Byakuya Togami found himself in a strange situation. The kind of situation where it wasn't even really a situation, but actually more of a predicament. And the truly odd part was that it wasn't even entirely unexpected and that that, somehow, made it even weirder. It was a circumstance that intrigued him, as much as it confused him.
You see, Makoto Naegi just so happened to have a huge crush on the heir. And, the heir, in question, just so happened to be, completely, aware of this fact.
But, what really made it strange was the fact that not only was he a guy, and almost a friend of his, but that he wasn't exactly the opposite of a viable option. Byakuya knew that Toko wasn't for him, and he'd known that the second he'd laid eyes on her. Her... fascination with him repulsed him, to say the least. But, Makoto, Byakuya had to admit, had his charms
And, that's why it was so strange. He had absolutely no idea how to go about dealing with it. Makoto may not've told him, directly, but the commoner's feelings were, painfully, obvious. Whether it was those little blushes, of his, or the fact that he always tried to hang out with Byakuya, despite clear dismissals, that tipped him off, he wasn't sure. But, he had absolutely no doubt that Makoto was into him.
Byakuya, on the other hand, was completely and totally unsure of his feelings. He'd considered everything more than once, but he'd come up short every single time.
So, it was strange whenever he spoke to Makoto, because every time they saw each other, in class, or lunch, or the hallways, Makoto looked closer to revealing his feelings. Now, it's true that maybe that part was just in his head, but it still, honestly, scared Byakuya. And, nothing scared Byakuya Togami.
Well, except, it seemed for Makoto Naegi, and his positively foolish crush.
It annoyed Byakuya to no end that Makoto's love life had ever entered his thoughts. That idiot had, stupidly, allowed himself to fall for him, and that was not his problem. Yet, here he was, sitting in the Hope's Peak library, not having read a single word of his book.
As usual, he'd skipped lunch, and headed up to the library. Byakuya would never eat cafeteria food, even if the Ultimate Cook, himself, had prepared it. And, the idea of reheating food just nauseated him. So, he'd, easily, opted out of having lunch with his classmates.
Anyway, the library was his safe space. It was safe from disgusting food, and intolerable people, as anyone who found themselves entering the library would, quickly, wish that they hadn't. The only thing Byakuya wasn't safe from were his own pointless thoughts, about Makoto of all people.
No matter what book he read, it couldn't hold his attention. Byakuya prided himself on being able to put aside idiotic things like feelings, memories, and impulses. And, still, Makoto filled his thoughts.
The worst part was that he didn't even have a crush on the luckster. If that was the case, at least he could admit it, and go from there. But, he didn't, so he was stuck trying to figure out what to do with the boy who had a crush, on him.
He didn't have long to think about it, however, as the end of lunch bell sounded within the next minute. So, he sighed, grabbed his stuff, and headed to his last class of the day, leaving his book behind. It wasn't like it had really mattered, anyway.
Quickly, Byakuya got to class, and realized, disappointedly, that Makoto was present. He couldn't even get two seconds, to himself, what with Toko practically stalking him, and Makoto staring at him for uncomfortably long periods of time. Byakuya deserved, at least, a single class period where he didn't have to question his sexuality. It was high school, not some dating sim.
Not that he played dating sims, or knew what they were about, of course.
Sighing again, Byakuya strode over to his seat, which just had to be right in front of Makoto. How lucky.
Within a moment, he heard that slightly nasally, slightly rough, and incredibly peppy voice that he knew far too well, for his liking. "Hey, Byakuya!"
If he were honest with himself, he kind of liked Makoto's voice. Something about it just incited a level of anticipation that Byakuya never really felt, for anything. It was a strange joy that he couldn't wrap his head around. But, he supposed that that didn't really matter, since it wasn't like he would ever actually say that. Instead, he went with a more generic greeting.
"Hello, Makoto," he said, faking more contempt than he really felt.
