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The summer heat hit like a wall the moment Rui stepped into the park, heavy and relentless, but not unbearable. He had prepared himself for this: water bottles, handkerchief, sun screen, mental pep talk about sweat being just a sign of effort. What he hadn’t prepared for, not in the faintest corner of his over calculating mind, was Tsukasa Tenma in shorts.
Not the usual knee length shorts Rui had grown used to seeing on peers. No. These were shorter, brushing the middle of Tsukasa’s thighs, and showing far more of his legs than Rui was in any way equipped to deal with. Thin but clearly toned from endless performances and rehearsals. Lithe muscle that moved every time Tsukasa strutted about, declaring some nonsense about destiny or spotlight or “the true meaning of summer performance!”
Rui was doomed. Utterly, catastrophically doomed.
He thought he could sneak a look, maybe two, under the guise of adjusting equipment or fiddling with his phone. But Tsukasa, being Tsukasa, wasn’t one to stay still. He stretched with all the careless dramatics of a stage star, arms wide, leg lifting onto a bench for a deep stretch. That’s when Rui’s brain short circuited. There was no mathematical formula in the world complex enough to save him from the sight of Tsukasa’s thighs.
‘This is already simultaneously the worst and best summer of my life,’ Rui thought to himself, staring a second too long.
A sharp jab hit his ribs. Rui jolted.
Nene stood at his side, water bottle in hand, giving him a look sharp enough to slice through steel. She didn’t even bother to whisper, her voice low and cutting in that way only childhood friends could master. “Stop staring before even he notices, you creep.”
Rui flushed hard, the faint pink already burning under the heat. He didn’t even try to argue. There was no excuse clever enough to escape this trap. He just raised his hands slightly in defeat, lips pressing into a line that twitched between annoyance and sheepishness.
Of course, Tsukasa, completely oblivious, as always, was too caught up in demonstrating his “perfect stage presence even under the cruel sun!” to pay any mind. He was standing on the bench now, hands on his hips, eyes shining as he declared, “No amount of heat shall diminish my brilliance!” The sunlight caught his hair like a spotlight and it practically glowed like a golden halo, and somehow, that only made it worse for Rui.
From behind, Emu clapped enthusiastically, bouncing in place with her uncontainable energy. “Waaa! Tsukasa-kun is sparkle-sparkling even brighter than the sun! We’re gonna have the BESTEST summer time shine show ever!”
“Sparkling,” Rui echoed under his breath, resisting the urge to bury his face in his hands. He could practically feel Nene smirking beside him.
Tsukasa struck another pose, this one heroic and somehow even more leg baring than the last. Rui bit his lip, forcing himself to look at the grass instead. Practice hadn’t even started, and already he felt like this summer was out to test the limits of his composure.
It was going to be a very, very long season.
There was no respite in sight.
Rui was trying. Really, he was. He told himself this with every breath, every measured blink, every time Nene’s sharp side eye landed on him like a dagger. It wasn’t his fault that Tsukasa was… well, Tsukasa.
The boy could be pacing across the stage, gesturing wildly with his arms, or standing completely still and radiating pure, unshakable confidence, it didn’t matter. Rui’s focus snapped to him like a compass needle finding true north. How was anyone supposed to concentrate on vocal inflection and blocking when that was standing three feet away, legs bare to mid thigh, shouting about the destiny of the spotlight?
He felt insane. Genuinely, clinically insane. Every second of this summer was conspiring against him.
And Tsukasa, the blessed oblivious fool, noticed just enough to make it worse. He didn’t notice Rui’s gaze dragging southward whenever he shifted, but he did notice when Rui stumbled over his feedback.
“Uh—y-yes, your delivery was…” Rui started, words tripping over themselves as if his brain had abandoned the sentence halfway through. “…strong. Very strong.” The second the phrase left his mouth, he knew how hollow it sounded. Generic, uninspired. The sort of thing you’d say to a child showing you their crayon drawing of a dinosaur. He wanted to evaporate on the spot.
Sweat trickled down his neck, dampening the collar of his shirt. Was it the sun beating down, or the weight of Tsukasa’s amber gaze pinning him in place? Rui couldn’t tell anymore. Both were suffocating in their own way.
Tsukasa, rather than being discouraged, only puffed up with more energy, slamming one foot down and striking a dramatic pose as if a live audience were already cheering his name. “Hah! If that is all you have to say, Rui, then clearly I am lacking! Very well! I shall deliver the next run through with 12,000% more energy!”
He shone like a human sunbeam, bright, loud, unrelenting. And Rui, poor dummy that he was, thought only one thing as his heart ricocheted painfully against his ribs: God, I’m so in love with this cute idiot.
