#izumi tachibana x reader | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

garden-of-omegas · 10 months

Text

⚜ FIRST MEETING [A3! - OTHERS] ⚜

┌── ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ ••✎•• ──────────

characters: izumi tachibana | isuke matsukawa | tetsuro iwai | yuzo kashima | ken sakoda | reni kamikizaka | haruto asuka summary: the details of your first meeting with your future mate. warnings: homelesness, bullying, implied organized crime, rating: sfw a/n: why was this the fastest i've written one of these? why? i don't even particularly like some of these people?

~🎕

└── ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ ••✎•• ──────────

≿━━━━༺❀ izumi tachibana ❀༻━━━━≾

✿ you were... well, you were a little baby back then, nothing remarkable yet. you were the only child of your parents, a pair of famous actors. and they just so happened to be friends with yukio tachibana, izumi's father.

✿ you were about three years old, while izumi was a newborn, only a few months old. you'd been eager to meet yukio's new baby for the longest time, but you'd been busy travelling with your parents.

✿ obviously, your parents brought you over to the tachibana household so you could all be introduced to the new baby. you were pretty much dragging your parents over, as much as you could with your wobbly baby legs. and when yukio finally showed you izumi, you were entranced.

✿ you made it your mission to look after izumi whenever you were over. your parents thought that it was because you wanted a sibling, but in reality you just thought she was far too tiny to survive without any supervision.

✿ ...izumi had no thoughts on you at the time. you, on the other hand, became extremely protective of izumi. she was so tiny, so cute, far too fragile. the adults thought it was precious, while you thought that they were stupid for not being as careful with the tiny thing as you.

≿━━━━༺❀ isuke matsukawa ❀༻━━━━≾

✿ you were homeless. to put it simply, you'd recently lost your job and apartment and were looking for somewhere to work where you could also get board, preferably anyways. previously though, you were a marketing manager for a small movie theatre.

✿ you were 26, the same age as isuke. you'd been homeless for about two months, living in your car. isuke on the other hand had been the manager of mankai company for about two years.

✿ you were waiting in the lobby of the mankai theatre, waiting for the manager for a job interview. you'd come across the barista/ticket seller job advertisement and immediately applied, mostly due to the room they were offering to go along with it. isuke walked into the room, took one look at you, and immediately hired you.

✿ after the most confusing job interview you'd ever had, you quickly moved in to the dorms, right next door to isuke. it turned even more confusing when you discovered that you and isuke were the only employees. you really had no idea what you'd gotten yourself into.

✿ isuke was mostly just grateful to have someone else to help around with the company, even if the barista position was the least of his worries. but meeting you, and realizing how hard working you were after a bit of living with you, he started to really admire you. isuke was... something. that's certainly a way to describe him. messy, bit rough around the edges, literally a living disaster. but he was too cute to scold whenever he did something wrong, even if you desperately wanted to every time you saw his work schedule.

≿━━━━༺❀ tetsuro iwai ❀༻━━━━≾

✿ you were a weird little kid, obsessed with puppets and marionettes. everyone else in your local pre-school thought that you were far too weird, and your parents were extremely concerned by your unwillingness to socialize with anyone.

✿ you were 6 years old and you'd just recently been moved to a new kindergarten after the bullying at the last one got too much. tetsuro was 5 years old.

✿ you were trying (and failing) to put together a new puppet from scraps of broken toys, when tetsuro wondered into the room you were in. you didn't pay any mind to him, especially since he didn't say a single thing and simply came to sit by you. a few minutes later when one of the older and meaner kids came by to drag tetsuro away, you scared them off by literally growling at them.

✿ you sort of became tetsuro's protector, though largely unintentionally. it just happened to be that you scared the other kids and tetsuro took advantage of that to not get bullied and to get some silence. eventually it became weird to see the two of you apart.

✿ tetsuro thought that you were the coolest kid, both with your attitude and your creativity. you took thrown away stuff and made them into funny little friends. that, and sometimes you put on some puppet shows for him, which was the best thing he'd ever witnessed. tetsuro was a person, that was for sure. but he was also really quiet and didn't bother you or your puppets, so you allowed him to hang around. but if anyone asked, you didn't like him. not at all. he was just someone who hang around. read that with the most amount of sarcasm possible.

≿━━━━༺❀ yuzo kashima ❀༻━━━━≾

✿ you were a little baby actor, working at various theaters and films as opportunities came. you'd only started professionally acting a year ago, though you were a natural at it, at least according to your nightmare coach.

✿ you were 20 while yuzo was 21. while you'd been professionally an actor for only a year, prior to that you'd only done some school plays. yuzo had been acting for several years already.

✿ you'd been invited as a guest actor for one of the spring troupe's plays, as they needed someone with your exact talents to play the co-lead, with yuzo as the lead. he wasn't there when you were hired, so the first time you saw each other was at the first rehearsal. everyone thought it was going to turn out horrible, but the two of you had excellent chemistry on stage.

✿ the following rehearsals kept going better and better, and eventually yuzo came to also like you as a person instead of just as an actor, which lead to the two of you actually hanging out and developing even better chemistry.

✿ yuzo was mostly impressed by your skills, you bounced off of him so effortlessly and beautifully. frankly, it was the most attractive thing he'd ever seen. though he heavily denied this when his troupe mates started asking about it. yuzo kind of reminded you of your coach, both of them being absolutely dreadful with their criticism. thankfully, yuzo didn't find much to criticize (yet), which lead to you liking him way more than the old man coaching you. way, way more.

≿━━━━༺❀ ken sakoda ❀༻━━━━≾

✿ you were just your average joe, a store clerk at a small convenience store. the most interesting part about you (besides your little puppy) was your dream of one day becoming a famous crime writer. thriller books and detective stories had always been your favorites.

✿ you were 19 and you'd been living by yourself since you were 16. you'd been lying about your age for years to work, but recently you'd gotten a proper job. ken was 18 at the time.

✿ you were closing up at work, locking the door when you spotted a body laying by the backdoor. you stared at it for a while, realizing whoever it was was unconcious, before picking him up onto your shoulder to take him home. it wouldn't be the first time some unfortunate outcast had ended up on your couch. so you decided to take care of him.

✿ ken woke up confused on your couch, though after a short explanation of what happened he became extremely grateful to you. he stayed for a day to recover and then left. you didn't except to see him again, but he turned back up a few days later and then would show up every once in a while for a place to sleep.

✿ you were an angel to ken, even if you continuously denied his praises. but really, you were way too nice to someone like him. you always had some food ready for him, and a warm bed to sleep in even if you never knew when he was going to show up. ken was fun. that's the most you got out of him the first time he stayed over, but after that you came to discover how helpful he liked to be. you really enjoyed having him over, and eagerly waited for a familiar knock from the door, even if you told him he could just walk in.

≿━━━━༺❀ reni kamikizaka ❀༻━━━━≾

✿ you were a famously reclusive playwright, known for your god-like scripts. but despite your reputation in the theatre world, nobody had ever actually met you, at least not knowingly. people commissioned you, and received their scripts in mail, never in person.

✿ you were 25.. no one knew your real age though, so everyone thought you were some old guy. reni was 24 back then, and the newly minted director of god-za.

✿ you have really no idea how reni managed to find you, but he showed up at your house with a request for a play. usually you'd never open the door for someone, but you were expecting a food delivery and foolishly decided to open the door without checking. after a moment of staring at each other, you tried to slam the door on his face but he was really determined to not let you.

✿ you reluctantly allowed reni inside, where he fell into a spiel about commissioning a few plays from you. it was then that you discovered that this idiot wasn't aware of how you took commissions (mail). but you did decide to write the plays for him, which started a several decades long work-relationship.

✿ you were very different to everyone else reni had ever met. you hated being outside, you hated having to interact with anyone, but you seemed so fascinated with everything he did. but you were so real, he instantly knew you were the best choice for the job. reni was pushy, kind of rude, incredible fucking stupid. but also so sincere, even if he came across as arrogant that way. he was a fascinating person that definitely got all your creative juices flowing. he was perfect, in a way.

≿━━━━༺❀ haruto asuka ❀༻━━━━≾

✿ you were an unknown little talent that kamikizaka had found and just recruited for god-za. nobody had ever heard of you before, ever seen you act anywhere or even happened upon your name. but somehow, kamikizaka was certain you were the next star of the show.

✿ you were both 23. haruto had been at the company for over a year at that point, while your joining was suddenly announced just a week prior.

✿ kamikizaka brought you to the company to introduce you to everyone, though you weren't particularly interested in anyone until you got to haruto, who's scathing eyes locked onto you immediately. it was the first time the whole night you bothered to do your own introductions, to kamikizaka's surprise. haruto didn't seem particularly impressed though.

✿ kamikizaka immediately realized you latched onto haruto, and partnered the two of you up. haruto didn't really enjoy this, but seeing you interact with anyone else at the company he realized why that happened, and started to try and mentor you. it didn't exactly work, but it was funny to everyone else.

✿ haruto sort of thought that you were enroaching on his turf. kamikizaka was so keen on you, he felt like his opportunities were being snatched by some unknown nuisance. then you liked him, and suddenly he liked you too. haruto was the only interesting person at the company. people often saw you as far too perfect, which you hated, while haruto didn't. he clearly didn't like you, and you liked that. and then he started to like you, and weirdly enough you didn't hate that.

23 notes · View notes

cherry-pyon · 4 months

Text

The four seasons of Mankai company

Synopsis: Tachibana (Y/n) and her older sister Tachibana Izumi received a letter that came all the way from a theater company called Mankai company. You both decided to meet the mysterious sender, in hopes of finding answers about your father's whereabouts after 8 years of disappearance, only to find the said theater to be in debt from someone!

⚠️Reminders⚠️:

May contain incorrect grammars (English is not my first language)

A bit of changes in the plot

Different flow of story due to two protagonists (you and Izumi)

Reader is 16 while Izumi is 24 (not canon but is considered)

Fem!reader

P.s: A3! Characters are legally and respectfully owned by Liber Entertainment Inc. and I do not claim them. I only own the changes in the plot of the story

Chapter 1:

Theater Town

"Wake up (y/n), we're here" you were awoken by a soft pat on your head, you soon realized you were leaning on your big sister's shoulder and fell asleep. You raised your head, stealing a few more seconds to doze off as you yawned and told Izumi just about how good your sleep was as she chuckled at you. A voice can be heard from a large speaker as it announces the train's destination, finally reaching your stop—Veludo station.

Izumi got up first, signalling for you to follow her behind so both of you won't get separated from each other. You began looking around as your sister took out the letter together with the company's exact location

"So this town really is full of theaters!" You exclaimed in excitement, admiring the colorful triangle banners surrounding the town, together with different theater companies on sight

"Now that you said it, it really is. The map says the Mankai company is in the corner of Veludo street, I wonder if this is really alright.."

