far," Yuzuki started in a tight voice, fully breaking them out of their rehearsal and heaving a heavy sigh - he didn't want to look over for Hinata's reaction. "I'm... so, so sorry, Hinata. That was... that was truly uncalled for."
Idly touching his lips and still feeling the tingling warmth from where Yuzuki had kissed him only seconds before, Hinata looked around - at the river, the streetlamps, Yuzuki, the script...
"H-huh?" he managed eloquently, his voice a helpless squeak. Deciding to try again, he lowered his voice, trying to force the words out: "Yuzuki, uhh... wh... who... who kissed who... j-just now...?"
Arms now wrapped around himself as if to ward off a chill, Yuzuki chanced a curious glance at Hinata, still feeling mortified and ashamed at what he'd just done. "'Who kissed who?'" he repeated, face twisted in confusion at the question.
Hinata nodded hesitantly, using all of his willpower to keep his eyes trained on his best friend. "Y-yeah, uhh... who...? Like... did... did Hitomi kiss Kenji just now, or... or... did you...?"
He found he couldn't finish the question - it had occurred right where the script said it should, but... the look in Yuzuki's eyes right before he'd moved in, the off-script "I love you," the way he was acting now...
"Who would you prefer it to have been?" Yuzuki whispered, rubbing anxiously at the crook of his neck and dreading the answer. "If... if you'd like, it... could've been Hitomi and Kenji... and that's all it'd ever have to be. If you can forgive me..."
The indirect confirmation sent Hinata's head spinning, and he fought to keep his knees from buckling. "Uhh," he managed hoarsely, "actually, I... I, uhh... ugh, God damn it," he groaned as he finally lost patience with his own uncharacteristic shyness, chucking the script to the ground and grabbing the front of Yuzuki's yukata to pull him in again.
The older boy let out a startled squeak and dropped his own copy of the script as he pitched forward from the unexpected action - though after the moment registered, he slid his eyes closed and let himself melt into the second kiss with a contented sigh, drawing Hinata into his arms. Fingers stroked at the nape of his neck and over his own hand, and he jolted a bit at the gentle yet insistent prodding against his lips - parting them with a faint whimper, he let Hinata's tongue slip in to eagerly explore his mouth, before returning the action much more slowly a few seconds later.
When they finally pulled apart, moonlit faces hot in the balmy April night and hazy eyes half-lidded, they panted and exchanged hesitant grins, Yuzuki trailing his fingers down the side of Hinata's face.
"...Hinata and Yuzuki?" he asked, smile widening at Hinata's nod.
"I, uhh... I don't think frenchin' each other's in the script," Hinata pointed out a little breathlessly, sharing a laugh with his best friend, "sooo... yeah, I'm thinkin' that that was totally Hinata and Yuzuki."
"Well... I certainly hope Aiko won't kiss you like that," Yuzuki agreed lightly, prompting them to both laugh again, and relaxing in the embrace they still held. His expression sobered once more, and he rubbed Hinata's shoulder. "You know, I was terrified all day today and yesterday that, well... you'd caught on to my feelings for you, and that it would..."
"...'Ruin what we had'?" Hinata quoted softly, sighing at Yuzuki's quiet reply of "Exactly." He chuckled a bit at this, rubbing his friend's back in a reassuring manner. "Man... that makes two of us."
At this, Yuzuki pulled back slightly, looking puzzled. "What? Howso?"
Now a bit self-conscious, Hinata cringed and looked away. "Well... y'see, uhhh... look, man," he sighed, "of course, I wanna go as far as I can with my actin'... but... I kinda also sorta went for that lead role because..." He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged sheepishly. "...I... wanted to really wow you. Y'know? Just - kept thinkin' of your face out there in the audience, watchin' me... hopefully fallin' for me..." He trailed off, clearing his throat and looking up at the moon in an effort to hide his embarrassment at the confession.
Yuzuki's heart swelled at this, and he didn't fight off the goofy grin breaking across his face. "Hinata... that wouldn't have worked," he admitted, the grin turning into a playful smirk. "Seeing as how I'd already fallen for you before then, that is. And... it may have partly been why I agreed to be Hitomi for you," he added awkwardly. "I guess... I saw an opportunity, and, well..."
To his credit, Hinata only grinned and shook his head at this, twinkling brown eyes locking with Yuzuki's. "Kinda figured, man. Glad you did, too - wasn't so bad, was it?"
"...Well," Yuzuki uttered after a moment, scratching his chin and shrugging. "I... suppose in this instance, circumstances being what they were, ahhh..." He trailed off at Hinata's impish smile, shaking his head haplessly. "...Well," he repeated, deciding to change the subject, "did it help your nerves any?"
Hinata scratched his cheek and hummed thoughtfully. "Mmm... a little, yeah. I mean, I'm feelin' like a billion fuckin' yen right now, lemme tell ya. But... to be honest," he went on, once Yuzuki's amusement at his words had tapered off some, "I seriously am still, like, legit jittery about it all... not you - damn, I'm happy about how that went. Just..."
Fingers trailing behind Hinata's ear, Yuzuki played with a stray lock of brown hair that had come loose from the younger boy's trademark trio of rattails. "That's normal... of course you'll be scared," he agreed, voice soft and reassuring. "But don't forget, we'll all be there, cheering you on from the audience, watching you wow everyone..."
"Yeah," Hinata muttered, a spark of confidence flashing in his eye at these words.
"And," Yuzuki continued with a cheeky click of his tongue, "of course, I'll be backstage after the show to congratulate you on another fantastic performance."
With a devious little laugh, Hinata flashed him a mischievous look. "Yeah?" he repeated huskily. "Soooo... you got a sneak preview of how you're gonna congra-mmm...!"
Even though his question had been cut off early by another long, slow, deep kiss from Yuzuki - whose lips were now gently pecking a trail up the side of his neck and drawing out soft gasps from him before their mouths met again - Hinata didn't mind in the least, beaming like a goon when they finally pulled apart once more.
"...Or I could just bring you a bouquet of flowers, if you'd prefer," Yuzuki teased lightly, after catching his breath.
"I... I... both? Whatever's good for you, dude," Hinata mumbled dumbly, still dizzy with elation. Letting his giddy mind come back down to Earth, he cracked another devilish grin, snickering. "Man. And we didn't even get around to practicing the part where Kenji and Hitomi fu-"
He was cut off as a now-flustered Yuzuki - who was nonetheless laughing with him at the remark - snatched up one of the dropped scripts from the ground and smacked him with it.