From the sidelines, Emu’s laughter bubbled like fireworks. “Heehee, Rui-kun’s face is red! Is it from the heat or Tsukasa-kun~?”
Nene didn’t even look up from where she was scrolling on her phone during their water break. Rui could practically hear the roll of her eyes. “Both. Definitely both.”
Practice was supposed to be about acting, staging, teamwork. But all Rui could think was that he was one step away from combusting in the middle of the park.
☀︎
Tsukasa Tenma prided himself on his powers of perception. A true star, after all, must be attuned to the needs of his castmates! And today, his director, his partner in brilliance, was acting strange.
At first, he had brushed it off. Rui had smiled, in that mischievous way of his, and said he was excited to practice. Tsukasa had believed him without question, because why wouldn’t Rui be excited? They had an entire summer ahead, free of school, free to rehearse as much as they wished! But as the afternoon stretched on, the oddities piled up like misplaced props backstage.
Rui was quiet. Too quiet. His sharp little comments, his script adjustments, his sudden bursts of inspiration that usually had him sketching furiously or tinkering with whatever odd contraption he’d dragged along. None of that was happening. He was giving feedback, yes, but it was the sort of bland encouragement anyone could give. That wasn’t Rui. Rui was precise, meticulous, sometimes cruelly honest.
And then there was the way he kept shifting, as if sitting still in the shade or standing on the ground was somehow unbearable. His eyes weren’t locking on the scripts or props like usual either.
Tsukasa’s brows furrowed in concern. Something was definitely wrong.
Then! Clarity struck him like the spotlight cutting through stage curtains. The heat! Of course! Rui had always been the type to hide away indoors, tinkering in his workshop instead of venturing into the sun. And only recently, thanks to his pestering at him and Nene, had Rui begun building any real stamina. He wasn’t used to summer rehearsals in full sunlight, no matter how excited he claimed to be.
That would explain everything: the flushed cheeks, the restless shifting, the distant looks, the clumsy feedback. His poor, brilliant director was wilting. Melting like ice cream under the summer sun, too stubborn to admit it.
Tsukasa placed a hand on his hip, nodding to himself as if solving a great mystery. ‘Hmph! For all his genius, Rui can be terribly neglectful. Doesn’t he realize that even a director must take care of his body if he wishes to keep up with a star of my caliber?’
He turned toward Rui, determination gleaming in his amber eyes. His voice boomed across the park, dramatic as ever. “Director! It is clear to me now! You are being consumed by this scorching sun, are you not? Fear not, for I—Tenma Tsukasa—shall ensure you are properly rested and hydrated!”
Rui nearly choked on his own breath, whipping his head toward him with wide eyes.
Emu squealed with delight. “Oooo! Tsukasa-kun noticed! Rui-kun did look like a wilting flower!”
From her place under the shade, Nene sighed, muttering without looking up from her phone, “He’s not wilting, he’s just distracted… but sure, go with that.”
Tsukasa ignored her skepticism. He was already marching toward Rui with all the confidence of a knight approaching a fallen comrade.
☀︎
This was worse. Infinitely, unbearably worse. Rui had thought when the day started, that the heat of the summer sun was his greatest enemy today, but apparently, the true peril was Tsukasa Tenma in “concerned hero” mode. The boy was determined to save him from a problem that only existed because Rui couldn’t keep his thoughts in check.
One second, Tsukasa was dashing off with all the purpose of a knight on a rescue mission; the next, Rui found himself hauled, physically hauled, into the grass behind the stage, tucked into the shade of the trees like a fragile flower in need of preservation.
And then Tsukasa sat down beside him.
Too close. Far too close. His mid thigh shorts folded slightly as he sat, soft muscle and the faintest hint of fat pressing together in a way that Rui’s cursed eyes caught instantly. His brain fizzled, sparked, and went blank. He was going to combust before rehearsal even resumed.
“Here!” Tsukasa declared, thrusting his water bottle into Rui’s hands with a triumphant grin, as if this solved everything.
It took Rui a full second to process the action. He stared at the bottle, at Tsukasa’s confident expression, at the condensation running down the insulated metal. The gears in his mind spun uselessly. “I… I have my own water,” Rui finally managed, voice just shy of steady.
“Nonsense!” Tsukasa waved him off, puffing up with smugness that was somehow both irritating and devastatingly endearing. “Yours must already be warm by now! My bottle is insulated, so it keeps things perfectly cold! There should even still be ice in there!”
“Tsukasa-kun,” Rui tried again, throat dry for reasons that had nothing to do with thirst, “I wouldn’t want to take yours. I drink warm water all the time, it doesn’t—”
“Absolutely not!” Tsukasa cut him off, refusing to give him even a moment to reach for his own bag. He nudged the bottle closer until it was practically pressing into Rui’s chest, amber eyes shining with victorious insistence.
