Isogai Yuuma laid across his best friend's couch, paying only half attention to the game show on TV. Maehara was playing some sort of game on his phone, if the soft beeps and music were any indication. Isogai scrolled through his phone, swiping through old photos and memories. Today was originally intended to be a study day, but after the whole God of Death thing, they both agreed they needed a break.
Maehara let out a bark of laughter, catching Isogai's attention. "What is it?"
"They're gossiping about you in the group chat."
"What?" Isogai said, exiting out of the photostream app. Sure enough, there were 24 unread texts in his phone. He groaned, opening the app up.
Mimura:
I mean, it's not like any of the girls are spoken for or anything.
Okajima:
I call dibs on Yada!
Kimura:
You can't just call dibs on a girl, Okajima. That's not how it works.
Okajima:
I'll make it work, you'll see!
Takuya:
Isn't Kataoka spoken for though?
Sugaya:
That's right, aren't our class reps going out?
Isogai groaned, rolling over. These rumors seemed to surface every few weeks or so. It was annoying. Yes, he and Kataoka spent a lot of time together and yes they were good friends, but hadn't his classmates ever heard of being professional? It wasn't like there were rumors about Sugino and Nagisa or anything.
"That's not….that's not what our relationship is," Isogai whined, "We're both class reps, of course we spend a lot of time together." Maehara laughed.
"It's not like you have any evidence contrary." Isogai scowled, typing.
Isogai:
Kataoka and I are not dating. I'm not interested in her.
Sugino:
You make it sound like you are interested in someone. Who is it?
Kimura:
Yeah! We never see you participate in these chats, c'mon! We wanna know!
His fingers hovered over the keyboard, wondering if he should type out the truth. It would kill the Kataoka rumors pretty quickly, at least. At this point, he knew the boys well enough, that he didn't they'd judge him, at least. He quickly typed out the message, hitting send before he could think better of it.
Isogai:
No one, I'm gay.
Maehara outright laughed. "Never thought you'd out yourself via group text."
"Yeah, well, after the last few days, I'm finding it more and more pointless to keep secrets, you know?"
"Yeah, I get you. I couldn't imagine you getting in front of the class and telling everyone anyway," Maehara said with a wave. Isogai nodded, mutely turning back to his phone. The group chat was going nuts.
Okajima:
Holy shit dude, seriously?!
Sugino:
What?!
Mimura:
Since when?
Kimura:
Wait, wait, does this mean you and Maehara are…?
Isogai sighed. Of course, he killed one rumor, only to create a new one. He knew that the speculation would begin the second he outed himself, but he didn't think it'd be that quickly. His fingers pressed against the screen as he typed out the denial. A familiar name popped up on the screen.
Maehara:
Yeah, we're dating.
"What the hell, Hiroto!?" Isogai exclaimed, bolting up. Maehara gave him a mischievous grin that he absolutely did not like. "What's this all about?!
"Wouldn't it be fun if we pretended to date for a little while?"
"No!" Isogai protested. Where the hell did his friend get this idea anyway?! Maehara adjusted his position on the armchair so that he was sitting upright,
"Well, think of it this way. You and I both know that there are going to be rumors, right?" Isogai kept his gaze level, hoping that Maehara made his point and quickly. "Well, what if we pretend to date for a little while, and then break up like a month later? We'll just say it didn't work out and then we can return to our normal friendship. Then BAM, the rumors are gone and it's like nothing ever happened. It's the perfect plan!"
"Except about that part where we have to date for a few weeks," Isogai hissed, "Do you even think things through?!" He took a deep breath, taking the moment to compose himself. He continued after a beat. "You could've at least asked me beforehand." Maehara blinked.
"Sorry, Yuuma," he said softly, "How about you think of it like this, it's deception training!"
"Deception training?" Isogai repeated incredulously.
"Yeah! No offense, dude, but you're not exactly the greatest at deceiving people. This way, you can get practice in, we stop the rumors between us, and we get to have fun messing with our friends."
"You get to have fun messing with our friends," corrected Isogai.
"Same difference." He was not happy about this development.
"We're going to have to do couple things, you know. We can't get around that. We'll have to hold hands and share bentos, and…" Isogai trailed off, going a little pink, "…and kiss."
"It's not like we haven't held hands before, and we share our bentos every day anyway."
"We held hands back in elementary school!"
