It was a fine day to be outside and so Kyousuke and Riki were spending some time together during lunch break. They sat at the base of a tree and talked for a while, soon reaching a lull in the conversation.
Kyousuke placed his hands behind his head and leaned back against the tree, closing his eyes and basking in the warmth with a contented smile. A soft "Huh?" reached his ears.
"Hm? Something wrong?" Kyousuke cracked an eye open. Riki was leaning in, his forehead scrunching up as he peered at a spot somewhere around Kyousuke's shoulder.
"On your neck." Riki sat back, regarding Kyousuke with a puzzled look. "It looks like there's some kind of bruise there."
"Oh." Kyousuke jolted, instinctively clapping a hand over the spot on his neck. Color rose in his cheeks and he swallowed. Damn, how careless of him, letting someone spot it. What was he supposed to do now?
It wasn't like he could tell Riki that Rin had got carried away yesterday evening during one of their secret meetings. Riki didn't know. Nobody knew. They weren't allowed to know. Kyousuke ground his teeth, feeling a flutter of panic. How was he going to explain this one? "That..."
Riki raised an eyebrow. "That isn't a love bite, right?"
The laugh Kyousuke forced out sounded hollow to his ears. "Don't be ridiculous. Who would even have given it to me in the first place?" A painful thump reverberated in his chest. He met Riki's stare, silently begging him to believe the lie.
"Well, you do have plenty of female admirers after all." Riki's mouth twisted in a wry smile. "But, yeah, I guess that can't possibly be it, huh?"
Kyousuke relaxed, a surge of relief coursing through his body. He let out a dry chuckle. "Yeah, of course not. I think it happened when I was picking something off the floor and I bumped against the desk."
"Right." Riki laughed. "That makes a lot more sense. After all, it's not like you have a girlfriend."
"No, of course not." Kyousuke averted his gaze.
"If you did end up getting a girlfriend, I'm sure you would tell us right away, wouldn't you?"
Kyousuke looked at Riki again, catching sight of the innocent smile on his face. A stab of guilt pierced his chest. Poor Riki, he was so clueless. He had no idea what was going on and there was no choice but to keep deceiving him.
"Of course I would." Kyousuke forced a smile of his own. He cast his gaze somewhere in the distance, wondering how many more lies he would have to tell. It wasn't easy, keeping secrets from his own friends. Especially Riki.
But what choice did they have?