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It’s been one week since Tomoro got himself a new roommate in the form of his arch-nemesis-turned-friend. During that time, Tomoro promised Raito he would give him as much time and space as he needed to process everything he’d been through recently and adjust to his new life as a Tactics escapee. Also during that time, Tomoro broke that promise every second of every day.
Giving Raito time was easy. Tomoro didn’t ask him to talk about anything he didn’t want to. He didn’t ask him to pitch in with chores or bounties. For the first time since they’d met, he willingly went along with whatever Raito wanted, whenever Raito wanted; and he would continue to do so until he was certain Raito’s emotional state wasn’t too fragile to handle a little tough love. Whether that meant weeks or months, Tomoro would wait. The others called it coddling, and maybe they were right. Tomoro just didn’t want to scare Raito away.
Space was where Tomoro kept overstepping his bounds. He stuck to Raito like a gecko to a rock. Room to room, inside and outside, if Raito went somewhere, Tomoro went with him, never taking his eyes off of him for a second. Though it wasn’t his intention, his constant vigilance was more akin to a warden watching a prisoner than a concerned friend caring for a friend.
“Quit hovering!” Raito finally snapped after seven days of torment. He’d been trying to fix himself something to eat instead of waiting for Tomoro to bring him food for once, only for Tomoro to follow him anyway.
“Wuh? Me?” Tomoro pointed at himself dumbly.
“Yes, you. Who else, idiot? It’s only you here. It’s always you here!” Raito threw his hands up.
“Well, I live here, so—” Tomoro countered.
“So do five other people, but they’re not breathing down my neck. Go away, Tomoro!” With his eyes narrowed and his teeth clenched, Raito looked the same way he did back then. When he still hated Tomoro’s guts and wouldn’t have minded seeing him dead in a ditch.
“O-Okay,” Tomoro barely choked out past the lump in his throat.
Looking like a kicked puppy, Tomoro backed away. He blinked away the burning in his eyes and took deep breaths to clear the pain in his chest. It’s okay, he told himself. He just needs time.
Yet, Tomoro still didn’t give Raito the space he needed. He didn’t stand right behind him anymore, but he was on the other side of the room, stealing glances at Raito when he thought he wasn’t looking. He couldn’t help it. If he went more than a minute at time without seeing him, Tomoro’s anxiety threatened to consume him whole.
The next time Tomoro fixed his eyes on the floor, pretending he didn’t know Raito was still there, the other boy managed to approach without his notice. Hands slammed down on either side of him, gripping the back of the seat and effectively caging him in place. Tomoro nearly jumped out his skin at the combination of movement and loud noise. After coming within a centimeter of crashing his forehead into Raito’s chin, Tomoro fell back into his seat.
“Tomoro.”
The sound of Raito’s voice over the blood rushing in his ears helped to ground Tomoro, and he stopped squirming around. Taking one last deep breath, Tomoro forced himself to sit still and face the boy in front of him. He was no longer panicking, but Tomoro was nervous as all get out with how Raito was staring down at him. He felt very small and very trapped.
“Yes?” Tomoro smiled lopsidedly.
“Do you know what ‘space’ means, or are you even dumber than I thought?” Raito’s voice was so cold as he spoke, as though he were talking to a mere insect.
The ache in Tomoro’s chest became overwhelming, and it took every bit of his self-control to keep tears from escaping his eyes.
“Sorry,” Tomoro whispered. “I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad at me.”
“Wait. Ew, no, stop—stop crying.” Raito leaned down to Tomoro’s eye level, placing his hands on his cheek and swiping at the tears he didn’t realize he’d let fall.
“S-Sorry.”
“And stop apologizing!”
“Sorry.”
“For the love of—” Raito groaned in exasperation. For a moment, he leaned his forehead against Tomoro’s while he regained his bearings, then pulled back to look him in the eyes. “I’m not mad. I’m trying to understand. You told me to take all the space I need, but you hardly give me two feet to myself. It’s like you don’t trust me. Which, okay, fair, but I’m really trying here and—”
“It’s not that.” Tomoro cut him off. “I trust you. I do.”