Your sister mumbled the last words, clear enough so that you're the only one hearing it. It seems like she's taking your mother's words seriously about the letter. I mean it's suspicious to find that after all these years, your father's company would still be searching for him

"I don't even know where that man went! We've already cut ties and it's been 8 years since he left" you can still hear the words your mom said, sounds like she still holds a grudge against your father

Lost in your own thoughts, you were snapped back into reality when someone accidentally bumped into you, the impact left you both sitting on the floor, hissing at the pain in unison. He was quick to process anything and immediately apologized, offering a hand as soon as he got up—which you thankfully accepted, earning a relieved sigh from the poor boy

He looked like he ran away from someone, or rather finished a whole marathon, some of the strands of his dark-pink hair are sticking to his forehead which concerns you more

"I'm sorry! I wasn't looking at my way!" He bowed at exactly 90° making you flinch. He stayed like that for almost a minute

You're going to have to thank him for his politeness (even though he looks way younger than you) but this is too much!

"Ahhhhhhhh! Please raise your head now, it's okay it's okay! You don't have to apologize"

you panicked, continuously looking around as people are starting to stare at the two of you. He raised his head, showing his apologetic expression. He's thankful that you accepted his apology—lips forming into a charming smile as he giggled

You swear you see cherry blossoms blooming just around his face

Everything went well after that, not until you heard him made a surprised noise and saw his widened eyes looking at his wristwatch, it seems like he was late and it must've been that important based on his facial expressions. You feel more guilty than you were before

"Sorry, I didn't know you were going some-"

"Ah no! It was my fault! Sorry, I have to go!" He cut you off as he ran away hurriedly—leaving you processing all the things that happened just a few minutes ago

You didn't even realize your older sister was gone, and she probably didn't even realize you weren't with her

'what a perfect sibling dynamic' you jokingly thought

But as soon as you walk through a corner, there she is! Talking to a guy who's crouching on the floor, together with another guy who looks just as concerned as your sister does. I mean who wouldn't be concerned about a guy crouching down on the side of the streets that looks like he's in pain?

You're curious to know what happened, who knows? Maybe it might be best if you judge the situation first based on your understanding and let it live up to your imaginations—two guys falling head over heels to your big sister and are fighting for her love the first time they met her exactly on the streets of Veludo way. Yeah, that'll probably be it!

'I mean I'm not going to blame nee-san if boys fight over for her' you thought, trying to run very sneakily behind your sister

"What's happening? Is he okay?" You said, clinging onto your sister's arm, making her see the Gods from above for a second but sooner thank the Gods upon realizing it was just you

"(Y/n)!" She glared at you, apologizing to her by clinging more tightly. She does nothing but letting you do your own thing since she can't do anything about your behaviour sometimes

"Do adults really like to argue outside the streets?" You asked in curiosity, eyes glued to the scene infront of you—the crouching man before was standing now together with another man. It looks like they were having a complicated conversation

"That's not it, (y/n)-"

"Hey look, a street act!" The three of you stole a quick glance from the source of voice behind, and realized there were a lot of people watching

"I saw that guy on the stage before!" A passerby said. "They're so handsome!" Schoolgirls began squealing from the side. Yup, they're definitely popular

It seems like everyone enjoyed the performance, you won't even deny that both of them are very good at portraying their characters' actions and emotions. Not too long after, both of them bowed in unison, as they thanked all of the people watching them, a full-round of applause was heard as people began tossing lots of coins on a box infront of them, both you and your sister decided to toss coins too to show appreciation as they continuously thanked everyone who showed generosity

"I didn't even realize that was an act just now" Izumi clapped her hand once as she chuckled to herself, making the guy beside her ask in shock

"Eh? That was a play?" The light brown-haired guy must've been way more surprised than your sister does

"Mhm! Actors from theaters usually do these street acts in order to advertise or serve as a fundraising project to their upcoming plays, the scripts are most likely coming only from their ad-libs so it's really impressive once you know about it" Izumi babbled. Both you and the guy were happy to know about this new discovery. Your nee-san is knowledgeable about things such as this which left you admiring her more not only as an older sister, but also as your second guardian and your teacher

"As expected from a theater town...I think I need to study more" the guy mumbled something under his breath that you cannot hear quite clearly, but you just shrugged it off even though you are curious to know what it is

The crouching guy from before apologized to both of them, then the latter began scolding his friend that he came out so slow earlier when they performed

"Excuse me! Are you now recruiting members for God?" The light brown-haired guy suddenly asked out to the two actors, which both you and your older sister curiously watched from behind

'Maybe he wants to be an actor too!' you assumed

You examined the conversation they exchanged—upon discovering that he was looking for a dorm to stay on. You were sad for the guy after hearing that the God troupe doesn't have a dorm. He thanked both of them and parted ways, leaving both of you proceeding to your main objective

"Now i'm really looking forward to this play after seeing a street act" your sister's eyes beamed in excitement, and yours were beaming too

"Romeo gakuen heaven.." you mumbled, remembering the play's title when you saw it on the company's map as Izumi—who cannot wait any longer, led the way

"Mankai theater is supposed to be here, right?"

That was the first thing your older sister asked, upon looking up to see a theater infront of you with a huge signboard that says 'Mankai Theater'

"I mean it's in the signboard up there, so this must be it. We can't be discovering lots of Mankai theaters here when I'm sure father only owns a single one"

"But this one is...honestly crumbling" although you're hesitant whether it's right to comment about the appearance, she's got a point. It looks like it holds a LOT of history

"There's no sign of people even though there is a play today, is this really fine?" Izumi added, slowly pacing back and forth while lost in her own thoughts, unable to comprehend the things happening today. Was it a prank? Or probably the wrong map? But it can't be, the signboard literally says the theater and the company you're looking for

Because of this, your conversation together with your mom suddenly came into mind again

"The letter said it's from the Mankai company" you said, handing it out for your older sister to see

"Mom! Mankai company is dad's theater, right? The sender might know something about where dad is!" Izumi said

"Maybe if we meet with them, we'll definitely know something!" She added, too insisting to know your mother's response

"Then do it by yourself because mom doesn't know and-"

"Can I go with you, nee-san?"

"You're not allowed to go with your big sister, (y/n). You still have classes to attend tomorrow!" Your mother stated, too busy to look behind her to see your disappointed expression—arms crossed and furrowed eyebrows

"Can't she just transfer to another school? One that's near enough to the company? In that way we won't have to go back here and go back there" Izumi suggested, even though it sounds too much of a trouble to handle all of it, your mother only replied with an annoyed sigh, one that secretly makes you celebrate

"I'll take care of her, trust me on this mom" she added, smiling at your mother as she looked over through her shoulder to look at both of you, rethinking whether she will choose the right decision on this

"I hope you won't give too much trouble to your nee-san, (y/n). I'll let this slide but if I ever receive a letter that you skip classes without my watch, I'll be forcing you to go back home here, got it?" Mother warned you, glancing at the two of you back-to-back as you both nod in unison. You thanked your mother—hugging her as Izumi joined too

You were back to the Earth as you looked down at the letter in your hand and turned it around to examine it

"I didn't notice the sender's name was here. Nee-san, do you know who's Matsukawa Isuke?" You questioned, to which she replied back

"I don't know who this person is but I'm curious to know what kind of relationship they have with dad"

You were about to reply back to your sister when a voice suddenly spoke out, which made you flinch and your sister looking behind instantly

"Hey, do the two of you need something from this theater?" You looked behind nervously. It's an adult man with blonde hair and glasses, and if you tend to look closely and carefully, he has an attractive mole under his right eye. 'He's good looking yet he's intimidating' you thought

"Matsukawa-san?" Izumi said in a low and hesitant tone. Wait! He must be the sender of the letter, and with that you stand next to your sister which made the blonde-haired man slightly raise his one eyebrow

"You must be that person we're looking for, right mr.?" You asked, patiently waiting for his reply to which unexpectedly made him react the opposite of what you thought

"HUHH?!" He reacted. You can clearly tell by the looks of his face that it's the wrong person

But his face suddenly changed when he glanced over at your sister's face and looks like he discovered something, which weirded you out

"Wait aren't you.."

"Okay wrong person, nee-san! I repeat, wrong person!" You carefully but hurriedly grab both your sister's shoulder to back her up to the mysterious person who kept looking at her as if he's scanning her face as she nervously laughs, sweat slowly forming on her forehead

"Sorry, we got the wrong person. It's not like we received any letter! We're just passersby letter A-B!"

You began panicking, not having any choice but to agree with your sister's choice of words. It was obvious but there's no backing away now. Whoever this man really is, you know he's got something to do with this theater

"If you don't want to encounter a dangerous sight, it's best for the two of you to leave quickly. People who don't have any businesses here are not needed"

It was the last thing you heard before the ground began shaking, and a loud noise could be heard going nearer as you felt scared and decided to cling onto your sister. There goes a huge excavator that was coming towards the theater! Where did that even come from?! And why is it going forward?! And who is this man trying to destroy the theater?!

Your eyes widened, both you and your sister are surprised that this would take an unexpected turn of events

"Wait wait wait!! Please stop!! STOP!!!" A pleading-crying voice can be heard as another mysteriously looking guy with a rather ragged outfit came running very fast in an attempt to stop the excavator, but the scary blonde guy ignored the other as he talked to the one driving the excavator, the latter even called him 'Aniki!' so they were accomplices after all!

"Do it, Sakoda. Make sure you completely destroy the signboard, this will be fully demolished after and reconstructed into a bar-"

"H-hey! What are you doing!?" Izumi suddenly blurted out, there's no other way but to talk it out and that's the only help she can think of

"I just told you it'd be dangerous, didn't I?" He replied back, looking behind to steal a glance at the two of you, you can't do anything as your feet felt numb, almost as if you're stuck and unable to speak

"I beg you Furuichi-san! Please stop it!!!" The poor guy wasted no time and bowed, he stayed like that for minutes and completely began to sink lower and lower until his forehead became in contact with the floor, 'the theater must be super important to this guy' you looked down on him in pity, surely there must be some way we can help him, he might be the person we are looking for

"You're the one who said that if you can't pay all of your debts by the end of the show, I'll have to use force here!"

"Today is our main show!" He cried out, looking up at the blonde guy, who looks down on him in dissapointment

"I could pay at least the interest if I can get money from this performance! Just please think this over and let's talk!" He continuously cried out, being really vulnerable infront of him. It looks like there's no way of getting into him until he sighs in annoyance and gives an instruction from his accomplice

"Sakoda, stop"

"Yessir!"

As soon as the blonde haired guy named Furuichi-san stopped talking, the pitiful guy sighed in relief and stood up but soon got tense again when Furuichi-san leaned his arm around his shoulder, making the pitiful guy petrified

"How many tickets have been sold?"

"Zero!"

"How about the full-house tickets?"

"Also zero!"

"What time is the performance?"

"3 minutes by now!"