"Yeah, that wasn't too long ago," Maehara dismissed, "And it's not like Bitch-sensei doesn't kiss people every day. It's just kissing." It's just kissing to you! Isogai wanted to correct. He was sure that his friend sometimes forgot that they were at two totally different experience levels when it came to romance. Was his best friend going to be his first real (not-Bitch-sensei) kiss? If this went on like Maehara was planning, then it definitely sounded like it.
Isogai spared a glance down at his phone and blinked. It was exploding with text messages. It looked like Maehara's declaration had made its way over to the girls, if the 14 texts from Okano and Kataoka were any indication. He groaned. Even if he denied it, they wouldn't believe him. Maehara had really dug a hole for him…
"Yuuuummmaaa," Maehara whined, "C'mon, let's do it." Isogai threw his head back and groaned. He really didn't have a choice in the matter. Maehara had already admitted to it, who was going to believe him if he said that Maehara was lying?
"Fine, we'll start fake dating. But only for two weeks, okay?" Maehara brightened.
"Deal!" He exclaimed. Isogai fell back on the couch, replying to the number of texts he'd received. He glanced over at Maehara, who was enthusiastically doing the same thing. Isogai sighed, sending the first text out. At least this would be over soon enough. It was just two weeks, he could manage that.
Right?
The next morning, Isogai faced his best friend with a tinge of pink on his cheeks (which seemed to be permanently attached to his face whenever he thought about what they were doing). Maehara greeted him with a grin.
"Good morning, Yuuma," he greeted. Somehow, his face got redder the second he faced his friend. They were (fake) boyfriends now. Today was going to be…interesting.
"Morning, Hiroto."
"Are you ready for the day?" he said, linking his arm with Isogai's.
"I'm not sure," he answered truthfully, "I dunno if I'm ready to face everyone yet." It wasn't just about the whole (fake) dating his best friend thing (that was on a whole different level of unprepared), but he had come out over the weekend. That wasn't a small step for anyone. Would they accept him? Would they pretend like it had never happened? Maehara gave him a reassuring smile.
"Well, you know I'll be here if you need anything, okay?"
"Yeah," Isogai said softly, "I know, Hiroto." He had been the first person Isogai had told about his sexuality, and he had been the first person to assure Isogai that nothing would change. Isogai couldn't even begin to describe how grateful he was. He had briefly feared that their relationship would change, that Maehara wouldn't want to be his friend anymore.
Although, he thought, he didn't expect this either.
"Yuuma," Maehara said gently, holding out his hand, "We're getting closer to the school now."
"Y-yeah," Isogai said, taking his friend's hand and intertwining their fingers together. Isogai heart pounded and his stomach was flipping. What were his classmates going to say? For all intents and purposes, to them, they were dating.
Isogai had never had a boyfriend (or girlfriend) before. He had never found it necessary, nor had he ever found anyone that he had been interested in seeing. He would've been perfectly happy ending middle school working hard, enjoying time with his friends, and having fun with his class. Romantic relationships were never intended to be a part of that. No, he corrected himself, romantic relationships with his best friend were never intended to be a part of that.
Although, the warmth radiating from Maehara's hand was comforting. It helped control his nervous trembling, at the very least.
"Yuuma," Maehara said, noticing Isogai's discomfort, "Are you alright?"
"I'm nervous," he said simply, "Hiroto, I've never dated anyone before. Let alone fake dated. I don't know how I'm supposed to act. But now I'm pretending to date someone, who just so happens to be my best friend. Not only that but now the class knows I'm gay and it's just so…" Maehara shushed him, placing his index finger on Isogai's lips.
"Just follow my lead," Maehara said, giving Isogai's hand a reassuring squeeze, "We don't have to do anything you're uncomfortable with." Isogai took a deep breath. It did help to know that Maehara was on his side. "Just remember, Yuuma, this is an exercise in deception."
Right, an exercise in deception, that's all it was.
"Should we call each other by our given names?" Isogai asked. Maehara hummed in thought.
"If you want," he said after a beat, "Although, it might be fun to slip-up in casual conversation. Could you imagine everyone's faces?"
"I bet I'll be seeing a lot of shocked faces soon," Isogai muttered to himself. Maehara pulled Isogai in so that they were just a little bit closer.