In response, the shorter boy leaned forward, putting his elbows on the desk, to move close enough that Byakuya could see him, if he just turned his head a little bit. Byakuya's pride told him not to, but, despite himself, he turned to look at Makoto, soon finding himself face-to-face with eyes he wasn't sure if he wanted to stare into forever, or never see again.
"You know," Makoto began, "It wouldn't kill you have lunch, with everyone, just once."
Byakuya considered just dismissing him, but the idea of toying with Makoto brought him a small smile: one of his signature cocky grins.
"You can't possibly know that. Maybe I'd just combust. Do you really want that on your conscience, Makoto?" Byakuya shook his head, in mock disappointment, "And, here I'd thought you were a good person. I must've been mistaken. My apologies."
Makoto let out a cross between a scoff and a laugh. "You're a jerk," he said, smiling, "Just know there's always a spot for you, okay?"
Though Makoto's words and expression were casual, they held a sincerity that stunned Byakuya. For a moment, he just stared at the boy before him, all the while internally cursing him for being such a peculiar case. Quickly regaining his composure, he cleared his throat and pushed his glasses up further onto the bridge of his nose.
"I'm sure," Byakuya said, cooly, hoping that his sudden change of tone wouldn't arouse suspicion.
Luckily, Makoto wasn't exactly the brightest (or he at least had the decency not to comment on it), and he instead just let it go, opting to flash another quick smile before settling back into his seat. Though the smile gave Byakuya a pause he couldn't quite explain, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Byakuya decided, then, that crushes were exhausting, especially when you weren't the one with the crush. At least Toko didn't really actively attempt to talk to him (and he could shut her up if she did), so that was, he supposed, something he enjoyed about Toko. But, he still wasn't a fan of nearly everything else about her. In her defense, however, he didn't really like anything about anyone.
Makoto was no exception. He, too, was annoying, and his exhausting levels of joy and optimism were really a bit much. Sure, he wasn't a bad conversationalist, and he was conventionally attractive (to another commoner), but he didn't have much going, for him. And, that's why his little crush was even more annoying, because he was so adamant about shooting for someone so far above him.
Byakuya knew that he would have suitors. Being rich and good-looking and cultured, it was to be expected. But, a schoolgirl and a lovesick boy? They weren't, exactly, what one would classify as suitors, yet they were who he was stuck with.
Letting out his third sigh of the day, Byakuya stared at the door, willing the teacher to walk in.
He couldn't be that lucky, however.
"Are you okay, Byakuya?" asked Makoto, so sweetly and caringly that it made Byakuya want to groan.
"Yes, Makoto, I'm fine," Byakuya replied, curtly.
That didn't shake the boy off, however, and he actually built up enough courage to put a hand on Byakuya's shoulder. Surely it was some kind of comfort, but the sudden weight, and softness of his grip surprised Byakuya enough that he nearly jumped out of his skin, and whipped his head around, to look at Makoto.
In response, Makoto removed his hand the way one would pull their hand away from a hot pan, his eyes widening and, quickly, sputtering out an apology. "Ah, I- I'm sorry, I just- I wanted to-"
Byakuya's eyes narrowed. "You wanted to what, Makoto? Attempt to console me, after I already told you that I was fine?"
Makoto gulped, as his eyes instinctively closed, for a second, and then opened one hesitant eye, letting out a nervous laugh. "Yes?"
Seeing Makoto so worried, Byakuya, suddenly, felt the urge to apologize to him. Though it was Makoto who had crossed a line, for some reason, Byakuya felt almost bad for the nervous wreck of a boy, before him. Maybe it was pity that he was feeling, but whatever it was aggravated him.
Electing to take the high road, and not let Makoto see that he had gotten under his skin, he let out a breath, and focused on releasing the tension, in his shoulders. Then, staring at Makoto with eyes he was certain had lost their edge, he said, almost under his breath, "That's fine. Just don't let it become a regular occurrence."