The pitiful guy ended his sentence in a nervous laugh as Furuichi-san doesn't look a little big amused by his answers

"Sakoda, do it"

"Yessir!!"

"WAIT!! WAIT! THE AUDIENCE ARE ABOUT TO COME!!" He said as he begged again, lots of crying noises can be heard as he purposely tried his best to leave the theater untouched into any damage, although it looks like it's gonna break by itself

'This is too much to handle!! God please help this poor guy!' you cried out in your mind, the cries of the pleading guy and the cruelty of a guy who doesn't look like he'll show mercy at any time is too much for your heart to handle, this is pure torture!

"Where are they?"

"Errr...uhmm..ahhh"

"Why do I feel like we're being stared at..." Your older sister muttered, her body stood still like a mannequin as her face made a weird expression

Your hand makes its way to fidget on the hem of your skirt, looking down as you slowly backed away, hiding behind your sister

Izumi might have seen your movements as a sign of telling her to help him, you might look tough at first but sometimes you're at a loss of words. That's why she took up all the courage and decided to speak up

"The audiences are right here" She defended, pressing her hand on her chest in a way she can present herself, while you remained hiding

"SEE?! T-THEY'RE HERE!!" The ragged-looking guy's face switched into pure excitement, too loud in your opinion but you understand his situation if you were in his shoes, you'd definitely be too hype

"Didn't you just say that you're just a passersby A and B?" He clicked his tongue

"We have the flyer as proof!" You showed him the flyer. It was the theater's exact performance for today which you're really looking forward to

It seems like it's enough proof to present, he sighed in defeat. "A few more audiences might still be on their way here, it'd be a total waste if we didn't get to watch the performance" you added, hoping it could warm this cold-hearted man

"Did you even watch this theater's recent performance?" He asked, his purple eyes piercing a hole through you. It's truly agonizing to feel little sometimes

"No..I don't?"

"That's what I thought"

"But this place. It feels familiar.." Izumi joined in the conversation, clutching her hands in her sling bag. She looked at the large banner right above the signboard—Deja vu coming through her "It's like I've been here when I was little" she added

"I see.." he pondered as his eyes landed on your older sister. You're really really sure for yourself that he LOVES to pierce a hole through anyone with how sharp his gazes are. It's scary

"PLEASE WATCH OUR SHOW! WE HAVE A NEW MEMBER AND IT'S GOING TO BE HIS FIRST PERFORMANCE!" The ragged-looking man begged, desperately crying out as you swore you felt a ringing in your ear just now

"So you got a new recruit?"

"THAT'S RIGHT!!" he yelled, obediently answering to Furuichi-san's questions

"HAVING THE THEATER DEMOLISHED RIGHT BEFORE HIS FIRST PERFORMANCE IS TOO CRUEL" His hands clasped as he still wouldn't stop crying

It's a huge relief that people rarely walk by here and witness a chaotic scene infront of the theater, where a large excavator is going to demolish a crumbling theater and the ragged-looking guy who you don't know the name of starts sacrificing his sanity just to keep the building untouched, and two audience who just wanted to know their father's whereabouts are now being forced to witness everything that's happening

"Sakoda, stay here"

"Yessir!"

Furuichi-san stood still infront of the theater, his back facing the three of you. You felt shivers down your spine, making the air feel colder than it was before

"Start the show now" the three of you suddenly feel like you've been freed from the suffocating silence, especially the ragged-looking guy, who happily obliged and replied back with a "YES!" Quickly assisting the three of you inside the theater

You looked around the interior—eyes wandering at every corner. You followed your older sister as she sat on the front row, sitting beside her as your lips can't stop itself from smiling. You're excited

Furuichi-san sat right beside you, and now you're in between, feeling the awkward air flowing inside the room

"Don't regret that you stopped us earlier"

"Eh?" You looked at him, only to witness his eyes closed and face in a much more relaxed expression. His index finger softly taps on the sleeves of his coat several times, it's probably the best not to bother him at this time or you'll regret it. The thought of it already makes your anxiety rose up

When the buzz stopped, the curtain lifts up, the lights from the stage started to warm up the atmosphere in the pitch black room. Your (e/c) eyes lit up as its only focus is on the stage, and to the familiar dark pink-haired boy

#a3! act addict actors #a3!#a3! game #a3 x reader #sakuya sakuma #tsuzuru minagi #izumi tachibana #sakyo furuichi #act! addict! actors!#x reader #fluff

4 notes · View notes

swtstrwbrris · 2 years

Text

hmm I’ve been wanting to start a new series but I can’t decide on who to write about,,,

based on the characters I write for, who should I write about as my first series? please let me know your thoughts and recommendations!

#haikyuu!!#horimiya #fruits basket #free!#haikyuu x reader #horimiya x reader #fruits basket x reader #free! x reader #tsukishima x reader #sugawara x reader #kageyama x reader #osamu x reader #izumi miyamura x reader #yuki sohma x reader #haruka nanase x reader #makoto tachibana x reader #ikuya kirishima x reader

43 notes · View notes

halloweenismyfav · 2 years

Text

【 𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒 + 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐒 】

【 𝐅𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐌𝐒 𝐈 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 】

❥ Toilet Bound Hanako-kun

❥ A3!

❥ Twisted Wonderland

❥ Genshin Impact

❥ Fire Emblem Three Houses

❥ Arcane

【 𝐈 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 】

❥ Extreme Gore/Gruesome Injuries

❥ NSFW

❥ Pedophilia

❥ Incest/Stepcest

❥ Yandere

【 𝐈 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 】

❥ Fluff

❥ Angst

❥ Suggestive Content (to an extent and only characters 16+)

❥ Oneshots

❥ Headcanons

❥ Character Interactions

❥ X Readers

❥ Character x Character

❥ AUs/Crossovers (depending on if I know the other media well enough)

❥ General/Platonic Relationships

❥ Same Sex Relationships

【 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐈’𝐋𝐋 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 】

Please forgive me if there is a character you wanted to request but isn’t on this list! I just have my own preferences of who I write and which ones are easier. (i.e. sometimes certain characters don’t have enough screentime)

bold = platonic only

◦ 𝐓𝐁𝐇𝐊 ◦ Yashiro Nene, Hanako/Yugi Amane, Yugi Tsukasa, Kou Minamoto, Teru Minamoto, Mitsuba Sousuke, Akane Aoi, Aoi Akane, Yako, Tsuchugomori, Hyuuga Natsuhiko, Nanamine Sakura, Shijima Mei

◦ 𝐀𝟑! ◦ Sakuya Sakuma, Masumi Usui, Tsuzuru Minagi, Itaru Chigasaki, Citron, Chikage Utsuki, Tenma Sumeragi, Yuki Rurikawa, Muku Sakisaka, Misumi Ikaruga, Kazunari Miyoshi, Kumon Hyodo, Banri Settsu, Juza Hyodo, Sakyo Furuichi, Taichi Nanao, Omi Fushimi, Azami Izumida, Tsumugi Tsukioka, Tasuku Takato, Homare Arisugawa, Hisoka Mikage, Azuma Yukishiro, Guy, Izumi Tachibana, Matsukawa, Tetsuro, Ken Sakoda

◦ 𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐖𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 ◦ Riddle Rosehearts, Trey Clover, Cater Diamond, Ace Trappola, Deuce Spade, Leona Kingscholar, Ruggie Bucchi, Jack Howl, Azul Ashengrotto, Jade Leech, Floyd Leech, Kalim Al-Asim, Jamil Viper, Vil Schoenheit, Rook Hunt, Epel Felmier, Idia Shroud, Ortho Shroud, Malleus Draconia, Lilia Vanrouge, Silver, Sebek Zigvolt, Cheka, Che'nya, Neige Leblanche, Grim

◦ 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 ◦ Aether, Lumine, Paimon, Dainsleif, Scara/Wanderer, Albedo, Amber, Arataki Itto, Barbara, Beidou, Bennett, Chongyun, Collei, Cyno, Diluc, Diona, Eula, Fischl, Gorou, Hu Tao, Jean, Kaedehara Kazuha, Kaeya, Kamisato Ayaka, Klee, Kujou Sara, Kuki Shinobu, Lisa, Mona, Ningguang, Noelle, Qiqi, Raiden Shogun/Ei, Razor, Rosaria, Sangonomiya Kokomi, Sayu, Shenhe, Shikanoin Heizou, Sucrose, Tartaglia, Thoma, Tighnari, Venti, Xiangling, Xiao, Xingqiu, Xinyan, Yae Miko, Yanfei, Yelan, Yoimiya, Yun Jin, Zhongli

◦ 𝐅𝐄𝟑𝐇 ◦ Byleth (male and female), Edelgard, Hubert, Ferdinand, Linhardt, Caspar, Bernadetta, Dorothea, Petra, Dimitri, Dedue, Felix, Ashe, Sylvain, Mercedes, Annette, Ingrid, Claude, Lorenz, Raphael, Ignatz, Lysithea, Marianne, Hilda, Leonie, Yuri, Balthus, Constance, Hapi, Flayn

◦ 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐞 ◦ Vi, Jinx, Ekko, Caitlyn, Jayce, Viktor, Mel

【 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐒 】

I automatically make the reader gender neutral unless you specifiy otherwise!

I tend to write more general things now for TBHK rather than reader inserts, but I'll still accept requests for X Readers if you wish.

I’ve seen up to Chapter 5 with TWST, along with about half of Chapter 6, so try not to send requests that include spoilers for anything beyond that! It'd be greatly appreciated ^^

For FE3H, I don't write for the Church of Seiros (except for Flayn). I like them all but I just don't enjoy writing for them as much qwq

I’ve watched all of Arcane but I haven’t played League of Legends so if there’s something that I should know about, please let me know!

For any requests involving the fluff alphabet I have, I'll allow a maximum of 5 letters and 5 characters per request. Just remember that the more letters and characters there are, the longer it'll take me to finish.

Regarding suggestive requests, anyone under 16 will not be allowed to have suggestive requests. It just makes me uncomfortable. (Suggestive meaning no full blown NSFW but some mild spice.)

【 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐒 】

💌.answered prayers — Answered requests!

💌.apprentice's prayers — Non-request writing!

💌.pragma — Romantic and/or Fluff

💌.mania — Angst

💌.eros — Suggestive

💌.philia — Platonic (as Friends)

💌.storge — Platonic (as Family)

#twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader #genshin impact x reader #fire emblem x reader #arcane x reader #fire emblem three houses x reader #tbhk x reader #a3 x reader #💌.apprentice's rules

58 notes · View notes

mee-op · 2 years

Text

girlfriend!izumi who never fails to give you good morning and goodnight texts, always accompanied with a cute sticker that kazunari showed her.

girlfriend!izumi who introduced you to her actors, insisting that you're lovely and they'll like you. and they do! they trust you won't break her heart and you'll treat her right, and they're happy for you (but the people who had a crush on her might need some time to heal).

girlfriend!izumi who always makes time for you no matter how busy she is.

girlfriend!izumi who's always been a good listener but never really had someone to listen to her.

girlfriend!izumi who slowly opens up to you about her issues. she's never talked to anyone about her before, so it'll take some time for her to open up.

girlfriend!izumi who cries when she talks about her father, and suddenly it all comes spilling out- all the emotions and secrets she's locked away for so long. she lost the key a long time ago and it hurts to tell you all this, but she knows she won't regret it.

girlfriend!izumi who cuddles up to you after her breakdown, and she's finally felt how good it feels to have someone listen to you.

girlfriend!izumi who knows you'll be there for her like no one else was, and she'll gladly spend the rest of her life with you.

