Archive of Our Own

Miyano was utterly fucked. 

Yes, that was his predicament. While he was usually keen to take any free time he and his boyfriend had spending time together, today was not one of those days. Festival preparations had taken up much of his time and today was no different. As the classmates who stayed were cleaning up the tools they used, a certain dark-haired classmate ushered the remaining classmates into a small gathering. 

Displayed in front of him was a black and purple case of candy. Just looking at the treats had Miyano cringing at the thought of eating such sweetness. Maybe Sasaki would like it if he brought some to him, but Miyano could only hope he would get away without being coerced into eating any. At the same time that he was plotting his escape, a curious side of him wanted to see what exactly his event-planning classmate was up to. Making up the excuse in his head that it was his duty as the class’ disciplinary committee representative's job, Miyano made his way to the small circle that had formed. 

"Is that candy?" Tashiro, the ever-genius boy, asked. Karasubara, the owner of the mysterious case of candy nodded with his arms crossed in front of him. 

"Very observant, Tashiro," Karasubara nodded. With a devious smirk he added, "But it's not any ordinary candy. No, sir, this is mystery candy!"

Miyano wanted to gripe at him about how that much was obvious considering the question marks lining the packaging. He held his tongue, hoping to not get too roped up in the mess. As much as he was curious, he also didn’t want to step on a sleeping giant and end up getting voluntold to try the ominous candy.

"Since we finished today's work early today, Hiwatari and I decided to gather those of you here to play a game," Karasubara explained. Miyano bit his cheek in an attempt to not groan in annoyance at himself for not running away when he had the chance. He had no problem hanging out with classmates, but… he doesn't like candy. 

"So what does the candy have anything to do with the game?" Kuresawa asked as he glanced up from his phone where he was texting his girlfriend. Miyano had a sneaking feeling that the question wasn’t Kuresawa’s own, but coming from the girl on the other end of that phone. Hiwatari was the one to answer this time. 

"It'll be a punishment game!" Hiwatari exclaimed, an unsettlingly chaotic shadow casting over his eyes. Glancing around at his four victims, he snickered at their varying expressions of annoyance and curiosity. As if he sensed Miyano's growing disgust, he stared directly at him when he continued, "We play a truth game! Something like 'Never have I ever' and every time you put down a finger, you either tell the story or eat a candy!"

"Candy is fine," Shirahama shrugged. He narrowed his eyes at Karasubara and leaned in too close for comfort, "What's the catch with the candy, then? I don't imagine it's a punishment if it all tastes amazing."

"Oh no," Tashiro mumbled to himself, face growing pale. 

"It's mystery flavored," Karasubara repeated himself. He opened the box and pulled out a small, black candy, "All the candy looks the same, but each one has a different flavor. You could either get one that tastes amazing like orange citrus or have something flavored like deep-fried soap."

"That's oddly specific," Kuresawa called out. Glancing at Hiwatari's face, it became obvious how that particular flavor was discovered. 

"Is everyone in?" Hiwatari asked the group. Miyano wasn't sure that he would be allowed to leave even if he said he wanted to, so he nodded begrudgingly.

"Well, I guess I don't have anything else to do," Miyano shrugged to himself, making an effort to not look defeated and an even bigger effort to not look at the offending box on the table. When he thought about it, he wasn’t really annoyed anymore, but instead curious about the candy. His issue would be if he got something sweet, but from the looks of it, there was a chance that he could try interesting flavors. Not necessarily pleasant ones, but different flavors nonetheless. 

"I didn't have plans with my girlfriend today because of festival prep," Kuresawa nodded, glancing up from his phone again. He eyed the taunting box and pushed his glasses up, "Anyway, she said it'd be interesting and wants me to bring back an interesting story so I'm in."

Ah, she was that kind of fujoshi, Miyano reminded himself. He wasn't entirely sure if he was thankful that he wouldn't be the only taken guy playing the game because of her moe-dar, or terrified. Miyano couldn't really bring himself to complain, however, since that just meant that any heat from not being single would be thrown at Kuresawa instead of himself. Not that Karasubara or Hiwatari knew about his relationship status, but if it somehow got out then the heat could be shared with Kuresawa. That boy just had a way of making single guys feel… single. 