"Just remember, Yuuma, relax." Yeah, easier said than done. They continued their walk in comfortable silence, despite Isogai's uncontrollable nervousness. Their footsteps drew them closer to the school. Isogai steeled himself for his classmates.
Kurahashi was the first person to spot them. Isogai's pulse raced when he saw her jaw drop and eyes go wide. Maehara gave Isogai another squeeze. Isogai took a deep breath, he had to confront this eventually.
"Isogai-kun! Maehara-kun!" She greeted, "Are the rumors true!?" Isogai felt his face heat up, and he turned towards Maehara for support.
"Yeah," Maehara said, "We're dating." Isogai's heart pounded as she sized up the two. After a beat, she gave them a smile.
"I'm happy for you two!" she said genuinely. Isogai let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "You two make a cute couple."
"Thank you," Maehara said. She jumped as her phone started beeping.
"Ah! I gotta run ahead, the caterpillars I've been following should be emerging from their cocoons soon!" She ran off, her school bag dragging behind her. Maehara let out a chuckle.
"That wasn't too bad, was it, Yuuma?" Isogai shook his head. It had gone better than he had expected. With growing confidence, they began to greet their classmates. To Isogai's delight, everyone had kind words of support for them (despite many looks of disbelief).
"Maehara, tell me it's not true!" Okajima dramatically cried.
"I'm afraid it is, Okajima," Maehara replied, equally as dramatic, "I'm in a relationship with Isogai." He slinked his arm around Isogai's waist, pulling him in. Tears ran down Okajima's face.
"We've lost a good man today," he whispered to himself, turning around, "We've lost a good man. Now who am I going to oogle over Girls Weekly with?" Maehara patted his back.
"Just because I'm dating a guy doesn't mean we can't look over the girls together," Maehara assured. Isogai rolled his eyes. They were ridiculous.
"Do you really mean that?" Okajima asked spinning around, his eyes sparkling.
"Of course I do, dude," he said, using his one free hand to fist bump his friend. "You're okay with it, right Isogai?"
"So long as you guys aren't harassing girls, I'm alright with it," he said. He had gotten an earful from Kataoka after she discovered their plans with Itona's robot. He didn't feel like repeating that. Why the class thought he was Maehara's keeper, he didn't know (he kind of was though, not that he'd admit that).
"That's great to hear, man! I was so worried! I'll see you Saturday then!" Okajima said enthusiastically. Isogai watched Okajima run off to go tell Itona about this development. Isogai shook his head. He should probably be concerned about these three, but that was a worry for another day. He took a deep breath, catching a bit of Maehara's scent. They hadn't been this close since they were kids. It was kind of nice to be able to experience that again. The weight of Maehara's hand on his waist wasn't too bad either. Comfortable, even.
Maybe this wouldn't be too bad.
"Your request has been heard by the director of operations and he has agreed," Karasuma told them, "Should any assassins successfully kill the target through your endangerment, the bounty will not be paid." There was scattered cheering through the class. Isogai gave a small smile, he had been the one to write the request. He was glad to see it had resonated with the director. There was no reason their lives should be at risk for something like this.
Karasuma closed his eyes. "What happened with the God of Death was unacceptable. He should have never passed our defenses and it never should have escalated to the point it did. Both Irina-sensei and I were too distracted to realize what was happening and that is our fault." He bowed. "I ask that you forgive us." It was silent for a moment before he straightened himself. "We will be taking precautions to assure that this doesn't happen again. Thank you for listening."
"We never blamed you," Kataoka said, "It was bound to happen eventually."
"Yeah, Karasuma-sensei, you did your best," Kurahashi added, "Even Bitch-sensei did something!"
"What's that supposed to mean, brat?!"
"Yeah, we're just glad we all got out safely," Isogai said, acutely aware of how the class was clinging to every word he said. It was bizarre to be the center of gossip. "We're also very happy that our letter made it up to your superiors. Thank you for saving us." There was agreement from the class. Karasuma mutely nodded.
"I appreciate that," he said genuinely. He looked back at the other two teachers. "I believe I have taken up enough of your time. I will see you in a few hours for PE." He exited the classroom with Bitch-sensei not too far behind. Man, they had some pretty great teachers…
Koro-sensei slithered up to the front of the class, his notes for the day in hand. Their octopus teacher hadn't confronted them at all today, which meant that he was probably still in the dark about Maehara and him. He didn't particularly mind, he wasn't sure he was ready for Koro-sensei's inevitable freak out.