Izumi deserves someone who will listen to her problems too 😔

#a3!#a3! izumi #izumi tachibana #a3! x reader #a3 #izumi x reader #izumi tachibana x reader #tachibana izumi #a3 x reader #izumi fluff #izumi tachibana fluff #a3 fluff #a3! fluff #a3 fanfic #a3! fanfic #my writing

57 notes · View notes

nanamisflowerfield · 3 years

Note

mhmngh your fics are so cute! if you write for female character, can i request Izumi x Reader? i need some appreciations for our dear Director-chan uwu

Thank you so much! You make me blush!~ \(//∇//)\ mhh... I think that I never wrote for a fem!character, so yeah! I will try it out and hipe that I will write Izumi-Chan good!~

Izumi Tachibana x Reader - Headcanon

🍛 We all know that Izumi is smart, but oh no… Why was she so oblivious when it comes to your crush on her? Like… Everybody already figured out! It even made Masumi jealous and always grumpy, whenever you talked to her or barely touched her. … Did you just pat her head? Better run away! Grumpy Masumi is coming!

🍛 All in all, everybody shipped you two. They even have shipping-names for you two, which makes Izumi laugh, not understanding that you have feelings for the curry-lover. They even bet when you finally confess to her, I mean… You kinda have to so that she will realize it! I hope that you are brave enough!

🍛 “Izumi are you making curry again?” – “Yes, but this time, I made it a little bit different! I-“ And she talked with enthusiasm about her curry. Every Mankai Troupe Member just left the building, in hope to get something else and not her “famous curry”, while you sat there next to her, listing every word she talked about. (and hope that Masumi won’t come back so fast)

🍛 So one day you stood in front of her room, taking deep breaths. In and out. Even tried a few mantras to keep you calm, until the Mankai Director bumped into you. “Ohh, (y/n)! What are you doing here? Do you need help with something?” She asked you with a smile set on her lips like on every other day you see her.

🍛 “I like you!” That was unexpected for the both of you... “O-Oh… I wanted to tell you it later but-“ – “Oh, I like you too. I like everyone here.”

🍛 But don’t give up! Yeahhh, maybe she kind of friendzoned you, but it was because she didn’t realized that it was a damn confession!

🍛 “Want to go to the new curry restaurant nearby? The others don’t want to go there.” She asked you as her eyes brighten, thinking about her favorite food. Letting out a soft sigh, you nodded your head and followed her.

🍛 After a month, you had some courage to confess your feelings again, after that one failed day you never wanted to think about. So here you stood. In front of the girl of your dreams, as she went on about a few things. What was she talking about? Something that the boys did? Curry again? Theater or maybe something she read in one of the magazines that laid on the desk near her. Facing her, you cupped her face in your hands as she stopped her rambling, confused of what you wanted to do next, you kissed her soft lips for a second before flicking her on the forehead. “I like you in that kind of way, Izumi-Chan! Please, remember it next time I tell you it again. I like you.”

🍛 “Hey… Soo….” You scratched your head. “Want to go to your favorite restaurant? As a date?”

🍛 “Yeah!” Grabbing each other’s hands, smiling like children in a candy store, you finally had your first date.

#a3 imagines #a3 x reader #a3!#a3! act! addict! actors!#a3! x reader #act! addict! actors!#a3! imagines #izumi tachibana #tachibana izumi #izumi tachibana x reader #izumi tachibana imagine #izumi tachibana imagines #tachibana izumi x reader #tachibana izumi imagine #tachibana izumi imagines

42 notes · View notes

a3addict · 4 years

Text

Ok This probably won't be the final rant but

Shshehshwhebsbsiejj

183 notes · View notes

derireo · 4 years

Note

23??

ask and u shall receive. this was an izumi x reader fic that i abandoned in may.

title: melting kiss

summary: a day off with izumi ends with a widdle kiss. . .

favourite excerpt:

You smiled shyly and rubbed your arm, fingers anxiously tapping against your skin. "I'm here for Izumi. Is she not home?"

The blond man looked at you dubiously. Normally, when girls came over to the dorm, it would be for someone like Tasuku or Masumi. Those boys probably had more of the devoted fangirls, and Izumi? No one really knew if Izumi hung out with just as many girls as she did them.

"She's currently helping someone with their homework. If you're not here for urgent business, I suggest you lea–"

"Yo! Whose the cutie?" A voice cut Sakyo off in the middle of his sentence resulting in him sighing in exasperation. The voice came from a young man who looked no older than twenty, and he wore a hat with a thin blue coat that draped over his shoulders.

#a3!#a3! act! addict! actors!#izumi tachibana #izumi tachibana x reader #noice. x2 #dr: wip trip

26 notes · View notes

dear-mankai · 4 years

Text

hcs where you get to date best director in veludo

You met Izumi during a popular play by a theater company in Veludo Way

The two of you were assigned seats next to each other and both of you had hit it off so well that you even went for drinks after the play ended

It became a weekly routine for the two of you to hang out and you just naturally became a couple??? (ᅌᴗᅌ* )

Izumi as a girlfriend is 10/10

She works hard to keep you happy in the relationship and this motivates you to do the same to her

Having Izumi also guarantees that you'll never run out of curry recipes to try everyday

This made you develop an ability to know when Izumi is going to cook curry and you trained your mind to think fast on how to stop her

If Izumi is feeling stuck on what to do with MANKAI company, you're always there to lend her support and she thanks you by making something you like

Before Izumi announced that you two were dating to everyone in the company, you guys needed to deal with Masumi first. He was greatly upset and it took him a few weeks to come to terms with it but now he sees Izumi as a sister figure

When Izumi announced the news to everyone else, they were all supportive of your relationship!

Sometimes when you two were alone, Izumi would talk about her memories about acting and her dad. You two always end up sleeping and cuddling after a night of just talking and bonding

Izumi acts as a best friend, best supporter, and best girlfriend! She's the whole package and you love her even when she shoves another bowl of curry at your directionヽ(゜∇゜)ノ

#dear mankai writes #a3!#a3! act! addict! actors!#a3! actor training game #a3! game #a3! imagines #a3! headcanons #a3! hcs #a3! izumi #izumi tachibana #izumi x reader #izumi tachibana x reader #(i simp hard for this girl)#(i wanna write more izumi so blease request)

96 notes · View notes

loveydovey-leviathan · 2 years

Text

> reposted from my personal blog: @mee-op

.izumi x gn! reader.

crush!izumi who thought you were rather cute when you came up to her to take one of the theatre's flyers.

crush!izumi who's never been the nervous type when it came to talking to people but found she had trouble speaking when it came to you for whatever reason.

crush!izumi who found herself thinking about you more than she normally would with anyone else (considering you were practically strangers).

crush!izumi who immediately noticed you among the audience when it was time for the play to start.

crush!izumi who gathered her courage and went up to talk to you, asking whether you liked the play and if you had the time, maybe you and her could go out and talk... about the play, of course!

crush!izumi who felt butterflies when you smiled, and somehow felt even happier when you agreed.

crush!izumi who dressed her best when it was finally time to meet with you, rechecking the mirror over and over as she tried to smooth out imaginary imperfections.

crush!izumi who tried her best to stay on the topic of theatre but somehow drifted off-topic, and now the two of you are talking about your favourite things, curry (though admittedly that was mostly her), and other subjects that are usually discussed on dates and not friendly outings with someone you just met.

crush!izumi who can be quite dense when it comes to love and silently wondered if you kissing her on the cheek at the end of your "outing" meant anything more than friendship.

crush!izumi who now sees you every week to talk about the company among other things, and she realizes it's nice to chat with someone who isn't from her theatre.

crush!izumi who still doesn't know why her fingers feel tingly and her heartbeats get all weird when you smile.

crush!izumi who still doesn't know why she wants to try to do anything to make you happy, even if you aren't feeling sad in the first place.

crush!izumi who is an intelligent, independent woman- but romance just escapes her sometimes, so it takes azuma to point out that she's in love with you for her to realize her feelings.

crush!izumi who doesn't know what to do around you once it's brought to light how she feels about you.

crush!izumi who blurts out that she likes you (romantically, in case you still haven't caught on) and feels her heart slowly break when all she gets is silence.

crush!izumi who is now girlfriend!izumi when you pull her in to kiss her, and she feels more content than she's ever felt in your arms- she's just so happy with you, and she silently thinks about how mean you were for not being in her life sooner. but she guesses she can forgive you, just this once.

37 notes · View notes

jade-qilin · 2 years

Note

Hello, I am the anon who asked for the HC for members having a crush on the director and I just wanted to tell you it was better than I had imagined!! It was so incredibly sweet and I loved it! I had actually mentioned Tsuzuru in my original ask and you did Tsumugi, but honestly your Tsumugi one was SO SWEET that I adored it anyway!!! Thank you SO MUCH again for your fantastic and heartfelt writing

tsuzuru w a crush on the director headcanons | A3!

notes: hello anon! this is very overdue but i’m so sorry for misreading your original ask! i’m glad you enjoyed the original set of headcanons though!

i do want to let you know that i did make some changes to the original ask/post due to change in morals. i am by no means upset; it is 100% on me and i should have clarified my rules much earlier. you can read the edited version (w/ an explanation of the changes) via the link below.

ty again for requesting and your kind comments! 🥺💙

[click here for part one]

TSUZURU:

honestly, he never expected to develop a crush on you when he first joined Mankai

i can’t really see him dating much when he was in high school either; he’s constantly swamped with caring for his siblings at home, so love has never really been on the table for him

now that he’s living independently (at least, from his family) and is less busy than usual, Tsuzuru finds that he’s developed a fondness for the director

he finds that that the moments where you two are together, looking over the new script he wrote, talking about the next play, has become something he treasured greatly

as his roommate, Masumi is the first to notice that Tsuzuru is… off. may the gods forbid he ever be one of the first to find out about Tsuzuru’s crush on the director though 😭

Kazunari and Citron are probably the first to find out who Tsuzuru has a crush on, and it takes a lot of teasing and distraction from his writing to get him to confess finally (Citron is very observant of his troupe mates, while Kazunari has known Tsuzuru before)

he treasures the moments you check up on him, bringing him coffee after pulling all-nighters, asking him about his university classes, helping him with chores and the cooking

he’d probably call his mom a lot, asking about advice. if he’s desperate enough, he’d also probably get research from one of Muku’s shojo manga

((the look on Sakyo’s face after being caught discussing a particularly cheesy manga with Muku has the entire dorm cringing for days))

and if he’s really desperate, he might just go to Kazunari. at that point though…

he’d finally have the courage to confess after a play that went off spectacularly, perhaps starting slowly by asking how it went, how he acted, how the script flowed well onstage, etc.