Makoto looked back at him, eyes filled with curiosity, and an unasked question hanging on his lips. Don't let what become a regular occurrence? Comforting you, or touching your shoulder?
And, Byakuya was glad that it remained unasked, because he really wasn't sure of the answer.
"Uh, sure, Byakuya. I'll be more careful not to overstep my bounds," Makoto said, instead, a hint of a blush on his face.
Makoto smiled, and Byakuya wished that he hadn't made everything awkward.
He considered saying something else, but then the teacher finally decided to show up, offering an apology that was accompanied with wild hand gestures. "Sorry, class. I had to reprimand a student, in the halls, and then a coworker had to run something by me," she said, before smiling, "But, I'm sure you enjoyed the free time, so it's no skin off my back."
Byakuya spun around, to face the teacher, Ms. Ajibana, noting that he had not enjoyed the free time.
"Anyway, since this is chemistry class, today we'll be testing the reactions of various organic peroxides," she said, jumping right into the lesson, "Please pair up. If you guys can't do it, yourselves, I will assign you partners."
Quickly, students made their way over to their "besties" (he loathed that word), and significant others, since the idiots around him never actually chose their partners based on how their abilities complemented each other, or how successful they'd be. Byakuya, for instance, felt that he and Kyoko worked fairly well, together, despite the obvious animosity between them. But, she appeared to have already begun making her way over to Chihiro.
He glanced, around the room, at the sea of faceless people. He briefly entertained the idea of working with Celeste, but remembered that she usually paired with Hifumi, likely since he'd do anything she asked of him, so she wouldn't have to actually do anything, herself. As she was, mildly, intelligent, it was a disappointment that she failed to utilize her brain.
Yasuhiro, Leon, and Sayaka were brain-dead losers, so he wrote them off, immediately, as no-go's. Mondo and Taka, and Hina and Sakura, had wasted no time in pairing themselves, together, so they, too, were not viable options.
Byakuya didn't even consider Mukuro, and Junko, since they not only hardly came to class, but they were also a bit… off, and he didn't trust them. Plus, they, usually, worked with each other, though Junko complained rather loudly the whole time.
Eventually, Byakuya's eyes fell on Makoto, who appeared to be in the same situation of being partnerless. "No way," he thought, internally.
He surveyed the room, again, and saw Toko, so boring and unimportant that he hadn't even noticed her, before. Part of him considered high-tailing it over to her, but the other part of him would, honestly, rather be forced to eat glass.
However, since he'd already ruled out Yasuhiro, there were only two ways this could go. He could pair with Toko, and Makoto could work with Yasuhiro. Or, he and Makoto could work together, and Toko could work with Yasuhiro. Byakuya frowned at both outcomes, and began to work out the pros and cons. Toko was highly intelligent, but she was very unproductive. Makoto was relatively smart, but he was also a bit dull, at times. And, Byakuya didn't love the idea of working with Makoto, after their less-than-pleasant last encounter.
Before he could come to a conclusion, his thought process was interrupted, by that peppy voice. "Do you wanna work together?"
Byakuya looked at Makoto, and felt his breath hitch. Makoto was looking back at him, but his smile really caught Byakuya's eyes. It was so warm, far too warm for a simple proposition about working together on some useless school project. As always, Makoto was unfailingly earnest, and Byakuya wondered if he said everything with such conviction.
Makoto waved a hand, in front of his face. "Hello? Earth to Byakuya. Do you want to-"
"Yes," Byakuya said, with more certainty than he'd intended to, cutting him off.
At that, Makoto, visibly, blushed and Byakuya watched as he attempted to laugh off the embarrassment, with a weak cough. However, despite his nervousness, he did look legitimately, happy, as he beamed.
"Okay, cool!" Makoto said, excitedly, briefly meeting Byakuya's gaze, and then quickly looking over at the teacher. Beginning to talk, pointedly, to Ms. Ajibana, he said, "Are we going to start, soon?"
