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Day 18
Prompt #185: A Maze (500 words)
Song: EZFG – Unable to Deceive/"I Can't Do It" Scam

Characters: VY2 Yuuma, mentions of Gakupo and Kaito

(continued from chapter 3, to be continued in chapter ?)


Click-pop-hiss.

Click-pop-hiss.

Click-pop… click… click…

"Fuck."

Yuuma sighed, raking a hand down his face as his favorite lighter spluttered and died. He hadn't even had a chance to light a cigarette yet, having adamantly decided not to leave the hallway until Gaku and Kaito's class was over before feeding his nicotine addiction. But the continuous click-pop-hiss of his lighter had always been a source of comfort for him when he was wracked with nervous energy – something he was practically drowning in at the moment.

With one last forlorn look at his lighter, he tucked it back into his pocket and tugged the beanie from his head to ruffle jittery fingers through his hair.

Goddamnit, they'd screwed up.

It was hard sometimes, he mused sardonically, to remember that not everyone had the same level of familiarity that he and Gaku shared. The pair of them had grown up together, started officially dating in high school, and had become so comfortable around one another over the years that it was impossible to recall a time when they hadn't been close. There was never an awkward phase when it came to their relationship, not even when Yuuma nearly botched their first kiss by accidentally mashing their noses together.

But now, with Kaito, Yuuma was beginning to realize the extent of his romantic ineptitude.

He was so used to just being in a relationship that he'd never quite noticed he didn't know how to properly start one – especially when polyamory was thrown into the mix. He and Gakupo had talked about it before, of course; back when they were teenagers they had discussed the possibility of an open relationship and agreed that they were perfectly fine with it so long as everyone involved was consenting. But no one back then had ever really caught their eye and after a few years it became a sort of quiet understanding that they'd only bring in a third if they were both interested in the same person. Again, that hadn't happened.

…Until Kaito.

Kaito had been the first person he and Gaku had ever found themselves attracted to at the same time. With a personality that could brighten even the stormiest of days and a surprisingly sultry side that Yuuma was certain Kaito was unaware of, it had taken less than a month of knowing him before both Yuuma and Gaku were already stepping into "smitten" territory. Six months in, and they were goners.

Kaito had seemed receptive to their subtle flirting, too – it hadn't gone unnoticed the way he kept staring at Yuuma's hips or how his eyes glazed over at the sound of Gaku's laugh. So they'd waited for him to make a move and gently tried to convey their own interest as well.

Except Kaito had never spoken up and now he might not be speaking to them at all.

A sick feeling gnawed at Yuuma's gut and he wished – not for the first time – that he could drag himself away for a smoke.


So I never did actually finish that daily writing challenge I set out to do last September. But hey! I'm not in the middle of a move this time, and today marks the spot where I paused the challenge last year, so I figured why not finish what I started?

I said this on my AO3 (same author pseud~) but I'll put it here, too: this particular story arch will be continued in another prompt because I want that sweet, sweet happy ending, but on the very real chance that I run out of prompt days to properly wrap this up, I may very well turn this into its own separate fic as well. That way I can flesh it out more and take my time with it.
More than likely it would only wind up being a few chapters at most, but I would still love to do this budding polyamorous romance a bit more justice.