“um, director, i-i have something to confess. i like you, a lot more than as just a friend or colleague. i hope you can accept my feelings.”

#ren writes #qilin writes #a3!#act! addict! actors!#act! addict! actors! headcanons #tsuzuru minagi #izumi tachibana #a3! tachibana #tsuzuru minagi x reader

13 notes · View notes

citowon · 3 years

Text

First and Second 🎧 Masumi Usui

hi hi!! are writing requests open?? if so then i’d like some headcanons for masumi with an s/o who’s izumi’s younger sibling!! if that’s okay!! (the reader can be either male or gender neutral please!!) thank you very much!! also happy fuck tsuzuru friday

did someone say ‘carried away?’ because OH MY GOD i got so carried away with this one, but i’m very proud of it! a lot of the concepts i included are ones very dear to me, and this one made me think of so many silly masumi hcs. i might make another hc list about the massu thoughts i had here but the next request in the inbox is also for masumi, so stay tuned massu fans 🖤

word count: 8625

tags: gender neutral reader, fluff, headcanons + fic, just a little bit of angst, most of this was written at various times between 1-3 am so there’s a few funny hahas in there

summary: Masumi meets the in-laws and Reader makes a new friend. Izumi is delighted at this turn of events.

Izumi’s family visits backstage on the second-to-last night of Charlatan of Oz.

Ms. Tachibana is reserved, but they’re still mother and daughter. No one talks about Yukio. It’s clear to everyone Izumi is the spitting image of her dad as well as what he left behind when he disappeared.

But Ms. Tachibana still breaks into a smile, kisses Izumi on the forehead, and presents her with a bouquet of roses in orange, red and gold like a bright sunset.

(Masumi notes one of the roses, a peach bordering on pink, matches the exact shade of Izumi’s eyes. He’ll have to ask Ms. Tachibana about the species- he has a new goal to save up and buy Izumi 99 roses in the same color.)

The Director introduces her mother first, and Masumi is the first to shake her hand.

“Good evening,” he greeted. Ms. Tachibana is pudgy and warm, and her handshake is firm, but he can feel the beginnings of prominent veins that come with age. “I’m glad you could make it. Did you enjoy our show?”

“It was wonderful,” she said. “You’ve scouted some talented actors, Izumi, not to mention polite. This one respects his elders, unlike some people I know.”

“It was one time, Mom, and I was like three and barely knew what manners were. You can’t blame me for Christmas at Uncle Masahiro’s anymore.”

“What happened on Christmas at Uncle Masahiro’s?” Sakuya asked.

At the same time, Masumi said, “Thank you, Ms. Tachibana. I want to leave a good impression on my future in-laws.”

Yeah, that explained why no one answered Sakuya’s question. Itaru let out a massive “HAH” right next to Chikage’s ear, the latter alarmed but unsure whether to laugh or not.

Tsuzuru went in for the rescue and bowed. “I am so sorry for Masumi’s behavior, I don’t know what got into him. Please forgive him.”

“Oh! So that means you’re Masumi,” Ms. Tachibana said. She elbowed Izumi, whose mouth was pried into a thin, tight-lipped smile, then went to pinch Masumi’s cheeks. He fought the innate urge to shake her off. “Izumi! You didn’t tell me you had such a handsome admirer!”

“That’s a word for it,” Izumi muttered. “Don’t encourage him. Give him even the smallest crumb of hope and he’ll run with it.”

“I love your daughter,” he said. “Can I have your blessing?”

Tsuzuru made a choking noise behind Masumi, but Ms. Tachibana just laughed. “I’m afraid I’ll have to decline. Izumi is way too old for you.”

“I know, but hey,” Izumi whined, suspiciously like American comedian John Mulaney.

“But since you seem like a good boy, I have another kiddo about your age.” She looked over Masumi’s shoulder. “Reader!”

None of the Spring Troupe even noticed them enter the dressing room, save for Citron. They were looking at the prop table as the actor pointed out the cool wizard staves and a half-eaten bag of expired Fritos he found halfway during a show the other day.

Reader cocked their head and approached as Ms. Tachibana beckoned them over. “This is Reader, my youngest. You’ll have better luck with them than you will with Izumi, I can tell you that.”

“But I don’t want anyone else. I want Izumi and nothing could change my love.”

Reader’s mouth formed a big fat O. “Wait, Izu, is this the guy?”

Izumi popped the P in “Yep.”

“Oh,” they said.

Then they giggled. “Oh.”

They gave Masumi a once-over. “Ohhh,” they repeated.

There is nothing in this world that outweighs my love, Masumi thought, but if this kid doesn’t stop staring at me like I’m out of the loop, I’m gonna bash their head in with Citron’s staff.

“Hey, Izu, you tied down a good one,” they said.

“I did not.”

“I better be in the bridal party once you guys pick a date. Hear me out- beach wedding.”

“Reader,” Izumi said calmly. She wore a smile like a customer service worker on the last leg of their shift. “There is no wedding, there is nothing between us, I am single-“ Reader raised their hand to interject- “and I swear on my secret spice blend, if you take that as an opportunity to hook me up with another one of your friends’ siblings- which, by the way, is none of your business and I’m sure your friends know that as well- I’m going to strangle you.”

Reader lowered their hand.

Masumi joined them and held a hand out to Reader. “Thanks for coming to our production. Have we met? It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Masumi, Izumi’s future husband.”

Reader looked Izumi dead in the eye with the biggest shit-eating grin as they shook his hand. “The pleasure’s all mine. Treat my sister well, okay?”

Izumi buried her head in her hands.

Masumi’s on cloud nine after introducing himself to you. After all, you said you were expecting a wedding, right? How could he not be happy about that?

The Tachibanas stay in town for a few days to watch the last showing of Charlatan, then spend some time with the eldest daughter. They don’t say hello backstage, but that is… fine, actually.

He sees you once again that night for dinner at the dorms, though. You mention offhandedly you missed Izumi’s curry, and he relates to that. He’s blessed to have the perfect woman make him a perfect meal every night, and he’s glad someone else in the dorms can appreciate that, even if only on visiting hours.

The grind stops for no one. Well, it stops a little for Spring Troupe as they recuperate after Charlatan closes, but the next day Izumi is back up and at it with Summer Troupe, running through exercises like a woman on a mission.

For Masumi, though, it’s a lazy morning. All his plans today are to wake up at 12 PM (done), make some toaster waffles (done), and smoke Tsuzuru out of the room with his big-ass speakers so he can enjoy some music in peace.

He’s on his way to his room, munching on some cinnamon toast Eggos when he crosses the practice room. It’s his favorite part of the walk. He doesn’t even need to listen specifically to hear dramatic lines, Izumi’s sweet voice, and… math rock?

Lounging beside the door was Reader, a folder perched along your legs as you worked on some homework. Beside you was your phone, connected to you by earbuds in your favorite color.

You were immersed in your homework, but Masumi just had to ask. The song blasting through your earbuds was from an independent band he recently found, and he’d never met anyone else listening to it.

You feel something nudge you and you jump, but you’re relieved when you realize it’s Izumi’s loyal follower. As much as she complains about the guy, he doesn’t seem to be much of a threat to you.

The unfamiliarity is palpable as the conversation starts, but once you hear the band’s name, you’re glowing. You’ve been listening to them since their first EP, and you’ve finally got a willing audience to listen to you and why you love them so much!

You know the discography like the back of your hand, while Masumi’s a new listener, so in a lull in the conversation you skip to a new song and offer an earbud. “Hey, listen to this. Super underrated.”

He takes the earbud and sits down beside you. His arm brushes against your sleeve from close proximity. The song is sparse and dissonant. You said it was one of the most vulnerable, heartfelt pieces the band’s created, and it shows; the vocals are at a whisper and the guitar acoustic as wind effects outweigh the actual melody-

Whatever lovely trance Masumi found himself in, it was broken the second the practice room door slammed open and Kazunari strode out, Summer Troupe in tow. “Hey, it’s Massu and E-Reader! Whatcha doing out here alone?”

“Woaaaaah, look at all those papers, Reader! Were you camping out here or something?”

“I bet they were looking for triangles!”

“Wait, Masumi, were you helping Reader with homework? That’s just like the latest chapter in- eek! Actually, how about I leave now so you don’t have to deal with a third-rate third wheel like me?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Muku. Izumi’s inside, so if you were looking for her, you came to the right place. No need to be shy.”

“Shut it, hack, did you even consider that they didn’t want to interrupt practice?”

Leave it to Summer Troupe to instantly kill the mood.

You made small talk with Summer Troupe while Masumi stuck to the sidelines, not interested in the conversation but refusing to leave without the name of that song.

By the time the actors left, you handed Masumi your phone.

Masumi checked the now playing feature on your phone, his mind reading the song title over and over again. Once he got back to his room, he’d do this track justice by listening to it beginning to end with one of his high-end headphones.

“Give me your phone number,” you said. “Please?”

He’s used to random students asking him out of the blue for his number or socials, but never one that seemed as cool as you, or at least as cool as your music taste suggested. “Why?”

You shrugged. “It’s what friends do, isn’t it?”

Hell yeah. Izumi was going to be so proud that her future husband and sibling were friends.

Masumi’s eyes were straight on the phone screen as he made a contact for you, but you couldn’t help but feel a little prideful for getting along so well with one of the most standoffish members of Mankai Company.

You return home, but you make good use of Masumi’s number. Your text threads aren’t much for conversation, but you both send links to music videos to each other.

“check out this band! [link] i saw them live last time they toured and they were amazing afskshsla”

“cool. think youd like this. [link]”

You can’t pinpoint when it started exactly, but over time you and Masumi get comfortable enough to just call each other and talk about whatever. He becomes a steady, reliable friend that never judges you for anything and always chills you out.

You come to more and more of Mankai’s shows with or without Ms. Tachibana, and always show up for two or more of Spring Troupe’s performances.

For Harugaoka Quartet, you decide to drop by backstage on opening night and congratulate everyone-

-but Masumi’s the one that ends up on the receiving end of your bouquet of flowers, all of them big and pale purple.

You say it’s to celebrate nailing the a lead role, but he can’t help but notice Citron doesn’t have a single flower from you.

Both of you spend all your time just talking as everyone decompresses from the play. Even though it’s been a while since you last saw each other, you don’t need to catch up- you guys talk so much, you already know where you’re going to college at, problems and interests, everything.

You leave late when the theater’s about to close for the night and the actors are packing up props.

