Chapter 12

The drive to Misawa’s apartment was spent mostly in silence on Jun’s part, Asuka driving as Jun concentrated on keeping Cheeseburger as calm as possible. Juudai was telling them about some cows they’d seen near one of the train station stops with all the enthusiasm he could muster, all the while holding on to Jun’s hand like he didn’t want to let go. They’d seen it before, but Jun couldn’t help but feel a bit awkward thinking about how his friends had looked at them when they showed up holding hands. It wasn’t like Jun had ever told them he wasn’t straight, and though he didn’t think they’d react badly to it, especially after finding out about Ryo and Fubuki’s relationship, he’d been conditioned to think that it was gross as a child, when his brothers caught him getting a kiss on the cheek from another boy when he was six. It hadn’t been pretty, and it was one of the many times when he’d wondered if things would have been better or worse if they’d still had parents by that time. But that was something he would never know.

When they arrived, they stopped in front of a well kept apartment complex in a much nicer neighbourhood than the one he’d just left. It wasn’t anywhere near the mansion he’d grown up in, but it was overwhelming to step into it nonetheless. Especially considering it was the first time he’d entered a friend’s home in… well, ever, really. He didn’t truly have friends before these ones, and he’d most certainly hadn’t visited anyone, nor had anyone over to his place, as a child.

The apartment was spacious, with white walls and soft looking furniture. It was clean for the most part, aside from the heaps of paper that no doubt held mountains of calculations lying around most flat surfaces that weren't the floor.

Juudai set up the litter box, food and water bowls while Jun carefully took the backpack off and opened it up. Cheeseburger meowed at him and leapt into his lap, rubbing her face against his before going into exploration mode. She’d never been scared when she moved into his own tiny home, and it seemed like she was just as laid back now.

He could hear Asuka make a choked noise behind him and he looked up at her from his kneeling position on the floor, with a questioning look on his face.

“She’s so sweet, Jun. I didn’t know you were a cat person before Juudai told me you had one.”

Climbing back to his feet again with a lot of effort and a helping hand from Misawa when the man noticed (but thankfully didn’t comment) his struggle, he looked after the cat where she was now checking out that Juudai had prepared her litter box properly, followed by her promptly using it right before the brunette could even get the lid on. “Yeah, I didn’t either. But she just… I liked her.” He wouldn’t admit out loud that he’d related to her, that was something he found far too embarrassing, but Asuka was good at reading between the lines, and had no doubt understood without him needing to say a word.

Misawa had gone over to let Juudai know where he could put the bags of food and the litter, so Asuka offered to give him a tour and show him where he’d be sleeping. She led him to a nice room that mostly held a big bed, a bedside table, a closet and a desk. It was obvious that Misawa had used the desk but not much else in there, but the man had made an effort to clean it out for him. “This used to be my room,” Asuka explained. “But I moved in with Mizuchi a few months ago to try it out and we decided to make it permanent recently. So you can stay here for as long as you want. God knows Daichi needs the company, he’s an expert at getting too wrapped into his work to remember to eat or sleep.”

Jun blinked at her, and now that they were shoeless, it was obvious that she was way taller than him. He’d thought it might’ve been the heels before, but clearly it wasn’t just that. “You two were roommates? And I, uh, didn’t know you were…” he felt rude to finish his other thought, but Asuka waved it off with a tiny smirk.

“A lesbian? Yeah. Sorry Jun, but you really never stood a chance with me.”

That made him burst out laughing, with how little he had expected her to say that. A warm smile made its way onto his face as she listened to his laugh. 

“I was really annoying back then anyway, I don’t think I would’ve stood a chance with you even if you liked guys.”

“Fair. But you’ve got your eyes on someone else now, don’t you?” She flopped down next to him on the bed where he’d all but collapsed while laughing so hard.

Jun’s face went red, and he covered it in his hands, peeking at her between his fingers when she chuckled softly. “Am I that obvious?”

“Yeah. Have you told him yet?”

“Hell no, I’m not ready for that. What if he doesn’t like me back?”

A raised eyebrow was his only reply for a few seconds. “He told me you almost kissed.”

Now Jun pulled as much as he could of the blanket over himself, and he could feel his cheeks and ears burn. “Why would he tell you that?” he almost whined, and Asuka didn’t even try to stifle the amused snort as she lifted a corner of the blanket to look at him. “He tells me everything. I won’t tell you to tell him now, but I’ll support you if you do. Take it at your own pace.”

He looked at her from his protective covers of soft fabric, giving her a shy smile back. “Thank you, Asuka-kun.”

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