Sorry this one's a bit short; it's mostly set up for the next chapter. I hope you like it anyway!

"Hmm…" Akoya gazed at articles lining the wall with a fisted hand pressed against his lips.

In another hour he'd have to meet Arima for another "date" and, despite it having been a month since he's started falling into this role, he could still never decide on what to wear. He blamed it on the size of his closet. It was the same size as his bedroom, with racks filled with clothes on every wall. Options abounded for him with every turn of his head and yet nothing stuck out to him.

Akoya sighed and ran his fingers over a row of dresses. It had to be casual, a walk around town didn't require anything more. But… he wasn't in the mood for any of them today.

Surely this would have looked ridiculous to an onlooker, if he had one. A teenage boy rifling through what looks like his sister's closet wearing nothing but a bathrobe wasn't exactly a common sight. But Akoya wasn't a common sight either, he had to remember that. No, he wasn't to be ignored, not even in the role of Arima's girlfriend.

Akoya's gaze stopped on the smallest section in his whole closet: the darks. It was kind of like the black hole of the space, the one spot on the walls where appealing pastels were erased by blacks, browns, navy blues, and deep purples. It was usually the section he ignored, only selecting something from it if he found where he was going to be particularly melancholy. It was usually the "boring meeting" section or the "I snuck out of the house no one notice me" section.

But today… something in that section that he'd yet to wear caught his eye. And Akoya supposed he could liven that piece up with the right accents. So that's exactly what he did.

When he finally emerged from his closet fully dressed, he unlocked his phone and saw a text from his "boyfriend" saying: Plans have changed.

Great… that meant they were going on an actual date for the whole outing.

Akoya sat on the edge of his bed and typed back: Really? I wasn't expecting this.

About a minute later, Ibushi responded: I know. I'm sorry, but… my mom's stubborn.

Ibushi sat on a bench in the park waiting on Akoya. He was a little early, but he wanted to get out of the house. If anything, to just avoid a little more of his mother's grilling.

"Honestly, Ibushi, you've been dating her for a month you haven't even invited her over yet!" She cried "You should bring her over for dinner sometime; we can even take her out somewhere if you'd like."

"I guess I can ask her when I see her today." He'd replied "I just don't want to scare her off by saying 'I want you to meet my parents.'"

"Oh come on, dear, we don't bite. I just want to see if this girl's worth your time."

"She is." He tried to tell her "Just trust me."

"All I'm gonna say, son, is that if you don't show her off to us soon, I'll find you two myself."

And that was when he politely speed-walked out the front door. Ibushi had to laugh, though. Worth his time… if only she knew he'd already spent one whole school year with "her" before this. Akoya would be taking up some of his time either way.

To kill some time, Ibushi took out his phone, deciding that playing solitaire was more entertaining than scanning the park over and over again for his "date."

He just hoped that he and Akoya's charade and eventual "break-up" after a few more months of pretending would be enough to get his parents off of his back on this. If anything, he hoped it would lighten up a bit afterwards, letting him cope with a "broken heart" and all.

Arima was pulled from his musings when he heard a distant shout "Ibu-chan!" He looked up from his phone and noticed fluffy pink curls bouncing as Akoya strode towards him with a wave worthy of a beauty pageant.

Hmm… not a dress today. He noted upon noticing his friend's outfit of choice: a sleeveless black top and pink skinny jeans. Over the past month, it had become as commonplace for Ibushi to see Akoya in dresses and skirts as it was to see him in the school uniform. Yet it was still amazing to him that Akoya owned as many feminine clothes as he did. It wasn't exactly a shock, but Ibushi didn't think he'd seen his friend wear the same article more than once yet. And the black… he didn't think Akoya even owned black clothes.

Arima pocketed his phone and stood to greet his friend.

Akoya stopped in front of him and immediately started toying with a section of his hair, reaching to adjust something he had pinned on the side of his head "I'm sorry, am I late?" Oh god, he had a hair bow in too!

"No, I just got here early." Ibushi assured.

The shorter boy grinned up at him "Okay, good."

Ibushi smiled back before clearing his throat "You look lovely," he commented "as always."

Akoya giggled "Thank you."

Ibushi reached over and took Akoya's hand in his own "Any spot in particular you wanna go?"

"Um… can we go get crepes?"

Arima smiled and nodded "Whatever you want."

The pair started their walk to the crepe stand hand in hand, silent until Akoya adjusted the tiny purse hanging by his hip "I can pay for mine if you want me to."

"I got it." The taller teen insisted "I invited you out; I'm treating you."

"Oh…" Akoya's cheeks got a little pinker "alright." He smiled again "Thank you, Ibu-chan."

When they reached the crepe stand, they each chose a flavor and Ibushi paid for both: a strawberry whipped for Akoya (he should have guessed) and a banana custard for himself.

They wandered down a random path while nibbling at their snacks, quiet aside from the occasional sound of pleasure coming from either boy as they ate. The path was unoccupied aside from the two of them for some reason, despite the good number of people they'd seen a bit earlier. Ibushi supposed that no one else was in the mood for a walk.

"Hey… Arima-san?" Arima looked Akoya's way in time to see him lick from whipped cream off the side of his mouth "Do you really think someone who works for your parents is following us today?"

Ibushi swallowed the bit of treat in his mouth "I'm not sure." He admitted "My mom's getting pretty insistent on meeting you lately."

Akoya sighed "Doesn't she have anything better to do than hover over you?"

"She's a fast worker, so I'd assume not." Ibushi commented "But still… maybe we should just… get that part over with?" He proposed "Maybe she won't bother with it much if she and my dad get to meet you."

As if to put off answering, Akoya took another bite of his crepe. He made a "hmm" noise as he chewed and then swallowed "I guess we can't help it. What day do you want to do that?"

"When's most convenient for you?" Arima questioned before taking another bite.

"Um…" Akoya looked to the sky as if it had a calendar hanging in it "Friday night? I can stash some clothes in the club room and we can go after we finish our work?"

"Are you sure you wanna risk someone seeing you?"

"We leave the council room after dark lately." Akoya pointed out "And if Zaou can sneak his girlfriends into the school after hours, so can you."

If Ibushi had crepe in his mouth, he would have choked on it "Don't say it like that!" He scolded, cheeks turning a light pink "You make it sound like we're gonna do something we're not supposed to."

"We kind of are."

Arima got a little redder "You know what I mean!"

"I'm just saying I don't think anyone that may see me would care." Akoya declared with a pout "Besides, thanks to those pretty boy contests, the whole school's seen me in a dress before."

"If you're sure about that…"

"I am."

Ibushi sighed "Alright. Friday it is."