"Are you staying?" Shirahama asked Tashiro. Tashiro nodded quick enough to make Miyano fear he'd give himself brain damage. Actually, considering his grades, Miyano wasn't so sure the boy hadn't already done so at some point in his life. Shirahama hummed and turned back to Karasubara, "Then I guess I'll stay."

That was weird, Miyano thought. He quickly shook his head to rid any BL-related thoughts from swarming in. These were his  friends , he reminded himself. No moe-dar points allowed!

"Gather 'round, then," Karasubara called, pulling out a chair from the desk closest to him and setting the box of candy on it. Hiwatari seated himself right next to him after scooting the desk over to allow for the others to also move a desk forward in a circle. 

To say the game started smoothly would be a lie. As the game started, Karasubara instructed everyone to raise five fingers and set the rules. The first one out of fingers would need to eat three candies regardless of whether they told their story or not. The punishment candy would stack on top of that. He wasn't sure if Karasubara meant for it to happen, but Miyano sensed the immediate shift of tension in the air when the rules were stated. It was like the room had turned into a warzone, everyone against each other. 

The first person to go was Kuresawa. Miyano hoped that he wouldn't fire off shots immediately to preserve any sense of comradery left, but that hope was in vain. While staring straight at Tashiro, Kuresawa started with his first turn.

"Never have I ever skipped out on class or club activities."

"Oh, come on!" Tashiro whined, putting a finger down. He pointed an offended finger at the boy with glasses in betrayal, "You can't layer two things like that with an 'or'! That's targeting!"

"Hmm, I'll allow it," Karasubara snickered mischievously. Tashiro gaped at him and groaned while muttering under his breath. Looking around the group, Miyano found that he wasn't the only one to put down a finger. Everyone except Karasubara had lost a point.

"Stories, everyone!" Hiwatari urged, "I'll go first! I skipped class because a girl wanted to meet up. It turned out she was after a friend of mine in the baseball club I was managing. I had to act like a wingman after that. She was really cute, too, so that sucked."

"Brutal," Shirahama jabbed without a care in the world. The boy in question just laughed, but everyone could hear the pain in his voice. Shirahama sighed, no longer interested in his story, "I skipped basketball practice to go to the arcade with Tashiro a time or two."

"Yep! I did skip a few other times, though, to visit the old guys at the bathhouse!"

Once again, Miyano pinched himself to snap out of the moe-zone. 

"Your turn, Miyano!" Came Karasubara's pitched voice. Miyano snapped back to reality and met the expecting eyes of his friends. 

"Huh, me?" Miyano asked dumbly. He cleared his throat, thinking back to the time he skipped a committee meeting, "Well, I only ever skipped a committee meeting once, but that's because of… personal matters. And I skipped class once when-"

It took less than a second for Miyano to feel his face grow red with heat. Both of the times he had skipped out on something had a common factor: Sasaki Shuumei. The time he ditched the committee meeting was the same day he had chased down Sasaki so he could fully confess how he felt about him. It was a special memory of Miyano’s, one that would feel wrong to just tell the world about in detail. He could still picture the faint glow of the setting sun reflecting from the boy he was confessing to, painting him in a halo just for Miyano’s eyes. How much of that image was meshed with Miyano’s imagination he wasn’t sure, but it was a picture for himself. As for the other time that he skipped something… 

The day he skipped class was the day before his birthday. It was the day that his boyfriend came to school on an optional attendance day to see Miyano so that he could tell him in person that he had gotten into his college of choice. That day, the two got carried away during lunch and ended up causing Miyano to miss out on his afternoon class. The two had "celebrated" Sasaki's acceptance to his college of choice with a heated make-out session. There was no way in hell anyone could force that information out of him if they tried. He would go to hell with that story for all he cared. 

"Wow, he's red," Shirahama's voice teased in that same blank voice he used on everyone. 

"S-shut up!" Miyano retorted, covering his mouth with a hand. He tried his best to ignore the way Kuresawa raised an eyebrow with a knowing look in his eyes. Tashiro, on the other hand, squinted at him and leaned in to study his face.

"Did it have anything to do with Sa- Ow!"

Both Miyano and Shirahama elbowed Tashiro from both sides. Miyano shot the platinum-haired boy a thankful look before reaching into the box of candy. As he stared at the shiny, black candy in his hand, Miyano heard himself silently praying for his taste buds even though he wasn't religious.

"Already?" Karasubara gawked, "Just what the hell were you up to?!"

