What If I Said I Love You? [Chapter 6]
Title: What If I Said I Love You? [Chapter 6]
Author: Ani
Genre: AU, slight angst, drama, eventually fluff
Rating: PG
Pairings: Chiitaro, fake! Yamachii, hinted!Yamaryu
Summary: Best friends don't always fall in love.
Disclaimer: I don't own JE
I sighed and pulled my blankets up over my head when I heard the clang of pots and pans from the kitchen. Ryutaro was always coming over now. Even though I always told him there was no need to, he’d still show up, even on weekends like today.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The idiot was being a lot clumsier than usual. Finally, I couldn’t take the loud noises anymore and reluctantly climbed out of my warm futon. After changing, I went out see what the heck was going on and got a shock at seeing Yamada.
He turned around and saw me. “Oh. Hey.”
“Morning.” I waited for him to say more, but it seemed he was expecting the same from me.
The air crackled with silence until Yamada finally broke it. “There’s eggs and toast.”
“Thanks.” I took the plate, my mind wheeling to somehow put its thoughts into words. “Ryo-chan, I’m sorry, I’m really sorry, for hurting you so much and betraying you and-”
“Don’t be apologizing,” he cut in. “I should be one doing that. I’m sorry, Chii, making you think everything was your fault and then walking out without any explanations. You probably hate me now,” he added with a bitter smile.
“Don’t say that, Ryo-chan’s my best friend, so I wouldn’t hate him.” I looked at him uncertainly. “W-we are still best friends, aren’t we?”
“Of course we are.” For a second, I thought he was going to hug me, but then seemed to think better of it. “Chii, I need to talk to you...about Ryutaro.”
My heart beat sped up slightly at the name. “W-what about him?”
For several seconds, Yamada simply stared at me searchingly, as though waiting for something. “You don’t remember him? You don’t remember a little boy who used visit my house? Who took a liking to you and started following you around everywhere? Who wished you were his cousin instead and you hugged him all the time for saying that?” I gave him a blank look. “You don’t remember your ‘Ryu-chan?’”
“We’re talking about Morimoto-kun?” I asked, my head spinning as half-forgotten memories began to surface.
“I only have one cousin, Chii.”
“Well, so? That’s all in the past, isn’t it?” I couldn’t see where this was supposed to go.
“He only came to visit for the summer. I still remember the day he had to go back home. Ryutaro used to be such a crybaby, but that day, it didn’t matter who tried to comfort him, he just wouldn’t stop crying. I got so annoyed, I called you over, thinking if it was you, he’ll calm down.
“That was probably the start of everything. He just glued himself to you, it took his parents forever to get him off. Right before he left, I saw him whisper something to you, but you wouldn’t tell me what it was, no matter how much I asked. You kept saying you promised to keep it a secret.
“I don’t know why it bothered me so much. Maybe it was partly jealousy, that my cousin was now so much closer to you than to me. So I bullied him into telling me the next time I saw him...”
“Ryo-nii? Do you need something?” Ryutaro looked up as a shadow covered the screen of his GameBoy.
“Right before you left, what did you tell Chii?” Yamada got straight to the point, feeling weirdly satisfied at seeing the younger boy’s eyes widen with fear and maybe a slight bit of guilt.
“T-that’s o-our secre- Ryo-nii! Give it back!” Yamada had snatched the GameBoy of his cousin’s hands and raised it high above their heads. “Don’t drop it!”
“Tell me then and you can have it back!” Yamada even tippy-toed to make sure Ryutaro couldn’t reach.
After a minute or two of failed attempts to get his GameBoy back, Ryutaro slumped his shoulders with defeat. “F-fine, but if Chii gets mad at me, I’m telling on you!”
Yamada frowned. “When did you stop calling him ‘Yuuri-nii-san?’”
Ryutaro puffed out his pink cheeks before explaining reluctantly, “He said it was too long and since we were such good friends, he would let me call him ‘Chii.’ A-also because I promised I would go back soon to be his boyfriend. That’s what I told him, that I really liked him and wanted to be with him forever.”
There was a long silence as Yamada digested the news. It lasted so long, Ryutaro began to grow worry and started to wonder if he should run away. But no, his cousin still had his precious GameBoy, he needed to get it back in his safe possession.
“You can’t do that, Ryutaro. You can’t be Chii’s boyfriend, since he’s already agreed to be my boyfriend.” It was a complete lie of course, but what did Ryutaro know?
A lot more than Yamada did, apparently. “Chii says you’re just his best friend, and he would never, ever go out with you.”
“Take that back!”
“But it’s true! That’s what he told me!” Ryutaro flailed helplessly.
“Chii will go out with me. I’ll make sure of it.” Yamada couldn’t explain why he was getting so worked up, but when he thought about his little cousin dating his best friend, it made his chest burn with a terrible pain.
“B-but we even pinky-promised...” Ryutaro looked closed to tears and suddenly Yamada felt bad. It hadn’t been his intention to make the little boy cry. “Ryo-nii, you’re so mean!” With that, the younger boy ran away, leaving Yamada standing alone.