Rui swallowed hard, the lump in his throat as solid as stone. Cold water did sound amazing. His tongue ached for it. His overheated body begged for it. But…
That was Tsukasa’s water bottle.
Which meant—
An indirect kiss.
Rui’s mind imploded. Every neuron gave up its duties and threw themselves dramatically off the stage of his consciousness. His body sat frozen, outwardly composed save for the faintest twitch of his lip, but his brain had been liquefied into molten nonsense by two relentless suns: the one blazing in the sky above and the one sitting at his side, all golden hair and thighs and adorable concern.
He was dead. Absolutely dead. If Emu and Nene found his body later, melted into the grass, they’d have Tsukasa to thank for it.
Rui stared at the bottle like it was some cursed relic, radiating danger in the form of condensation and cold metal. Tsukasa’s hand was still outstretched, his grin so confident it left no room for argument. Rui could practically hear Nene in the back of his head muttering, ‘Just drink it, idiot, before you make it obvious.’
So he did.
He unscrewed the cap with careful fingers, the faint clink of ice inside mocking him, and brought it to his lips. The first swallow was blissfully cold, a shock to his overheated system. He wanted to sigh, to melt into the grass with relief, but the awareness that this was Tsukasa’s bottle, that Tsukasa’s mouth had been here not long before, clamped down on him harder than the summer heat ever could.
Every sip was a quiet torture. Refreshing, yes, but unbearable all the same. This was it. This was the rest of his summer: long, punishing, and painted in the colors of Tsukasa’s thighs and voice and the simple, infuriating care that Rui didn’t know how to handle.
And the worst part? He didn’t even know if he minded.
When he finally lowered the bottle, Tsukasa looked immensely pleased with himself, as if he’d just saved Rui’s life with his grand act of gallantry. “Ha! I knew it! Nothing defeats the blazing sun like a well prepared star! You see, Rui, this is why hydration and rest are essential! A true star must not only push himself, but also look after his comrades! After all, what good is a performance if the cast is wilting before the curtain even rises?”
Rui sat there, still gripping the bottle, staring down at him as if he’d descended from some separate plane of existence entirely. His brain was pudding. His carefully constructed composure was ash.
Tsukasa, naturally, had no idea. He was already gesturing wildly, voice booming with passion as he continued, “But fear not! With my guidance, we shall conquer this summer! Our brilliance will outshine even the cruelest of suns! Wonderlands x Showtime will blaze a trail of wonder across the land, unstoppable and eternal!”
Rui tipped his head back against the stage’s wooden edge, the ghost of a smile tugging at his lips despite himself. Longest summer of his life? Absolutely. But with Tsukasa by his side, loud and ridiculous and painfully radiant, Rui couldn’t bring himself to dread it.
If anything, he was already bracing himself to savor every second.
☀︎
From their spot near the stage, Emu and Nene had the perfect view of the “rescue mission” unfolding in the shade. Rui sat there stiff as a statue, clutching Tsukasa’s water bottle, while Tsukasa launched into yet another booming monologue about hydration, destiny, and the brilliance of summer performances.
Emu tilted her head, hands folded behind her back, her smile a little too knowing. “Ne~ Nene-chan…” she sing-songed. “When do you think Rui-kun and Tsukasa-kun are going to get together?”
Nene didn’t even glance up from her phone, her voice dry as the summer grass. “At this rate? Never. If they keep up this ridiculous song and dance, they’re going to be stuck in pining limbo forever.”
Emu hummed thoughtfully, tapping a finger against her chin. “Hmm, maybe… but I think they’re going to get together soon! They just might need a little teeny-weeny push~.” Her voice twinkled like fireworks, the suggestion hanging in the air with all the subtlety of a neon sign.
“I’m not helping with that,” Nene said flatly, still staring at her screen as if sheer willpower would keep her out of Emu’s schemes.
Emu tilted her head further, eyes widening into enormous sparkles, shimmering with puppy dog intensity. The effect was weaponized cuteness, and she leaned closer until Nene could feel the warmth radiating off her in the summer heat.
Nene froze, her thumb hesitating on the phone screen. A faint dust of red bloomed across her cheeks, and she clicked her tongue, looking away sharply. “…Fine.”
“Yaaaay~!” Emu squeaked, immediately wrapping Nene into a tight side hug, bouncing in delight.
“Emu!” Nene snapped, her voice sharper than her movements. “It’s too hot for this!”
And yet, despite her protests, she made no effort to shove the pink haired girl off. Her arms stayed planted at her sides, stiff but unmoving, while Emu snuggled happily against her shoulder.
In the shade not too far away, Rui was still silently combusting beside Tsukasa, utterly unaware that two pairs of eyes, and two very different kinds of meddling, were already plotting his fate.