As Chibita edged the corner of his street, he realized he had lost sight and hearing of the tearful Karamatsu. As violent bouts of icy, forceful air propelled at his direction, the oden seller began wishing he had changed out of his dress and stockings or at least grabbed a coat before he rushed out the door. The confused stares of the few strangers he passed on the street didn't help the situation either. Hugging himself in an attempt to preserve body heat, he trekked through the city streets in hopes of catching a glimpse of his heartbroken sextuplet. It wasn't until he reached the entrance of the park that Chibita finally identified the faint sound of wailing once more.

The wind began to calm as Chibita followed the park's cemented walkway and scanned the park for any trace of his person of interest. He brushed the wig's wind-tussled bangs from his eyes as he walked near a group of floral shrubs surrounding a few cherry trees. Chibita's hopelessness slightly dwindled when he saw the park fountain, realizing he was now back at the spot of his first date with Karamatsu. More importantly, he noticed a young man in a blue pajama shirt, jeans, and slippers hunched over in despair upon the very bench on which the date took place. Inhaling a nervous breath, Chibita cautiously sat on the opposite end of the bench while facing the direction of his favorite NEET.

"K-Karamatsu?" Chibita bit his lip in anticipation for a response. Karamatsu only paused his sobs to peek at him. As soon as he recognized his visitor, Karamatsu let out a gloomy moan.

"Must you continue to torture me, Chiharu? Don't you see I have accept my brother winning the battle for your love and wish to embrace my inevitable loneliness?" Karamatsu's voice was heavily marked with drama and sorrow.

"I'm not here to torture you, idjit! I'm here to fix this."

"Fix what? The fact that you fell for my brother or the fact that I found out the dirty secret you two have been hiding from me this whole time?"

"Please believe me, Kara. I want nothing to do with that asshole after the shit he's done! He refused to leave me alone, damn it! He was only at my house to blackmail me all because he knew…something about me." Chibita's familiar twinge of fear prompted him to avert the expression of the whole truth.

Karamatsu raised his head a bit, now showcasing a confused glare on his face. "He was blackmailing you? Why would he…what did he know?"

It pained Chibita to look upon Karamatsu's face. Being a sloppy crier left Karamatsu's eyes bloodshot and his reddened nose dripping slight streams of mucus. Chibita couldn't figure out which was worse: the physical disarray of Karamatsu's face or the overwhelming feeling of worry and gloom that face ignited in his heart. Chibita stared at his feet to break the tense eye contact they were sharing.

"What did he know about you?" Karamatsu was sitting up straight now, fully invested in discovering the issue on Chibita's mind.

"I…I don't want you to hate me."

"Who said I would—""

"I KNOW YOU WOULD! I KNOW YOU'D NEVER FORGIVE ME! I'D…I'd hate me too if I was in your place." Chibita clenched the cloth draped around his knees and shook in shame and sadness. The gentle touch of Karamatsu's hand resting on his upper back momentarily surprised and soothed Chibita.

Wiping his eyes on the back of his pajama sleeve, the Matsuno scooted himself closer to Chibita. With a newfound tone of comfort, Karamatsu replied, "Don't be afraid to tell me, my star. I care about you far too much to judge you."

"…Promise not to freak out too much?"

"Love will give me strength to hold back any shock I may have."

"Or hate me?"

"I could never hate one I'm so dearly fond of, my star." Karamatsu placed his fingers under Chibita's chin and tenderly turned his lover's face toward his own, making their gazes reconnect. Karamatsu lovingly stroked Chibita's cheek and gave a sincere, cool smile that offered Chibita the last push of bravery that he needed.

Another deep breath later, Chibita reached his right hand toward the side of his wig. Interlocking the fibers between his fingers, Chibita closed his eyes tight as he hesitantly slid the wig off his head, arching as the chilled air cascaded against his bald scalp. He was now completely exposed.

Moments passed before Chibita realized he had not sensed any verbal reaction from Karamatsu. Opening his left eye, he discovered the sextuplet did have a reaction. Karamatsu looked almost frozen in place on the bench. His pupils had shrunk to the size of rice grains while his skin had become an unhealthy shade of white. Though his mouth was agape and his bottom lip trembled, not a single word forced its way forward. Chibita immediately blushed red in shame, turning his head away and clutching the wig to his chest.

"You said you wouldn't freak out, idjit!" Chibita defensively snapped.

Karamatsu stuttered in response. "C-C-Chibita?!"

"Look, let me explain! It wasn't even supposed to go this far. I thought you'd piss off after the nightclub, but then we went on a date and…it was the best and cheesiest thing I've ever experienced in my life, okay? I just wanted to preserve what was happening between us after that." Chibita's grip of the wig grew firmer as Karamatsu continued to offer his dumfounded expression.

"Y-you're my st-st-st-star?!"