She nodded, at him, and then skimmed the class. "Does everyone have a partner?"
"I d-don't have a p-partner," Toko called out, and then continued, muttering, "Probably because e-everyone thinks I'm so d-disgusting."
Ms. Ajibana tugged at her collar, as if to say "sheesh," but otherwise skipped over what Toko said. "If there's anyone else who doesn't have a partner, please raise your hand."
For a moment, nobody raised their hand, but then somebody elbowed Yasuhiro, and his hand shot up, followed by Toko's own meek hand slowly rising. The teacher gave a sympathetic smile, to Yasuhiro, and then looked at Toko, with the same expression. "We already know that you don't have a partner, dear. You don't have to raise your hand."
Toko, quickly, dropped her pale hand, moving it to her chest, as she grumbled something about airhead, big-breasted teachers. Of course, Byakuya hadn't really cared to listen.
As it seemed that Toko didn't intend on walking over to Yasuhiro, he made his way over to her. Once he'd done so, the teacher smiled, and asked that each group send up a representative to gather the supplies, for the experiment. For a moment, Makoto looked at Byakuya, but that idea was, quickly, shot down.
"I hope you don't think that I'll be the one getting the supplies," Byakuya said, no doubt in his voice, "Your legs are short, but they still work, don't they?"
Makoto opened his mouth as if to retort, but then scrunched up his face, and walked over to the front of the room, without complaint. Byakuya watched Makoto walk up, strangely fixated on the bouncing of his hair, and particularly, the ahoge that jetted out from the top of his head. It bobbed, as he walked, and for some reason, it made Byakuya smile. He found ahoges to be, generally, very childish, and he'd wanted to just push Makoto's down many times, but for reasons beyond him, it was also surprisingly charming.
Just as Byakuya began to kick himself for such a thought, Makoto walked back over, placing down a tray, various cylinders and tubes, and assorted instruments for measuring. "Luckily, I was able to get everything, in one trip," Makoto said, knowing that that wouldn't really matter to Byakuya, but sharing anyway.
"Do you want a trophy?" Byakuya asked, in the unamused tone he often sported.
Makoto bent his arms to put them at his sides, and then frowned, at Byakuya. "You could, at least, say thank you. That would be a nice thing to say."
Byakuya crossed his arms, staring at Makoto, with a mixture of interest and annoyance. "And, what, exactly, makes you think that I want to be nice?"
"Because you're not a bad person, Byakuya," Makoto said, seriously, "You're a bit... rough around the edges, but you're still my friend. And, I'd like to think that all my friends are good people."
And, at that, Byakuya was left wordless.
Makoto continued to surprise him. He so blindly and totally trusted everyone around him, and believed in them. It was a quality that a cynic like Byakuya hadn't possessed since he was a child, young and naive. But, Makoto wasn't an idiot, and he knew that the world wasn't perfect, but he still believed in it, hoping that everything would work out.
One day, that hope would probably get him killed. Yet, Byakuya still deemed it an admirable quality.
Makoto thought he was a good person, just like he thought everyone was a good person, on the inside. Byakuya wasn't really sure that that was true, but it was still interesting, to hear.
"Yes, well, that may be true, but you're basing it all on an assumption," Byakuya said, finally, "How can you be so sure that we're friends?"
In response, Makoto's mouth opened, and he tilted his head, like a dog. "What do you mean? Of course we're friends."
Byakuya found himself uncertain how to approach the subject. His mouth became a firm line, and after a moment of thought, he spoke. "I never signed off on that."
Makoto stared, at him, for a second, and then laughed. "Byakuya, you don't become friends with someone by filling out a contract. You just sort of like hanging out, together."
Byakuya frowned. Of course he knew what a friend was. He'd had many of them. "What, and you just assumed that I liked spending time, with you?"
Makoto looked contemplative, for a moment, and then replied, simply, "I guess I did, huh?"
The short reply shocked Byakuya, and he blinked. "I… yes you did."