"Before I begin class, I just wanted to say I'm very proud of you all for working together. In the face of a challenge, you guys didn't step back or falter. You never left anyone behind. I can't be happier!" He flailed his tentacles around. "So let's work together towards this assassination!" The mood lifted as they listened to his words. They could feel the doubts of the last few days fall away. Yes, the God of Death was scary, but they had survived, and it was time to forward again. There was no point on dwelling in the past. "Tomorrow, we're going to go over career counseling, so keep that in mind and think about what you'd like to do!"
Career counseling? Yeah, it was about that time, now that he thought about it. They were rapidly approaching the second trimester final exams…and their last chance to leave Class E. He gave Maehara a side-long glance. His friend had his brows furrowed in concentration. Isogai had barely thought about his career aspirations, he was sure Maehara was twice as lost as he was. If he had time, he would have to talk to his friend on his thoughts after school today.
He had no disillusions about the fact that they probably wanted very different things in life and might have to separate one day. Before Isogai was dropped down to Class E, they had made plenty of promises to hang out with each other, despite the class difference. Then one thing led to another and they were together anyway.
"Isogai-kun, why don't you start the reading?" Koro-sensei called, snapping Isogai out of his thoughts.
"Certainly," he said, finding the first passage. Yeah, it would be nice if they could stay together a little longer…
Maehara pushed his chair to Isogai's desk, as they had done a hundred times before. Only this time, every single eye was on them. Isogai felt heat rush to his cheeks (he hoped he could get that under control soon, it was getting annoying).
"What'd you bring today?" Maehara said, ignoring the numerous gazes on them.
"I made a bento," Isogai said, "It has the usual, rice, egg, vegetables, and a little bit of pork. You?"
"My mom packed a simple lunch. A sandwich, vegetables, some chips, and an onigiri. Is that your tonkatsu?"
"Yeah," Isogai confirmed. Before he could say another word, Maehara's chopsticks were in his bento, taking a piece of the pork. "Hey!"
"Your tonkatsu is my favorite," Maehara said, his mouth still full of his bento. Isogai couldn't bring himself to actually be mad. He should have predicted this.
"I'll bring extra next time I make it," he promised, "Can I have some of your chips?" Maehara cracked open the small bag, letting Isogai take a few out. They fell into their usual rhythm quickly. Maehara would make a small joke, he would laugh. Isogai would try and take their discussion back to school, with only marginal success. He was somewhat relieved that their apparent "dating", wasn't going to change everything too much.
At least, until the looming figure of a blonde was over their desk.
"Alright, you guys, we've tried to be patient. But I can't wait any longer. Spill," Nakamura said, sitting on the desk next to his. The soft chattering of the class was silenced. Were they really that interesting?
"What do you mean?" Isogai asked.
"Don't play dumb, Isogai-kun. You know what this is about," she said, "When did you two start dating?"
"A few weeks ago," Maehara said smoothly, "We just didn't want to tell anyone." Maehara had broken up with his last girlfriend about six weeks ago, which meant they would have started "dating" around three weeks after that. The timeline worked (Isogai was impressed).
"Why not?" she pushed.
"Because we knew you guys would make this a spectacle," Maehara said dryly, picking at his vegetables. Nakamura probably got the hint, but didn't seem to care either way.
"So why did you guys decide to go public now?" Fuwa asked.
It was Isogai that responded, "After everything that had happened, I found it pointless to continue keeping secrets. Maehara and I being in a relationship felt so small after we almost died." It wasn't entirely a lie, but it was scary how easily these half-truths fell from Isogai's mouth.
"Hmm," Nakamura said, rubbing her chin, "So when did you guys, you know, figure it out?"
"Well~," Maehara started, "It was a few weeks ag-"
"Actually, we don't have to tell them, Maehara," Isogai interrupted firmly. There was protesting through the classroom. He really didn't want to hear what ridiculous story Maehara would come up with. Especially not one that his classmates would takes as fact.
"Oh, come on, Yuuma!" Maehara whined. There were a few scattered gasps at the familiarity. "It's a funny story!" Isogai doubted the story he was going to tell was going to be nice. They should at least agree on one before he went and made something up.
"I'd rather not, Hiroto." Isogai crossed his arms, letting him know that this decision was final. As his (fake) boyfriend, he should respect his decisions. A little softer, he added, "Maybe later."