"I don't have to answer that if I take the punishment," Miyano reminded him before popping the candy in his mouth. He braced himself for the worst of flavors known to man and was surprised as a familiar flavor settled in his mouth and he hummed in approval, "Oh, that's wasabi-flavored."

"No fair!" Tashiro pointed an accusatory finger at Miyano, "He  likes  that stuff. This doesn’t count as a punishment!"

"It's a game of chance," Shirahama pointed out, "There's no guarantee the punishment will feel like one. The real punishment is the period of time where you're hoping it's not a bad candy."

"Next time for sure you'll get a bad one," Tashiro griped. 

With that thought in mind, the game moved forward. Following Kuresawa came Hiwatari. The boy looked around the group before smirking at the three boys opposite of him. His question hit them right where it hurt- their grades. The three boys in question were Shirahama, Tashiro, and Karasubara. While the first two weren't surprising considering their record with last-minute studies, Karasubara had to admit that he once failed a test at the start of high school when he was still recovering from the heartbreak of his botched middle school graduation confession. 

Karasubara brought the game back to some dangerous territory when he aimed a glare at Kuresawa and yelled, "Never have I ever… been in a long, committed relationship!"

Kuresawa smirked as he put down his first finger. He tilted his head tauntingly, "Where do I start with this story? Let's see, back in middle school…"

The entire group of boys started shouting at him to stop, the rules of the game coming back to bite them in the ass. Kuresawa simply laughed sinisterly at the chaos he'd caused with the war-like flashbacks of his long, loving rants about his girlfriend. This agonizing moment led to Karasubara adding a new rule: If the group, not including the storyteller, unanimously voted to skip a story, they'd skip it!

As soon as the chaos from that simmered down, Miyano came across an entirely new problem. The problem was shaped like his classmate Hiwatari who pointed a finger at Miyano's hand which now only held three fingers. Karasubara took notice of this and gawked in surprise. The three who knew the truth simply averted eye contact, leaving Miyano to fend for himself against the hungry, romance-starved wolves. 

"Miyano! When?" Karasubara demanded to know. Miyano chuckled nervously.

"I've been in a relationship since back in January…" Miyano confessed. This earned surprised shrieks from both of the boys who started the game. 

"Huh, that's not as long as I thought," Shirahama commented mindlessly, "I’m kind of surprised, actually, considering how affectionate you two act."

"Shirahama, you've met Miyano's girlfriend?" Karasubara asked in an accusatory tone of voice. Shirahama shrugged, eyeing the boy up and down. 

"Yeah, something like that. What, you jealous?"

"What happened to our solidarity as men?" Karasubara yelled dramatically. With all the yelling, Miyano was surprised a teacher hadn't come to intervene and send them home yet. Turning his fury onto Miyano, he demanded, "We want details, you traitor! I'm sure we all want to know who this girl is, what she looks like, how you met her, and most importantly, how you scored her!"

"Back us up, guys," Hiwatari chimed in, "We want answers."

When no one said anything, Hiwatari's eyes widened in realization. Karasubara seemed to come to the same conclusion as he narrowed his eyes at the three boys who hadn't said much since the grand reveal. Spitefully, he spat, "You all knew, did you? And no one thought to tell us? You have no shame, you lot of traitors!"

"Miyano didn't want us telling people, so who are we to defy him?" Kuresawa supplied. As much as Miyano appreciated his support at the moment, he couldn't help but internally point out the hypocrisy of the statement. His girlfriend wouldn't know if Kuresawa was entirely committed to that statement, but she was always an exception to the rules, according to the boy.

"Whatever, we want to know everything, Miyano!" Karasubara turned his attention back to the person of his current attacks. 

"Um, to answer your questions," Miyano racked his mind as he carefully picked his words, "The person I'm dating is, uh, a year older than me. Taller than me, I suppose."

Kuresawa snorted at the last part. Miyano shot a warning glare at him. 

"Well, as for how we got together," Miyano continued, "My partner confessed to me, and I took a while to give an answer."

"That story could easily be told at a coed school!" Karasubara noted, "What I want to know is how did you meet her? It's not like you could meet her at school."

"Uh, that's..." Miyano didn't know how he should answer. The way Hiwatari was squinting at him wasn't making him feel any better, either. 

"He gave enough information," Kuresawa tried to come to his defense, "Cut him some slack."