Makoto smiled, shrugging his shoulders. "Well, if it's any consolation, I like hanging out, with you."
Although he already knew that Makoto liked him, hearing confirmation that Makoto found him even remotely tolerable gave him a disgustingly fuzzy feeling. Byakuya looked away, and said, slowly, "I suppose I don't hate most of our time, together."
Eventually, Byakuya moved his eyes to look back over, at Makoto, and found a dumbstruck expression, on Makoto's face, which quickly morphed into a wide smile. He moved his hands behind his back, falling into an almost shy pose. "That's good to hear," he said, honestly.
And then, Makoto looked at him with a level of admiration and joy that it almost made Byakuya forget how to breathe.
At that moment, the teacher decided to chime in, clearly sensing that she'd given her students a little bit too much time to settle in, "Guys, remember, this is a classroom, not a picnic, okay? I know you all want to go home, and I do, too, but we still have work to do."
Everyone in the class nodded, and soon enough, they got to work.
Byakuya found himself actually doing the experiment, while Makoto recorded data, jotted down notes, and made observations. While Byakuya figured that his handwriting was probably better, and that his notes and conclusions would be far more concise, Makoto wasn't entirely incompetent, in that aspect. He hadn't trusted him with the actual task, however, as his level of human error would far surpass Byakuya's near-perfection.
They worked, nearly silently, wanting not to be one of the groups that inevitably needed another class period. And, once they finished, a quick survey told them that they were the second group to finish, just behind Chihiro and Kyoko, which wasn't all that surprising, but still mildly annoyed Byakuya.
Toko and Yasuhiro appeared to be having a hard time, which also was not surprising, and the other groups seemed to be faring okay. So, while they worked, Makoto and Byakuya found themselves with nothing to do, for the remainder of the class period.
"I guess we finished a little too early," Makoto said, having made the same connections that Byakuya had, "But, that's not really a problem. It just means we work well, together."
Byakuya nodded. "Yes, we are a, relatively, efficient pair."
Makoto gave him an odd look, and then bit his lip. He looked around, and then took a breath, before looking back at Byakuya. "Hey, would you maybe want to hang out, after school?"
Byakuya raised an eyebrow. "Hang out?"
Makoto put his hands up, in mock surrender, and closed his eyes, for a second. "More like studying. You get math stuff a lot better than I do," he smiled, "And, if you're free, we could go to the library, or something?"
Byakuya wasn't an idiot, and he knew that Makoto's intent was not, solely, to study. But, what exactly, his intent was, Byakuya was unsure. Regardless, there was no specific reason for him, to decline. After all, they were… friends, weren't they?
"Lucky for you, I am not busy, this afternoon," he said, plainly, "We will, of course, be going to the upstairs library, as I have no desire to use public libraries."
Makoto nodded. "Yeah, that's fine," he paused, "So, when class ends, do you want to head there, together?"
"Don't you have a locker to get to?" Byakuya asked, not mentioning his own locker, but knowing that it was implied.
"Oh, well, I could always go to my locker, after. There's no rule saying that we have to go to our lockers, right after class," Makoto said, his voice light.
Byakuya considered opposing him, but figured that he'd already been on his case enough, throughout their conversations. "Yes, that's true. I'll walk with you, to the library."
Makoto smiled, and Byakuya decided that it was a shame that he didn't like him, back.
Then, the bell went off, and everyone in the class began to abandon their unfinished experiments. The teacher, frantically, began calling to the students who were, quickly, beginning to file out of her classroom. "Please, bring the materials back to the front, and hand in what work you've completed, so that I can begin to grade it! See you tomorrow!"
Makoto took the initiative and began collecting their papers, so that he could bring them up. However, Byakuya could tell that there was no way he'd be able to bring up their materials, and hold all of their papers. So, in a moment of kindness, Byakuya lifted up the tray, and piled whatever he could onto it.