"Alright," he said. The blond turned back to Nakamura. "Anything else you'd like to pester us with?" She stood up, rubbing her chin.
"Hmm," she started thoughtfully.
"We don't mean to pester you," Okano interjected, "It's just you're the first two in the class to say that you're dating, and it's two guys." Isogai felt a little defensive. So what if they were two guys? "Not just that, but it's our respectable class rep and his less than respectable best friend."
"Hey!" Maehara protested.
"What she's trying to say is that of course we're interested," Yada continued. When did these girls surround his desk?
Kataoka jumped in, "We're also so glad that you guys finally figured it out. We were wondering when you'd crack through your dense skulls and just kiss already." Isogai was careful not to let the confused look show on his face. What did she mean by that? A quick glance at Maehara told him that he was wondering the same thing.
"Yeah, it took a long time to sort out our feelings," Isogai lied, "But we were lucky that it all managed to fall into place."
"Ehhh?!" A loud voice cried, "Isogai-kun and Maehara-kun are dating?!" Isogai froze. Oh no. A familiar octopus was crawling through the window. He was carrying snacks that he had picked up at some far away destination. So much for not making it a big deal.
"Yeah," Isogai said weakly, "We're dating."
"EH?! But this isn't what I had planned out!" he cried dramatically, flipping through his files at mach speed. Isogai really didn't want to know what was in those.
"Sometimes love doesn't work the way you expect it to, sensei," Nakamura said wisely, as if she hadn't spent the last ten minutes trying to get details on their relationship. At least she had kept her questioning relatively tame. Given how much of a trouble-maker and gossip she could be, she could've been worse.
"Yuuma and I started dating a few weeks ago," Maehara repeated for the sake of their confused sensei. "We told everyone yesterday."
"And you didn't tell sensei immediately!?" Koro-sensei started comically crying, patting his tears with a handkerchief. "Why don't you trust me?!" Isogai laughed nervously. Maehara reached back to caress his hand, giving him some strength. He was glad they were in this together.
They left the school grounds that afternoon holding hands. Isogai felt accomplished. They had survived the class's (and Koro-sensei's) questioning, and he was slowly becoming used to the idea of (pretending to) date.
"So what did you think of our first day officially together?" Maehara prompted.
"It wasn't too bad," Isogai said honestly, "Not much was different."
"Hmm, I guess it wasn't," Maehara mused, "Although I could have done without the class's questioning."
"I understand what you mean. What do you think Kataoka meant by us 'finally figuring it out'?"
"I dunno. I guess there were rumors about us before this?" He shrugged. Isogai was strangely reassured, his best friend was just as much in the dark as he was. Isogai felt blood rush to his cheeks as he voiced the thoughts that had been following him since lunch.
"Hiroto, I-I'm actually glad you did this with me. I don't know if I could have handled being the center of attention like that on my own."
"And it's a lot of fun!" Maehara added, "Did you see Koro-sensei's face when he learned we were dating?" Isogai chuckled at the memory.
"Yes, although I did not appreciate the following twenty minutes of questioning and dejected mumbling. I think he wanted to be the one to set up the class's first couple."
"Eh, he'll get over it," Maehara shrugged. He pulled Isogai in closer, their shoulders brushing each other. "He can't win all the time."
"I suppose not," Isogai said, not quite minding their closeness. They stopped at their usual intersection. It was time for Maehara to go home and Isogai to go to work. Their hands untwined after a beat.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Maehara said.
"Sometime tomorrow we should come up with a backstory for how we started dating. We should also talk about the career counseling thing."
"That's not a bad idea," Maehara agreed, "I'll message you tonight, okay?"
"Yeah, that sounds good." It was with a moment's hesitation that Isogai started to move away. Before he knew it, Maehara's lips pecked his own, and then his best friend was off. Isogai realized belatedly that a couple of straggling students were behind them.
His best friend had stolen his first (real) kiss!
What the hell?!
Isogai wouldn't call himself a romantic, but he'd expected his first kiss to be a little more, you know, romantic. Not a peck in the middle of an intersection on his way to work! That was about as unromantic as you could possibly get! Where did Maehara get off?! He silently fumed a bit as he stomped his way to work.
And what sort of trick did Maehara use to make his lips feel so warm afterwards?