Yamada never thought his words would come back to haunt him. Vacation was over and he went back home, where his best friend greeted him with hugs and questions about his cousin. For some reason, Yamada didn’t like to have his best friend mention Ryutaro and started to ignore him whenever he brought up the topic. Soon enough, they stopped talking about the little boy altogether and the memory of that short summer even faded from Chinen’s memory.
Exams came up for junior high, so instead of visiting relatives, Yamada spend his vacation time studying. As such, he didn’t get to see his cousin again until the summer of his first year in junior high.
Ryutaro was still the same, small brat he’d been before. “Did Chii agree to go out with you?”
Truth be told, Yamada had already forgotten what he said before and now he was regretting it. Too late, he realized he stayed quiet when he should have said something and now his cousin was smiling with satisfaction. The look made Yamada want to punch something (himself).
“I knew it~ Chii promised to go out with me, so he wouldn’t go out with Ryo-nii~”
“I’ve been busy with exams, so I haven’t had a chance to ask him!” Yamada snapped. “First thing when I get back, I’ll ask him out.”
“What if he rejects you then?” Ryutaro asked innocently.
“He won’t,” Yamada spoke confidently.
“I’m saying ‘what if,’ Ryo-nii. Does that mean I can ask him?”
“You know, just because someone rejects you the first time doesn’t mean he’ll reject you a second time! The first time...he might just be caught off guard or something. I’ll give him some time to think and ask him again.”
“And if he rejects you a second time? Don’t tell me you’ll ask him a third time? That sounds like you’re getting desperate, Ryo-nii.”
“I thought you were supposed to be a nice kid.” Ryutaro shrugged. “Fine, how about a deal?” His cousin blinked at him, waiting. “You promised to be his boyfriend...when you go back, right? Then until you do go back, I’ll be asking him out. If Chii ever agrees and becomes my boyfriend instead, you have to give up on him, even when you go back.”
“B-but-”
“You said he promised he would wait for you, didn’t you?”
“Well, y-yeah.”
“You don’t trust him to keep the promise?”
“I-it’s not that-”
“So is it a deal?” Yamada stared his cousin down until the younger boy looked away and he knew he’d won. “Until you come back, I have all the time in the world to get Chii to go out with me. Deal?”
“...deal.” Satisfied, Yamada stood up to use the restroom, but his cousin’s voice made him pause. “I hope you won’t regret this, Ryo-nii.”
A/N: Posting this chapter before I go off to volunteer at a clinic, last chapter will be up when I come back in... 8 hours or so. Oh and happy 21st birthday, Takaki Yuya. so did not forget
Author: Ani
Genre: AU, slight angst, drama, eventually fluff
Rating: PG
Pairings: Chiitaro, fake! Yamachii, hinted!Yamaryu
Summary: Best friends don't always fall in love.
Disclaimer: I don't own JE
I sighed and pulled my blankets up over my head when I heard the clang of pots and pans from the kitchen. Ryutaro was always coming over now. Even though I always told him there was no need to, he’d still show up, even on weekends like today.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The idiot was being a lot clumsier than usual. Finally, I couldn’t take the loud noises anymore and reluctantly climbed out of my warm futon. After changing, I went out see what the heck was going on and got a shock at seeing Yamada.
He turned around and saw me. “Oh. Hey.”
“Morning.” I waited for him to say more, but it seemed he was expecting the same from me.
The air crackled with silence until Yamada finally broke it. “There’s eggs and toast.”
“Thanks.” I took the plate, my mind wheeling to somehow put its thoughts into words. “Ryo-chan, I’m sorry, I’m really sorry, for hurting you so much and betraying you and-”
“Don’t be apologizing,” he cut in. “I should be one doing that. I’m sorry, Chii, making you think everything was your fault and then walking out without any explanations. You probably hate me now,” he added with a bitter smile.
“Don’t say that, Ryo-chan’s my best friend, so I wouldn’t hate him.” I looked at him uncertainly. “W-we are still best friends, aren’t we?”
“Of course we are.” For a second, I thought he was going to hug me, but then seemed to think better of it. “Chii, I need to talk to you...about Ryutaro.”
My heart beat sped up slightly at the name. “W-what about him?”
For several seconds, Yamada simply stared at me searchingly, as though waiting for something. “You don’t remember him? You don’t remember a little boy who used visit my house? Who took a liking to you and started following you around everywhere? Who wished you were his cousin instead and you hugged him all the time for saying that?” I gave him a blank look. “You don’t remember your ‘Ryu-chan?’”
“We’re talking about Morimoto-kun?” I asked, my head spinning as half-forgotten memories began to surface.
“I only have one cousin, Chii.”
“Well, so? That’s all in the past, isn’t it?” I couldn’t see where this was supposed to go.
“He only came to visit for the summer. I still remember the day he had to go back home. Ryutaro used to be such a crybaby, but that day, it didn’t matter who tried to comfort him, he just wouldn’t stop crying. I got so annoyed, I called you over, thinking if it was you, he’ll calm down.