You hug him goodbye, and he watches and waves you off as you leave. It’s always a bummer to see you go, but your personality always leaves a warmth that he clings onto.

“Ah-hem. Masumi?”

What? Huh? Who was that? Masumi surveyed the room, forgetting where he was. Where was he?

“Boo!”

“Gah!” Masumi recoiled as Citron grasped his shoulders from behind, a mischievous smirk on his face. Masumi’s breath hitched in his throat, but he brushed off the shock with a huff. “Don’t do that. Try it again and I’ll kill you.”

“But I called your name so many times! I was starting to get lonely.”

“Then just walk in front of me or tug on my sleeve like a normal person. Or even better, go bug Tsuzuru instead. What do you want?”

“Director wants us to check the soundboard before she locks the theater. You wouldn’t want to disappoint her, would you?”

Well, of course not. Izumi was the one that dragged Masumi into a new family and a new passion, and he respected her deeply for it, but the reverence he once reserved only for her was dwindling. Maybe he was feeling unwell?

Whatever it was, he nodded, still holding your bouquet close to his chest. They certainly weren’t his first bouquet, and every actor usually got one or two by the end of a production, but they weren’t yours. Yours were his favorite color.

Citron led him into the wings of the stage. The curtains were already drawn and the house lights gleamed through the gaps between fabric and wood.

“Reader gave you those flowers, yes?” Citron asked as they approached the tech booth.

Masumi’s grip on the bouquet tightened on instinct. “They’re mine.”

“Of course! I would never dream of taking them. But have you thought about what you will say to Reader?”

“What?”

“You are a smart boy! You know what I mean. Do what feels right to you, but I think you should say yes.”

“What?” Masumi repeated, even more lost than before.

Citron’s face fell. “Keep your kangaroos! Haven’t you noticed?”

“It’s ‘hold your horses.’ And seriously, what? I have no idea what this conversation’s about.”

“Oh,” Citron said.

Then he glanced at Masumi’s flowers and how he held them so close to his heart and held a hand to his mouth. It did nothing to cover the pitiful smile on his lips.

“Oh,” he repeated.

“If you keep staring at me like I’m out of the loop, I’m going to go to the storage room just to dig up your staff from Charlatan and beat you with it.”

“But you are out of the- do you truly not know?”

“What are you talking about,” Masumi hissed.

“It’s about how-” Citron combed through his long blond hair with his fingers as words escaped him. “Let me be blunt. Are you in love with the Director?”

“She’s the love of my life.”

“Think. Just for a moment. Why do you love her?”

“Everything about her is perfect.”

“I want specifics, Masumi.”

“She is…”

Masumi’s mouth went dry. Of all the times when someone was actually interested in his love life, why did it have to be the one time he couldn’t drum up unconditional love?

Think, Masumi. She was pretty. That was the first thing he noticed about Izumi, and what drew him to her, but he wasn’t so shallow he would fall in love just because of looks. He couldn’t say that.

Her curry? Masumi loved her curry. Sometimes he would wake up and think, Day 482 of eating curry for at least one meal. I haven’t gotten jaundice yet. It was delicious and enough to make Gordon Ramsay cry tears of joy if he were real, but again, not something to fall head over heels over, even if he’d willingly eat it for the rest of his life. He couldn’t say that either.

But Citron was still watching him owlishly, curling a lock of hair through his finger and expecting an answer.

“Izumi was the one that gave me a chance,” he settled on. “She was the first person that taught me how to care for people other than myself.”

“That is very sweet,” Citron said.

But he didn’t say anything else. Masumi wondered if he was unsatisfied.

“She also showed me how to act. I found something to dedicate myself to.”

“Yes, yes, I see that.”

A lull in the conversation. Citron licked his hand and went back to combing.

“Did you just spit in your hair?”

“It breaks down the hairspray.”

“That is disgusting. Just, so gross on so many levels.”

“It’s- how do you say?” Citron asked as though he indeed knew how one would say. “Whatever!”

“So are you done interrogating me now or can we work on the soundboard already- wait.” Masumi looked around. They stopped walking a while ago, but never registered where exactly in the theater he was. “The soundboard’s on stage left.”

Citron ignored him. “Say, Reader is pretty neat.”

“Yeah, they are. They’re great at listening and so easy to talk to. We’re going to go to a small club gig for a progressive indie rock duo I showed them a while ago in a few weeks and I can’t wait to see them again,” Masumi said.

Citron covered his mouth again, this time to hide a laugh. “Very cool, Masumi.”

“Seriously, why are you acting like you know something I don’t?”

“I do.”

“Then tell me already.”

“No, no, I think it’s your realization to have.”

“Are you kidding me? I’m fine, Citron. if you have something to say about me or the people close to me, then just say it instead of being vague. Do you really think- are you braiding your hair?”

“It leaves very nice waves overnight,” Citron said, halfway through a smooth side braid. The spit, unfortunately, must’ve worked.

“Seriously, you dragged me out to skip on a favor for the Director, talk trash about my beloved and my friend, and keep expecting me to know something you’re just refusing to tell me. What’s your point? If you wanted to know about my life, you could’ve just asked instead of this roundabout conversation. I mean, I talk to Reader all the time, I thought you would’ve known already how close we are-“

Masumi shut his mouth. He blinked. Blinked again. Clicked his tongue like he was about to say something else, but no words came out, and he instead decided to purse his lips like he just ate something sour.

And Citron, ever the enabler, paused his braiding just to watch his junior go through a full slideshow of faces.

Masumi spent a long period of time sticking his tongue in his cheek and staring off into the curtains, lost in thought. Citron had half a mind to make some popcorn, but instead enjoyed the silence. Thinking was a good look for Masumi.

“Oh,” Masumi finally said.

“Just ‘oh?’”

“Shut up. This is serious.” Masumi made a very uncharacteristic groan and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m so stupid.”

“Not stupid,” Citron said. “Just inexperienced. You’ll get there in time.”

“But I wasted a whole year. What do I do? I’ve never felt this way before.”

“How a door bull!”

“It is not adorable,” Masumi retorted. He covered his face with the bouquet. Violets, his favorite. Dammit, you even remembered that offhand comment from months ago. You were such a good listener. “I- I don’t know. If the Director wasn’t love, then what does that make Reader?”

“If I may? Attraction gives way to love, but love at fistfight isn’t common. You don’t need to make a decision right away. Time will tell.”

“It’s called l-love at first sight. And I don’t want to wait.”

“There is sweetness in taking it slow. No one will judge you for being uncertain as long as you don’t play with emotions.” Citron ruffled Masumi’s hair, the latter too dazed to protest. “And I doubt you would! You’re very genuine.”

“How do you even know all this stuff?”

“I may have never carried a torch for anyone, but everyone carries a torch for me,” he boasted.

“You’re useless,” Masumi deadpanned, hoping it would hide how his heart felt so small and soft. “I’m leaving. I’m not talking to you about this again.”

As he stalked off, Citron called out, “Good luck with your fart puddles!”

“It’s ‘heart troubles!’ Say that again and you’re dead!”

Masumi in love- maybe? He’s not sure what to call it; what he felt for Izumi was real, but the way he sees you is different. All the bravado he had proclaiming his crush on Izumi goes out the window for you.

He likes you, he can admit that to himself, but it’s something he wants to keep a secret to himself for now. It’s nice. He used to think that love was preformative and grandiose and the bigger, the better, but now it’s soft and subtle with him, and he can’t stop thinking about how he wishes you were here.

(Masumi hates to admit it, but maybe Itaru was onto something when he said the best kind of love was unrequited.)

He places your violets on his desk right where the sun hits and asks Tsumugi how to preserve them as long as possible. He checks on them every morning and evening without fail, and can’t help but think of how light he felt when you gave them to him.

Only a day has passed, but he misses you. He scans the audience for you, and when he can’t find you he busies himself with tidying up backstage after the play and hoping you’d come by again.

It’s natural you wouldn’t go to each and every performance. You were busy, and Mankai productions usually lasted a week or more. It’s understandable. But even though he gets it, he’s still the first to enter the theater and last to leave on performance days, and as much as he tries to hide his disappointment, he notices Citron give him sympathetic looks every time his hopes of seeing you again are dashed.

Three days into the week Masumi gets a text from you, wishing him a broken leg tonight. That must mean you’re watching tonight, right? He has to prepare something for you, and he’s excited.

Sure enough, look at seat 4-27 and there you are.

Masumi sees you from behind the curtain ten minutes before showtime. Nervous energy rushes to his head, but a Spring Troupe pre-show huddle steels his nerves and he gives a performance of a lifetime, definitely his best run of the play yet as he’s fully immersed in the world of Harugaoka.

The focus ebbs once he sees you in the audience during the curtain call. He’s a bundle of nerves as Spring Troupe returns backstage, but when he sees you smile and congratulate him again, it all melts away.

There’s no way he doesn’t like you. You’re infectious. He finds himself laughing with you far more than anyone else, and he trusts you beyond words.

You shrugged on your jacket as you got ready to leave again, but Masumi tugged on your arm. “Hey. Before you go.”

“Huh? What’s up-” You turned to face him and caught a big whiff of lavender. Masumi clutched a small bundle of flowers, tall licks of purple buds tied with a twine bow.

“It’s for you.” He scratched his neck with his free hand. “For the flowers last time. Thank you.”

“Oh! No no no, thank you. They smell wonderful.”

“Yeah. I need to tell you something important.” Even just saying that made Masumi’s inner voice recoil and cringe. What a childish way to go about it.

But you perked up, scanned the room, and waved your hand to your sister. “Izu! I’m borrowing Masumi!” You shouted.

Izumi shouted back, “Have him home by midnight!”

“Done deal!” You grabbed Masumi’s hand. “Hey, let’s go outside.”

“Okay,” he said, eyes boring holes into your intertwined hands. Your hand was so soft, and the fingers fit between his knuckles like puzzle pieces. He must’ve been distracted- how else would he explain not remembering the walk at all?

You dragged him to an ice cream parlor a block down from the theater, grabbed one cone for you and a cup for Masumi (“My treat,” you insisted even as Masumi opened his wallet), and plopped yourself across from him in a corner table for two.

“So.” You licked your ice cream. “What’s going on?”

Masumi dug his spoon into his Dutch Chocolate. “I don’t like Izumi anymore.” You hummed and nodded in acknowledgement, and a quiet urge for him to continue. “It’s hard to explain. She was the first person to make me feel like that.” He paused to sink his teeth into a spoonful. “But it was a lot. It didn’t feel real in hindsight.”

You hummed again, this time while swallowing. “I get that. Feelings come and go.”

“I think I was projecting.”

“Mhm?”

“I got so caught up in someone caring about me for the first time that I thought there was no other explanation but love.” Right. You knew about Masumi’s life and the loneliness that came with it, but it still stung to know he was still grappling with the past. “So I just acted like what everyone says love is. I don’t think it was love. A crush, maybe, but not love.” Not love like this. Not like how you’re the only person I could be truly vulnerable around.