"Yes…I've been your star and your Chiharu all this time." Chibita was now the bench dweller hunched over in despair, certain he was in route of losing the one he cared for so dearly. Karamatsu became more animated, examining all sides of Chibita's face and body as if to verify the truth. Though his glance wasn't cruel, getting so closely examined by Karamatsu prompted tears to fall from Chibita's eyes. In melancholy, Chibita added, "Now do you understand why Ichimatsu was in my house? I couldn't let him tell you about who I really was because I knew you'd think this was another trick or scam or something! Idjit, I don't know how, but ever since that damn time we danced I've just wanted to be held and kissed and cared for by you. You are an obnoxious, eccentric romantic that I want to just punch and kiss at the same time, damn it!"

"Chi-Chibita?"

"We've known another since we were kids, and you've become the only one of your idjit brothers that I get most excited to see. The nights we've spent together this past week have only made it worse! I don't care if you hate me or never want to see me again after this. Just…" Chibita paused as he stood from the bench with his body facing away from Karamatsu. "…please know that I meant every word and every action that I gave you. I…I loved being your star, Karamatsu."

Hot tears decorated his face as he began to walk away. You've lost him, idjit, Chibita mentally scolded. You've lost one of the best people you've ever known all because of your cowardice, your deceit, and your—

The sudden feeling of fingers grasping his forearm blocked his thought from completing. Chibita's face was soon pressing against the fabric of Karamatsu's pajama shirt, and his sides were being squeezed by Karamatsu's hug. The NEET's left hand stroked the arch of Chibita's back as the right hand gently caressed the nape of Chibita's neck. Before Chibita could protest or even question what was going on, Karamatsu began to speak in his cool, romantic voice.

"I should have known better than to disregard the fact that my dearest friend had fallen so hopelessly in love with me."

Chibita blushed in embarrassment. "I-I didn't say that, damn it!"

Karamatsu ignored him as he planted a small peck upon Chibita's bare scalp. "I was so focused on your beautiful guise that I grew blind to the signs of the truth. Did you truly think the only way you could win my affections was to dress as a Karamatsu girl?"

"W-well, I guess that's true in a way."

Karamatsu let out a soft chuckle and pulled Chibita far enough from his body so he could look at his face with half-lidded eyes. "I'd be lying if I said my eyes have wandered upon the bodies of other men. However, never have I felt a connection with anyone as deeply as I've had with you. Now that I know the whole story, it all makes sense why it was so easy to bond with you. In all honesty, I tend to strike out when it comes with connecting with other women in an intimate way."

"…I never would have guessed," Chibita lied nonchalantly.

Karamatsu wiped the tearful streams away from Chibita's cheeks and gave a genuinely loving smile. "Chibita, I don't care if you choose to be you or Chiharu or whatever. All I care about is how you feel about me and how I feel about you. So my long-time friend…will you keep being my star?"

Chibita's elated heart exploded like a firework. On tiptoe, the oden lover reached up and captured Karamatsu's lips in his. Wig still in hand and lips still preoccupied, Chibita wrapped his arms behind Karamatsu's neck as the sextuplet picked him up and held him close in a bridal-style fashion. As they pulled away for air, Karamatsu pressed his nose against Chibita's and gave him an innocent eskimo kiss; Chibita let out a high-pitched giggle at the childish act.

"You're so cheesy, idjit."

"And you're this cheese's perfect match. Together, we're a perfect party platter of cheese and crackers. Everyone will flock around us and see how undeniably savory and balanced we are as one entity."

Chibita snorted at the ridiculous analogy Karamatsu had attempted to romanticize. "I think I'd rather be an oden dish than a party platter."

Karamatsu kissed Chibita's cheek, smiling widely against the flushed flesh. "You are my starry oden dish."

"Damn it, are you gonna be this fluffy all the time? You'll have to hold back if you visit me while I'm working. I don't need you pronouncing your weird pet names for me to all my customers."

"Heh, I'll try to subdue the urge to share my fiery passion for you whilst you are making the world a little less hungry." Karamatsu cleared his throat and blushed hot pink as he added, "Speaking of urges, you mind if we…h-head back to your place and, uh, make up for a little bit?"

"What about your damn brother? He might still be contaminating my apartment."

"Oh, him? I'll be sure to give him a harsh dose of reality when we get back. I'm in the mood to blacken his other eye for what he's done to my poor Chibita star." Chibita smirked in approval; Karamatsu was unusually hot when he was so full of confidence. After exchanging a few more deep kisses, Karamatsu began sauntering in the direction of Chibita's flat with his half cross-dressed lover still secure in his arms.

Neither lover was bothered by the nippy weather or sorrow anymore; instead, Chibita and Karamatsu could only detect the warming aura of affection which engulfed them as they ventured back to Chibita's home.