“That was probably the start of everything. He just glued himself to you, it took his parents forever to get him off. Right before he left, I saw him whisper something to you, but you wouldn’t tell me what it was, no matter how much I asked. You kept saying you promised to keep it a secret.
“I don’t know why it bothered me so much. Maybe it was partly jealousy, that my cousin was now so much closer to you than to me. So I bullied him into telling me the next time I saw him...”
“Ryo-nii? Do you need something?” Ryutaro looked up as a shadow covered the screen of his GameBoy.
“Right before you left, what did you tell Chii?” Yamada got straight to the point, feeling weirdly satisfied at seeing the younger boy’s eyes widen with fear and maybe a slight bit of guilt.
“T-that’s o-our secre- Ryo-nii! Give it back!” Yamada had snatched the GameBoy of his cousin’s hands and raised it high above their heads. “Don’t drop it!”
“Tell me then and you can have it back!” Yamada even tippy-toed to make sure Ryutaro couldn’t reach.
After a minute or two of failed attempts to get his GameBoy back, Ryutaro slumped his shoulders with defeat. “F-fine, but if Chii gets mad at me, I’m telling on you!”
Yamada frowned. “When did you stop calling him ‘Yuuri-nii-san?’”
Ryutaro puffed out his pink cheeks before explaining reluctantly, “He said it was too long and since we were such good friends, he would let me call him ‘Chii.’ A-also because I promised I would go back soon to be his boyfriend. That’s what I told him, that I really liked him and wanted to be with him forever.”
There was a long silence as Yamada digested the news. It lasted so long, Ryutaro began to grow worry and started to wonder if he should run away. But no, his cousin still had his precious GameBoy, he needed to get it back in his safe possession.
“You can’t do that, Ryutaro. You can’t be Chii’s boyfriend, since he’s already agreed to be my boyfriend.” It was a complete lie of course, but what did Ryutaro know?
A lot more than Yamada did, apparently. “Chii says you’re just his best friend, and he would never, ever go out with you.”
“Take that back!”
“But it’s true! That’s what he told me!” Ryutaro flailed helplessly.
“Chii will go out with me. I’ll make sure of it.” Yamada couldn’t explain why he was getting so worked up, but when he thought about his little cousin dating his best friend, it made his chest burn with a terrible pain.
“B-but we even pinky-promised...” Ryutaro looked closed to tears and suddenly Yamada felt bad. It hadn’t been his intention to make the little boy cry. “Ryo-nii, you’re so mean!” With that, the younger boy ran away, leaving Yamada standing alone.
Yamada never thought his words would come back to haunt him. Vacation was over and he went back home, where his best friend greeted him with hugs and questions about his cousin. For some reason, Yamada didn’t like to have his best friend mention Ryutaro and started to ignore him whenever he brought up the topic. Soon enough, they stopped talking about the little boy altogether and the memory of that short summer even faded from Chinen’s memory.
Exams came up for junior high, so instead of visiting relatives, Yamada spend his vacation time studying. As such, he didn’t get to see his cousin again until the summer of his first year in junior high.
Ryutaro was still the same, small brat he’d been before. “Did Chii agree to go out with you?”
Truth be told, Yamada had already forgotten what he said before and now he was regretting it. Too late, he realized he stayed quiet when he should have said something and now his cousin was smiling with satisfaction. The look made Yamada want to punch something (himself).
“I knew it~ Chii promised to go out with me, so he wouldn’t go out with Ryo-nii~”
“I’ve been busy with exams, so I haven’t had a chance to ask him!” Yamada snapped. “First thing when I get back, I’ll ask him out.”
“What if he rejects you then?” Ryutaro asked innocently.
“He won’t,” Yamada spoke confidently.
“I’m saying ‘what if,’ Ryo-nii. Does that mean I can ask him?”
“You know, just because someone rejects you the first time doesn’t mean he’ll reject you a second time! The first time...he might just be caught off guard or something. I’ll give him some time to think and ask him again.”
“And if he rejects you a second time? Don’t tell me you’ll ask him a third time? That sounds like you’re getting desperate, Ryo-nii.”
“I thought you were supposed to be a nice kid.” Ryutaro shrugged. “Fine, how about a deal?” His cousin blinked at him, waiting. “You promised to be his boyfriend...when you go back, right? Then until you do go back, I’ll be asking him out. If Chii ever agrees and becomes my boyfriend instead, you have to give up on him, even when you go back.”
“B-but-”
“You said he promised he would wait for you, didn’t you?”
“Well, y-yeah.”
“You don’t trust him to keep the promise?”
“I-it’s not that-”
“So is it a deal?” Yamada stared his cousin down until the younger boy looked away and he knew he’d won. “Until you come back, I have all the time in the world to get Chii to go out with me. Deal?”
“...deal.” Satisfied, Yamada stood up to use the restroom, but his cousin’s voice made him pause. “I hope you won’t regret this, Ryo-nii.”
A/N: Posting this chapter before I go off to volunteer at a clinic, last chapter will be up when I come back in... 8 hours or so. Oh and happy 21st birthday, Takaki Yuya. so did not forget