He swallowed a spoonful of his ice cream. His cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk as he ate. “So yeah,” he said dismissively, like it wasn’t a huge weight off his chest.

You licked a drop of melting ice cream off your cone, and lowered it to give your best friend your full attention. “Can I be real for a second? That’s great to hear. Changing feelings means you’re growing.”

“You say that like I grew an inch taller,” he quipped.

“It’s still important, though. You learn something new about yourself after every failed relationship or crush, so I’ve heard. Makes you mature or something.”

“So you’re not mad?”

Your face fell. “What? Of course not, why would I be mad?”

“It was your sister. I didn’t want to hurt her.”

“Ohhh.” You relaxed. “She’s tough, and she gets business relationships. I’m sure she’ll get over it.”

“I hope so.”

Masumi’s spoon scraped against the wall of his cup. You weaved a sprig of lavender behind your ear.

“Got any other suitors on the horizon?” You joked.

You. I feel for you. I missed you. I want to be here with you. I wish I could tell you how I feel.

Masumi suddenly stilled. He could tell you how he felt.

After all, you’re alone in an ice cream parlor together. He gave you flowers. He trusted you. You listened to him. The stalk of lavender brushed against your hair and pointed to your eyes, tender and attentive, and the scent was coaxing him to get closer. I want to tell you how I feel.

Citron saw the signs before Masumi himself could, and told him to say yes, yes, yes. He must’ve seen it realistically working out. And you could never look down on him, you were too kind and considerate. Every bone in his body said yes, yes, yes.

“No,” Masumi said. “I’m enjoying the single life.”

“You sound like a regular bachelor,” you teased.

Don’t rock the boat. Don’t ask for more than you deserve.

Masumi shoved his heart into a bottle and let it lie there as he took the safe route.

Masumi led you out of the parlor and into the night streets together. When you were talking about a new movie you saw the other day, you went to grab his hand, and his fingers laced between yours. He escorted you to the train station, made sure you knew your route, and left after the train did, just like a true gentleman.

Then he walked home alone. He knew Veludo Way like the back of his hand, and passed by the bright signs and neon lights. His headphones canceled out the noise of street acts and the lively city as he continued back to the Mankai dorms, but no song played.

He stepped through the doors at 11:43, and Izumi welcomed him back and thanked him for being on time. Tsuzuru was halfway through a bowl of tomato basil soup Masumi could’ve sworn was labeled “taichi’s - DO NOT STEAL!!” and wondered aloud where he was. Citron asked how it went.

The youngest of Spring answered them all with a simple hand wave and “It’s fine,” and didn’t stop walking until he got to his room.

He closed the door, but didn’t flick the light on. He stood there in the dark, headphones blocking out the world for a moment, moonlight shining through the blinds and on the floor.

Masumi buried his face in his hands.

Masumi Usui does not cry. It’s not an issue of vulnerability, but just a part of him. He didn’t cry when his parents ignored him growing up. He didn’t cry when they announced their divorce, or finalized it, or during any of the arguments that led up to it. And though it stung and burned and felt like a paper ripped apart, he didn’t cry as he anticipated his flight from his found family in Mankai to America, not even when all the actors, his grandmother, and one hellbent director came to his rescue at the very last minute.

But something about laying here in his bed like a dead fish, hiding from the world underneath a blanket and squinting as he anticipated tears that would not come, only made it more miserable.

The light turned on, piercing through his barrier of blankets and searing his retinas, and he quietly sucked in air like a hiss.

“Masumi?” That must be Tsuzuru. His sneakers squeaked against the floorboards as the door closed.

Masumi grunted from the pile of blankets.

“Are you okay?” Tsuzuru asked. As the silence stretched on, he added, “Citron wanted me to make sure.”

“Citron can mind his own damn business.”

“You know as well as I do he’s trying to look out for you.”

“Doesn’t matter.” He rolled over and pressed his nose down into his pillow. “Do you ever just have something you want in your grasp but every time you try and make a move for them you always wuss out and it never goes anywhere?”

Ohhh, it’s that kind of conversation. Tsuzuru pursed his lips. This was sounding an awful lot like the impromptu intervention he and Spring Troupe held when his heart broke just before Romeo and Julius, and he had half a mind to fetch Sakuya, but it was late and Masumi definitely didn’t need to be alone right now.

And, well, geez. Masumi just said more in one breath than he did in full conversations. Tsuzuru couldn’t just leave him without feeling like a monster, even if he had good intentions,

Tsuzuru climbed the ladder to his bed, and sat against the wall, not quite next to Masumi but not at the far end of the room, either. “All the time, actually. It’s a common feeling.”

“It still sucks.”

“Yeah, it does.”

The pile of blankets rose and fell in time with Masumi’s silent breathing. Tsuzuru distracted himself with a pen he found in his pocket. He clicked it once, twice, and three times to expose the nib.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked.

“No.”

Even with seven younger brothers, comforting never got easier. Tsuzuru dragged the pen along his wrist, leaving a spotty black line along his veins. The line made hard turns and corners as Tsuzuru doodled, and formed a geometric pattern. The blanket monster steadied its breath. “I mean, not about it. But talking is okay.”

“Okay. I can get that.” The ink lulled as Tsuzuru thought up a story, anything to take the pressure off Masumi. “I wasn’t lying when I said it’s a common feeling. It happens to people all the time. When I was your age, I had the opportunity all throughout my school career to join a drama club, but I never got around to it.”

“You’re only two years older than me,” Masumi grumbled.

“It still counts! The point is, I always had a reason not to join every time I really considered auditioning, but they weren’t actual dealbreakers. I could’ve made the time to go to rehearsals and balance it with the rest of my life, but I never did, and I knew my excuses were bull even when I was still in school. I’m grateful I found my place with Mankai Company, but I still wonder how different I would’ve been if I just joined the club.”

The room was eerily quiet. Masumi wasn’t protesting, so Tsuzuru assumed he was on the correct route. “But I’m still here, right? I can’t imagine myself acting anywhere else, so I like to think that the stage is where I’m supposed to be, even if I didn’t get a head start with club activities. I regret avoiding the club, sure, but if I had the choice to start over and audition while I was still in school, I don’t think I would take it.

“Even when you hesitate, you learn something new about yourself, or the world around you. I think avoiding theatre for so long only cemented how much I wanted it in my future, and in the long run? I’m still an actor. And I’m still a scriptwriter. I might’ve chickened out, sure, but my regret is one of the reasons why I’m so determined to help Mankai bloom.”

The blankets grunted in acknowledgement, and parted to reveal Masumi’s head, still face-down in his pillow. He held them close to his body like a security measure. “But I feel helpless.”

“But you’re still in control of yourself, aren’t you? You get to decide what to do.” The bedding around Tsuzuru crinkled as he stretched out. “I don’t know your situation, but whatever you decide on, it’ll still teach you something about yourself, and let you improve yourself.”

“I guess.” Masumi rolled over and clasped his hands over his face. “Reader is just- they’re not perfect, but they’re perfect for me. I feel so comfortable around them. So why can’t I just be honest with them?”

“Wait, hold on.” Tsuzuru, who spent the last few minutes staring at the wall as he talked or drawing on his arm, snapped to look at his roommate. His face colored underneath the cracks of his fingers. “I’m going to be frank. Are you trying to ask Reader out?”

Masumi shot up like a cobra. His hair was disheveled and his blush still apparent, but he looked at Tsuzuru like he casually suggested they should eat a baby, or that a clothing line made of sandpaper was a good idea. “You trying to take them away from me, Minagi?”

“What? No! No way!” Tsuzuru smacked his hands over Masumi’s shoulders. “Everything I just said was important and good advice, but trust me this time. Ignore everything I just said and ask them out. I promise it’s going to work out.”

Masumi gave him a once-over. “You are the last person I want to hear love advice from.”

“Promise on my life. Actually, scratch that, I promise on my laptop and all my backup data. It’ll work out, I swear.”

“Why?”

Tsuzuru stared at the ceiling. “Uhh… It’s not my place to say. But it’s fine. It’ll all be fine. I’ve got your back.” He ruffled Masumi’s hair.

“Try that again and I’ll spoon your eyeballs out.” Masumi said this darkly, but he didn’t move to shake Tsuzuru off, and when his roommate climbed back down the ladder to finish Taichi’s soup, he wrapped the biggest of the blankets back around his shoulders. It enveloped him in down as he struggled to shake off the way his heart was still fluttering.

He had a lot to think about.

Something about that night in the ice cream parlor awakened something in Masumi. Ever since his crush first sprouted, he wanted you to be happy, and that wish never changed.

But he wants to be true to himself, and regarding that, true to you. You were a welcome interruption to the life of acting he was getting used to. He found himself checking your text history together, theorizing your next visit to Veludo Way despite you never uttering a word.

The feeling is strange now. He misses you, and the time you spend together is treasured, but he worries he’s growing too attached to you, like when he was head over heels for Izumi.

It’s because of this that he really decides that he needs to tell you how he feels. Not over-the-top or superfluous like how he handled it with Izumi- he does this on his own terms or not at all.

But there’s still a fear. Not about whether you’ll reciprocate- he’d love to date you but at this point it’s more about being honest to you than being your boyfriend, though he really wouldn’t complain with the latter- but he’s afraid of losing control of himself. He doesn’t want to treat you as a second Izumi.

After all, you’re his dear Reader. Not Izumi. He cherishes everything that makes you unique, and you deserve to be treated as no one else but yourself.

A night at the theater passes. Backstage, Masumi checks his phone in case you decide to come, and doesn’t notice Citron poking his head through the curtain and searching for you.

“Have you decided what to do?” Tsuzuru casually asked one night as the troupe was striking the set, and he and Masumi were carrying a box of props.

“Piss off. It’s none of…” He trailed off as he remembered their conversation the other night. Tsuzuru looked unfazed. “Sorry. Yeah. I’ll do it after closing night.”

Tsuzuru walks off, seemingly satisfied. It wasn’t really a lie, but his plans were far off in the future, and not in two days like the scriptwriter assumed. He couldn’t afford mixing two of the most important things in his life like that.

Saturday, the night before Harugaoka Quartet’s final performance. Masumi was already tucked into bed and checking his Reddit feed for the last time before he fell asleep when his phone vibrated with a text from one of the few people that could override his phone’s Do Not Disturb mode.

“break a leg tomorrow! clear your schedule after the play, i’m kidnapping you for the night”

Whatever drowsiness Masumi was feeling dies in a single shot as he snaps to attention. He’s already typing out a response when he sees the three dots appear on your end of the text app.