"No, we want the full story!" Karasubara pushed. Shirahama snickered, clearly amused by Miyano's predicament.

"I don't know, I kind of want to hear this story," Shirahama egged on unhelpfully. This drew out a sigh from Miyano, who was working on a vague version of the events. 

"We met during a scuffle," Miyano chose his words cautiously to not slip up any dangerous details, "I was calling for help when they arrived and intervened in the fight to help the guy getting hit. We just kept running into each other after that and I couldn't really shake them off. We ended up becoming friends and I guess you can use your imagination for the rest."

"So you met some strong, tall girl who instantly took a liking to you?" Karasubara groaned in frustration, bringing his palms to cover his eyes, "And she just started following you around? That sounds like a plot from one of the girly games Shirahama plays! You're a lucky man, Miyano! To find a devoted woman who doesn't mind making all the first moves- how insanely lucky!"

"Maybe you just have bad luck," Kuresawa jabbed mindlessly. Whatever reaction he was looking for must've been what he got because he smirked to himself at Karasubara's explosive reaction. 

"You-"

"Never have I ever," Shirahama interrupted, eager to get the game moving, "Kissed someone at school."

Now Miyano was  certain  that Shirahama was targeting him. He glared at the boy harshly as he put down a finger, earning a gasp from several of his friends. It was pretty mortifying that Tashiro was among those who were surprised. Now Miyano was certain that any image of decency that Tashiro had of him would be distorted beyond reality. 

Perhaps worse than Tashiro being mortified was the look in Kuresawa's eye. It was one of those he flashed when he figured out something personal about Miyano. Whatever it was, Miyano was sure it was something embarrassing that he would rather his friend didn't use any of his brainpower to linger on. He silently hoped no one would be interested in the story even though he knew that both of the game's instigators would press him for details. Even before needing them to say anything, Miyano was already reaching for another piece of candy. 

"Huh? Miyano!" Karasubara gaped, "Just what are you getting up to? Don't just take the punishment, explain yourself!"

"I don't think I will," Miyano shook his head while staring down at the candy in his hand in disgust.

"Wait! Was it when you skipped class that one time after lunch?" Tashiro asked much louder than Miyano liked. Sometimes Miyano wishes his friend could read the room. 

Glancing around the circle, it became clear that no one would give Miyano any slack now that his relationship status was out in the open. He dropped the candy in his mouth instead of answering, making sure to make eye contact with every boy in the circle one by one. This was another secret he would take to his grave. 

This time, Miyano didn't get so lucky with the candy’s flavor. It was very sweet, a familiar sweet peach flavor staining his mouth. It tasted really close to the crime of a drink Sasaki frequently grabbed from the vending machine which only further caused Miyano to gag. His friends snickered as he coughed while trying to swallow the candy whole. 

"Miyano seriously brought a girl to school," Karasubara gasped, scandalized. He shook his head at Miyano, "I can't believe you. You're more of a rule-breaker than I thought, you traitor!"

"Hmm, so you kissed your partner at school," Hiwatari asked, mouth curved up in a sly smirk while he narrowed his eyes at Miyano, "I guess there was bound to be someone like that."

He knows , Miyano thought to himself. The tone of voice used, the way he was looking at Miyano… there was no way Hiwatari didn't know! More mortifying than that was the fact that even Kuresawa hadn't lost a finger, so by dropping his finger, it was like outright confessing to being in a relationship with a man!

"I ate the candy, so let's move on," Miyano almost pleaded. Tashiro hummed and rocked back and forth on his legs, eyes still narrowed on Miyano in suspicion. 

"Never have I ever," Tashiro seemed lost in thought. His eyes sprang to life and he turned to Karasubara, "Had a close friendship with a girl!"

Karasubara swiftly cursed him out, not appreciative of the tragic failed romance brought up again. He explained the sad end to his friendship with the girl he liked, the girl he befriended over their shared love for history. The group snickered heartlessly as this was the second time they heard the tragic tale of how his close friend was interested in men like Oda Nobunaga, a far cry from their dark-haired guy. 

"Why does this game keep coming back to romance?" Hiwatari laughed, also a victim of putting his finger down, "My friendships have all remained platonic, though most of them fell out over time since coming to this school. I'm sure Miyano relates?"