He wasn't sure what compelled him to do so, but when Makoto gave him a thankful smile, he felt that it was the right decision. Together, they brought everything up, and offered a short goodbye, to the teacher.
Makoto practically ran back to his desk, and scooped everything up, haphazardly tossing all this things into his bag. He was practically bouncing, in place, as he waited for Byakuya to walk over, and gather his own things. Finding the situation amusing, Byakuya walked as slowly as he could over to Makoto, without Makoto realizing that it was on purpose.
When he finally made it over, he took his time, carefully putting all his assignments into his folders, and clicking things into his binders. If Makoto was annoyed, he didn't really show it, but Byakuya still felt like it was a bit of a win.
After a while, Byakuya was ready, and they began to walk to the library, Makoto looking like he was doing everything in his power to refrain from outright dragging Byakuya there.
The walk, itself, wasn't particularly special, but it was pleasant.
Byakuya wondered what the walk meant, to Makoto. Since Makoto liked him, he probably felt butterflies or whatever people with crushes felt. Byakuya couldn't be sure. Makoto was so simplistic in his ideals, and appearance, but somehow, he was incredibly complex. Byakuya had a hard time seeings things, as he did, even with a good grasp of his views.
One of the biggest things, about Makoto, that Byakuya couldn't wrap his head around, was the fact that he had a crush, on him. When he'd realized, it'd struck him as so very odd, and though he was completely certain, it seemed impossible.
Byakuya knew that he was a cold person, and that he wasn't very good with people, at least, on a personal level. So, the idea that a person so warm, so kind, could legitimately feel anything other than contempt, for him, just baffled him. Surely, Makoto had other prospects, and Byakuya figured that any of the girls in their class would, easily, go out with him, if Makoto chose to ask.
Of course, he could very well not be into women, at all. Byakuya wasn't sure how many options he had, if his only choices were men.
Byakuya glanced down at Makoto, and wondered again if he was enjoying their walk.
Eventually, they reached the library, and Makoto pushed open the wooden doors. Briefly, Byakuya considered that he should've been the one to open the door, for Makoto. And then, it was only a moment before they walked in, and plopped placed their stuff down.
Makoto took a moment to text his parents, telling them that he'd be coming home later. Byakuya knew that that was unnecessary, for him, as his father didn't care what time he came home.
"So, how should we do this? I'm not actually all that certain how to study for math," Makoto said, a bit embarrassed, as he sat down.
Byakuya made a "tsk" sound and, easily, came up with a method. "Just do your homework, as you usually would, and if you have any questions, ask me. Once you've finished, I'll look it over and tell you what you got wrong," he said, casually, "Surely you can comprehend that."
Makoto nodded, but then took on a confused expression.
Byakuya sighed. "Do I really need to explain it, further?"
Makoto put his hands out in front of him, waving away Byakuya's question. "No, I understood. It's just, don't you have your own homework to do?"
"I finished it in class," Byakuya answered, simply.
Makoto's mouth formed a small "o" and then he smiled, a faint blush crawling over his cheeks. He pulled out a pencil, and began working on the first question. As he was sitting across from Makoto, it was difficult to tell if Makoto was making errors. Specifically, it was difficult to read upside-down writing, even if he was Byakuya Togami. Since he couldn't be a great help, at his current angle, he opted to just wait until Makoto needed something, from him.
He considered getting up and grabbing a book, but decided that that would probably be rude. Although Byakuya didn't particularly care if people thought he was rude, he figured that there wasn't anything to be gained from burning bridges, especially with Makoto. Strangely, he was certain of that.
Byakuya focused on the scratching of Makoto's pencil, of his own soft breaths, and the swaying of his tie–his red, school-mandated tie. Really, he disliked the school uniforms, and their cheap fabric. He missed his signature tie. It was unique, and it was green, which was his favorite color. He knew that having a favorite color was a bit childish, but the color just spoke to him.
Byakuya recalled that Makoto had worn a green hoodie to school, before, and wondered if he was also a fan of the color.