“i have something to talk to you abt tomorrow”

And before he can even think of a response to that one-

“FKJFKLAD it isn’t as intense as whatever you’re thinking”

“don’t worry about it”

“it’s not important”

The dots appear again, but it takes more time for Reader to respond this time. “you know how i got an apartment in veludo for yosei uni next term? i’ll show you around my place”

That seems to be the end of Reader’s multitext, and Masumi can’t help but smile as he responds. “k. ill let you know when im free.”

Closing night is a whirlwind, and by the time you pick Masumi up, his adrenaline has died down but the nervous excitement from a show still remains, or maybe that’s just the effect you have on him these days.

But the point is, it’s probably why he was so direct.

“What did you want to talk to me about?” Masumi asked.

The neon lights outside rolled along slowly. It was getting late, but traffic was just starting to let up and keep the car’s momentum going. Saturated magenta from a late-night pub sign across the street flashed across the steering wheel and your knuckles.

Green colored your eyes, and the car sped up as you left the block.

“I didn’t expect you to remember that,” you observed.

“You mentioned it.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think it would be memorable.”

“It was you. You literally texted me that directly.”

“I’m not exactly the most memorable person.”

“Well, I remembered,” Masumi said with an air of finality.

You didn’t respond as the car followed a curve on the road, and he took the victory in stride. Then he realized how desperate he sounded. He looked out the window, watching the orange construction reflectors by the side of the road bounce light into the car and onto his embarrassed face in the glass.

That managed to shut him up for not even half a minute. “Seriously. What were you going to say?”

In the time it took for him to recover, you were already pulling into a parking lot. “Lemme show you my apartment first. I’ll get you some snacks and then I’ll explain, alright?”

“Alright,” he said.

But on the elevator, he continued. “You’re acting weird, though.”

“Ouch. I’m almost offended.” You grabbed his hand and led him down the hall as you deadpanned. “I guess you’re right, as much as I hate to admit it.”

“Are you okay?”

“I guess? It’s more of an ‘us’ thing?”

You stuck a key into your door. It swung open, an invitation into your abode. “That’s not exactly confidence-inspiring.”

“Who said I was confident?” The door opened, and you welcomed Masumi into the kitchen. “I’ll get you some hot Cheetos. I got the ones with lime.”

You turned the corner and ducked into a nondescript room. The actor might not know the layout of your apartment, but he was pretty certain that wasn’t your pantry.

Well, at least your apartment was cool. Like every student’s first time living alone, the hallways outside were dingy and the wall damage was unfortunate, but you already started decorating, and traces of you were left around the open area between the kitchen and the living room- a CD here, your chapstick there. A flowery scent permeated the air.

He scanned through your kitchen, from the refrigerator whiteboard reminders to the reusable cups in the drying rack, but his survey was cut short. In the corner of the kitchen counter was the lavender he gave you, poking out of a small glass cup tied with the twine he attached to the original bouquet.

The flowers hadn’t lost their color yet, and the stems stood strong, insisting they would last longer. No wonder why your apartment smelled so nice.

“Isn’t it crazy they’re still alive? I’m not much of a green thumb, so I’m surprised how hardy they are.” Masumi jumped at your voice. You had quietly entered the kitchen and spoke up without him noticing, then opened the door to the pantry and brought out two bags of chips. “Here. I might just be thinking of Autumn’s plays, but I’ve heard acting burns a surprising amount of calories.”

“Thanks.” He took a seat across the counter and in a living space with an L-shaped couch. “Nice place.”

You finally looked at Masumi directly, and brushed a stray lock of hair out of your face. “Oh. Thank you. I’ve been working on making it presentable for a few weeks now.”

“It suits you. You did a good job.”

“Thanks.”

“Are you stalling?”

“Just my luck you’d figure it out. Yeah, I am.” You ripped open a bag of Doritos and slumped over the couch. You were right next to Masumi, your arm against his while your head lounged on his shoulder.

“You know you can tell me anything.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s one of those things that’s hard for me to admit to myself, though.” You shut your eyes, as though it would make it any easier. Masumi felt like he was going crazy. You begun to speak, slowly and erratically as you pieced the words together like a puzzle. “Do you think something’s changed between us?”

Masumi’s heart sunk. “What?”

“It’s weird. I don’t know how to describe it, but I feel like we aren’t really just friends, you know?”

“Oh.” He stared into his bag of chips, focused on the folds of cellophane and the dark corners, anything to avoid looking at you. “I’m sorry. I’ll stop talking to you if you want.”

“What? No! That’s not what I meant at all!” You pressed a hand to your head. “Oh, I really messed that one up. I mean, you’re very close to me. I wouldn’t ruin that for the world. I just don’t think ‘friends’ is the word to call us anymore.”

“So we’re more than friends?”

“Yeah. More than friends.”

Masumi nodded with understanding and crunched on a Cheeto. “So we’re best friends.”

“Oh, come on, Masumi,” you groaned and wrapped a hand around Masumi’s cheek. “You’re smart. I think you can figure out what I’m trying to say.”

The actor felt like he was drowning. You were no stranger to casual touching among your friends like Masumi, but even this was pushing it. How was he supposed to keep a cool head while his cheeks were growing warm and here was no way you wouldn’t notice-

Then it all clicked together.

“Reader,” Masumi said. “Do you like me?”

You tensed.

“Because I like you,” he said.

The room was so still.

“A lot, actually.”

Now or never.

“It was hard figuring out everything, and I don’t want to cause any trouble for you, but you should know. I think the world of you and it felt wrong to ignore that, but I don’t want you to think I’m saying this for something in return. I just wanted you to know.”

The words spilled out of his mouth, but he couldn’t find the urge to regret any of it. Everything was true.

“You don’t have to say it back, though. I’m fine where we are, and if you think that’s weird or want to stop being friends, then…” He trailed off. “Then that’s okay.”

“But it’s not,” you said. “It’s not okay. I mean- I feel the same.”

“You like me?’

“You gonna make me say it twice?” Your head lolled further and you looked up at Masumi. As red as he was with your hand along his jawline, you were sure you were even redder. “Yeah. I do.”

“You mean that?”

You drew him forward and kissed him.

You were too caught up in the moment to remember that you’ve never really kissed anyone before, not like this, and the inexperience must be mutual, but Masumi’s hands were on you, feeling your hair and running down your neck and against your chest, and his breath hitched when you pulled him to pin you down, and you relished in it, utterly spellbound.

Your lips slid off his, and rested against his cheek, out of breath but not quite ready to part. “I mean it,” you whispered. “I- I like you too…”

Masumi’s voice was muffled as he rested on your shoulder. “You kissed me but you’re shy about saying that?”

“Oh my god, shut up.”

To his credit, he did. He dove back into your arms, taking the initiative this time, and whatever protests you had died on your lips while your thoughts were only Usui, Usui, Usui.

❖ bonus ❖

“I should probably hang up soon,” you said. “I’m going to the gig soon.”

You laced up your concert boots (well-worn and well-loved, and steel-toed to protect your feet from moshers and dancers), your phone pinned between your ear and shoulder as your sister talked over the phone. “Riiiight. I forgot you were going to a concert-“

“It’s not a concert, Izu,” you shot back. “Concerts are stadium-sized events. This one is just at a small bar venue, so it’s a gig.”

“Same thing. I think he already told you, but Masumi’s on the way to your apartment.”

“I heard. I’ve got a date.”

“Since when did you get a date? Did you tell Masumi?” Izumi sounded worried. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud of you and I want to know everything when you get the chance, but I thought it was just going to be the two of you.”

“Yep, just the two of us.”

“But what about your date? Are you meeting them at the venue? That’s not exactly romantic, or considerate- HHOOOUUUGGGHHH.” Izumi gasped.

“Wow, you sound like a broken air mattress.”

“Reader,” Izumi squeaked, holding onto her breath. “Are you dating Masumi?”

You held the phone away from your ear, fully expecting the loudest noise you’d ever hear on the other end of the line. “Uh, yeah?”

…

……

………

Oh. That was disappointing.

You brought the phone back to your ear as Izumi continued, not at all shocked but relieved. “Oh, that’s good. Congratulations! It’s been a long time coming.”

“Thanks. I’m really glad you- wait, what do you mean, ‘long time coming?’”

“You haven’t noticed yet? Almost everyone in Mankai saw it coming.”

You stood to your full height just to glare at a wall. “Seriously? That is so immature.”

“You would too, don’t even lie. If you keep trying to set me up with people, then I reserve the right to tease you over your relationships. I so called it.”

“You are ridiculous. I hate you and I’m going to cut up all your stupid striped T-shirts. How did you even figure it out?”

“You’re kidding me. How do you not?” Izumi laughed. “The second Masumi stopped following me around on his free days, I figured something was up. He’s not very good at hiding his feelings.”

“No, he isn’t! I had to egg him on so he would confess before me.”

“Wait, what? What happened?”

You recounted the beginning of your relationship, without all the raunchy details, and realized Izumi was quietly echoing everything you said. “Are you writing things down?”

“I have a duty to know. There’s a massive betting pool on you two.”

“See?! Ridiculous! That’s so obnoxious!”

“Don’t worry, it’s a community pot. You said he confessed first, so that’s some points for just about everyone in Winter Troupe, Sakyo, Kazunari and Sakuya.”

“Even Sakuya’s in on this?”

“Spring wants to see their boy winning,” Izumi said matter-of-factly. “Hey, did you offer him any Takis? Chikage was certain you’d offer him Takis right before you became an item.”

“Nope, Cheetos. The hot lime kind.”

“They’re basically the same thing.”

“No, they aren’t. He says Takis are too spicy.”

“But the hot lime Cheetos are spicier than Takis.”

“No, they aren’t.”

“I’ll just say they were Takis. If Chikage got that one right, Itaru has to pay him in gift cards from his whaling stash, and I’m kind of miffed at him for eating a whole jar of guacamole in one night.”

“In one night? But he’s built like a curtain rod, how can he physically do that? Better question, what’s Chikage going to do with a bunch of iTunes cards?”

“I heard he was going to get Minecraft, but if you ask me, I think it’s about the principle of the matter.”

“It has to be. Pocket Edition sucks.”

A knock on the door interrupted your conversation. “Speak of the devil, he’s here. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Noooo, Reader! I need to know if there was a love letter involved! My salary versus Homare’s pocket change is at stake here!”

“It can wait until tomorrow!” You abandoned the phone on the counter and opened the door. “Hey, babe.” He pecked you on the cheek in greeting.

Meanwhile, Izumi was still yelling on the phone. “Is that Masumi? Give him the phone, I need to do a shovel talk.”

You hung up without a care in the world, and turned to your boyfriend. “Sorry about that, Izu called. Did you know Mankai has a betting ring about us?”

He sniffed. “I overheard Tenma talking about it the other day. I thought it was a joke.”

“You thought wrong. Itaru’s in for a world of pain.” You locked the door behind you, adjusted your T-shirt, and brushed Masumi’s knuckles with your own. “Ready to go?”

“Always.” He held your hand as you began to walk together. 🎧

170 notes · View notes