“Then why are you treating me like some dog who’ll run off the second you drop its leash?” Raito asked. “I’m not going to disappear if you take your eyes off me for one second!”
“But you did!” Tomoro argued. “I looked away for one second, and you were gone. I can’t go through that again, okay? I can’t.”
“Oh.” Raito averted his gaze. He started to pull away, but Tomoro grabbed hold of his wrists. He wasn’t ready to break contact.
“I was putting on a brave face at the time, because I wanted you to trust that I was strong enough to save you; but the truth is, I’d never been more scared in my life. I didn’t want to get cold hearted. More than that, I didn’t want you to. So when we finally escaped that colosseum, and you weren’t there…” Tomoro shut his eyes tight to keep from crying again. “It was hell, Raito. Every second I didn’t know if you were alive or dead, I was in hell!”
Tomoro held tighter to Raito’s wrists, needing something to keep him from breaking into sobs.
“I’m not going to leave you again,” Raito promised.
“I don’t believe you.” Tomoro glared back defiantly. Almost instantly, tears began to stream down his cheeks again, but he no longer cared. “I know you don’t care about me like I care about you. You don’t need me like I need you. You have no reason to stay. You’re better off—”
“Don’t you dare finish that thought.” Raito pinched his cheeks to shut him up. “Honestly, it must hurt to be as stupid as you. How do you even come up with such idiotic ideas?”
Before Tomoro could even think of protesting, his lips were being covered by Raito’s. Tomoro’s first kiss was awkward, shy, hesitant, and full of so much love and concern that he could only respond by crying harder.
“Is this okay?” Raito checked.
“Mhmm. Yeah. Yes,” Tomoro frantically assured him.
Thus, their first kiss was swiftly followed by a second, and a third, and so on, both of them gaining confidence as they continued. Somewhere along the way, Tomoro stopped crying, choosing instead to melt into the feeling of being cared for. He let go of Raito’s wrists in favor of looping his arms around his neck to pull him closer. A twinge of guilt hit him when the sudden movement made Raito flinch, but thankfully Raito relaxed upon remembering it was only Tomoro touching him now.
It was hard to say how long they stayed that way before breaking apart. All Tomoro knew was that he was getting short of breath, and Raito’s back probably hurt from leaning down for so long.
“I’m not going anywhere. Do you believe me now?” Raito pressed a final kiss to Tomoro’s forehead.
“I do.” Tomoro smiled. “Sorry about before. I’m ready to give you that space now.”
“Screw space. You think I’m letting you leave my side after all that? That’s stupid. Stupid Tomoro.”
“Then…what do you want me to do?” Tomoro cocked his head.
“Keep hovering like a little pest but kiss me when you do,” Raito smirked.
“I’m not a pest. But it’s a deal.” Tomoro blushed at being so easily convinced.
“Good. Ah, and one more thing.”
“Yeah?”
Rather than respond to Tomoro, Raito turned his head towards the stairs. “You can all stop hiding now. Buncha creeps.”
Tomoro’s whole body burned with shame when he realized all of his friends were quietly watching from the stairs. They scattered like rats the second they made eye contact with Raito, bolting back to their rooms, but the damage was already done.
“H-How long were they there?” Tomoro questioned.
“If you don’t already know, it’s best you stay in the dark,” Raito answered cryptically. “Seriously, does privacy not exist in this house?”
“Not really, no. Consider yourself lucky you got here after Reina and Makoto learned how to knock.” Tomoro grimaced as he recalled all the times the sanctity of his room was violated. “It’s their annoying ass way of showing they care. Or so they say.”
“Haha…hahaha! How ridiculous.” Raito doubled over from laughing too hard. “You’re all insane. Why would I ever leave this place? I love it here.”