"Okay, I really don't get this problem," Makoto said, interrupting Byakuya's thoughts.
He slid his notebook over to Byakuya, and pointed to the problem, in question, which he'd copied down in small, but legible handwriting.
"You're supposed to solve it the same way you solved problem three," Byakuya glanced at the answer he'd gotten for the third question, "...which you solved, correctly. So, you should have no problem, with this."
Makoto looked at it, again, frowning. But, within a second, his face lit up. "Oh, you're right! I didn't even notice that they followed the same pattern!"
They went on like that, for a while, Makoto piping up every little while, and Byakuya guiding him through problems. Makoto was a faster learner than Byakuya expected, and it surprised him how easily he picked up what Byakuya was saying, and how often he understood more than he'd originally thought.
Finally, after an amount of time that neither of them had kept track of, Makoto finished his work, and slid it, nervously, over to Byakuya. It wasn't like Byakuya would care, even if Makoto got every question wrong, but for some reason, Makoto still seemed uneasy.
Byakuya looked over his answers, and realized, almost proudly, that Makoto had gotten every single question right. He looked at Makoto, about to say just that, when he was again struck by the odd expression on Makoto's face.
"This is all completely accurate. I don't have to help you with any of these," Byakuya said, questioningly, "Why do you look so nervous? It's unbecoming."
Makoto's eyes widened, and then his face fell back into that expression, though he plastered a smile over it. "It's nothing, Byakuya."
Byakuya noticed that Makoto said nothing about the fact that he'd gotten all the answers right. He searched Makoto's face, for answers. He looked nervous, as if filled with some kind of anticipation, and worried, but also somehow excited. It looked like he was waiting for something.
It suddenly dawned on Byakuya that Makoto may not've been thrilled with the idea that his homework was perfect. That meant that there was no more justification for their after-school meeting.
At some point, Makoto met his gaze, and he realized something else. Makoto Naegi really wanted to kiss him.
And then, he wasn't sure what to do.
Though he didn't understand Makoto, he knew him well enough to know that he was probably just sitting there, trying to ignore the fact that Byakuya was right there. At this moment, Makoto was probably, slowly, calming himself down, telling himself that it would be crazy to just kiss someone, that Byakuya wouldn't be interested.
Part of him wanted to agree. He didn't feel the same, right? But, the other part of him was really curious as to what would happen if he did kiss him.
Knowing that the opportunity was quickly disappearing, Byakuya ignored all rational thought, and pushed forward, his lips meeting Makoto's own.
Makoto's eyes flew open, and, for a second, Byakuya feared that Makoto would pull away. But then, as Byakuya had, he ignored any internal objections, and kissed back. Despite how cheesy it was, Byakuya felt fireworks. It was unlike anything he'd felt, before, and he wanted nothing more than to keep feeling that way.
For a while, they stayed like that, kissing each other with reckless abandon.
Eventually, however, they parted, and Byakuya decided that his initial assumption about his feelings for Makoto were wildly inaccurate.
Once they'd separated, Byakuya found himself again looking into Makoto's eyes. And, this time, he was sure that he wanted to look into them, forever. He wasn't sure how he'd ever felt any different. Why had he spent so long thinking he felt otherwise?
"Byakuya, you just kissed me." Makoto began, out of breath, with his heart nearly beating out of his chest, "Can I ask why?"
Byakuya smiled. "Frankly, Makoto, I thought you'd be able to figure that out yourself."
"I could. But, I'd really like confirmation," Makoto replied, staring at him.
Byakuya leaned forward, so that he was almost close enough to kiss him, again. "Then, how's this for confirmation," he nearly whispered, "Makoto Naegi, will you be my boyfriend?"
Gulping, Makoto answered, softly, "Yes."
"Good," Byakuya said, before closing the distance, and kissing Makoto for the second time.
Byakuya decided then, though he'd known it all along, that he was glad his boyfriend liked him back.