14.
They don't dance around each other, though they really should. Rather, Ken worked all the harder to pretend it didn't happen, pretend Arata didn't look puzzled at most at his awkwardness. In his defense, Ken was garbage with physical contact. He and his brother weren't huggy like the Motomiya siblings were once a year, they had always been close with bubble wands and time spent in the same room.
He had no idea how this worked at all. These romantic things were far from his expertise. Also, Arata wasn't giving any hints himself. He seemed hellbent not to do it.
Then again it wasn't romantic to kidnap someone.
"You two are absolute garbage at sleuthing," Takumi tells them with the brightest bulb smile ever one day. "How can you get the truth if you don't talk?"
"You watch too much Detective shonen drama," Arata deadpanned.
"Doesn't make me any less right."
Arata scowled at him. He receives a winning smile and a cheerful forced volunteer to get juices before Takumi is gone. And they were left alone.
"Ass," he muttered.
"Quite," Ken agreed.
They sat in silence at their computers a few minutes more. "So," Ken finally said. "We should… talk about this."
"You first."
"How."
They both laughed at each other. "Ok, new plan," Arata decided. "Wing it. Because I have no idea what I'm doing and all of my friends are useless."
Ken nodded, all too eager to not talk about this and not do anything when anyone could be watching.
He didn't not have the crest of courage for nothing.