"Don't bring that girlfriend-haver onto our level!" Karasubara complained, "He managed to get one of those relationships to the non-platonic stage! Like the traitor he is!"

"It's really not what you think," Miyano tried to not roll his eyes, "I just talk to people like people instead of potential partners."

The jab shut Karasubara up. 

"Anyway," Kuresawa cleared his throat to prevent any tension from forming, "Who is this girl you were close to, Miyano?"

"Obviously his girlfriend!" Karasubara grumbled. Pointing an accusatory finger at Kuresawa's hand, he added, "And put a finger down! We all know from your  generous  ramblings that you were close friends with your lady before you started dating!"

"Alright, alright," Kuresawa agreed, amusement lacing his tone, "Shall I tell that story?"

Everyone yelled, "No!" Simultaneously at his unserious remark. 

"Uh, the girl I was close to is a friend from middle school," Miyano explained once Kuresawa returned his expectant gaze to him, "We kind of fell out of touch after a misunderstanding. We only recently cleared that up and reconnected somewhat."

"Not your girlfriend?" Karasubara asked. Miyano was starting to get annoyed with the constant questions about his romantic life, so he rolled his eyes. 

"No, she isn't my girlfriend," Miyano snapped. Karasubara raised his hands in the air in surrender. Miyano sighed to himself. 

It seemed the game would keep coming back to romance. Looking down at his last remaining finger, Miyano wasn't sure he wanted to eat any more of the blasphemous candy, so he looked around at everyone else's fingers while thinking long and hard. Everyone else has three fingers still up except himself who was dangerously close to losing. It felt dirty, but Miyano knew what he had to do. Glancing at his best friend to his right, Miyano nodded to him with the hope that he would get the message. 

"Never have I ever been rejected."

"Oh, come on, Miyano!"

"That's foul!"

"You traitor!"

"That's a dick move!"

The four boys who fell victim to the statement started complaining, irritated that Miyano would stoop so low. As it was time for them to recount their stories, Karasubara reiterated that he'd already told his story of rejection before. Hiwatari had to tell the tragic story of his rejection at a mixer a year before but didn't seem entirely bothered. If anything, he seemed more annoyed that Miyano would stoop to such a low point to eliminate them. 

On the other spectrum of things, both Tashiro and Shirahama reached for candy at the same time. The only information they relayed was that it was also at a mixer, but they were far less eager than the other boys to go into detail. Miyano felt a little sympathetic for them, getting the sense that whatever happened at the mixer must've either been hurtful, humiliating, or even both. Whatever the deal was, he could only offer them a sympathetic smile. 

Clearing his throat, Kuresawa flickered his eyes knowingly at Miyano before speaking, "Never have I ever been to a group date, mixer, or any sort of group event to find a partner."

Miyano internally thanked him, grateful for his friend's cooperation. Now the game was evened out with everyone except for Kuresawa down to one finger. Now Miyano had the confidence that the chances of him being the only one to lose and having to take the three candy penalty alone were very slim. There was a very limited list of things that could be said that would only affect Miyano and considering the next person to go would be Hiwatari, he wasn't worried in the slightest. 

More stories about mixers went around the circle, no one taking candy this time. Maybe it was the solidarity of having many others in the exact same boat, but everyone told of their multiple experiences at mixers. Some of them even went to the same ones and were equally unsuccessful at finding girlfriends, which was almost impressive. Something about the glares they shot at both Miyano and Kuresawa was amusing, oddly enough. 

While Tashiro was in the middle of explaining how at one mixer the girl he was paired with ended up going home with another girl, Miyano felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He quickly pulled it out, appreciative of the notification bar that came with his new smartphone. At just a glance, he could see a familiar contact name and wasted no time in unlocking his phone. Miyano didn't notice how some eyes lingered over on him while he typed away. 

Shuumei

I'm done with class for today. 

Can I come over?

Miyano took only a second before he quickly typed away a response. 

I'm still at school.

Would you mind waiting for me? I'll be done soon then we can meet at your house?

Shuumei

Actually, I'll just go by the school then

You don't have to!

Shuumei 

But I want to

You're impossible.

Text me when you get to the station so I don't keep you waiting.

Shuumei

Alright

Love you

Hhhhh

I love you, too.

As soon as he hit send, Miyano slipped his phone back into his pocket. He suddenly became very aware of the conversation around him now that his attention was no longer on his boyfriend. 

"I'm telling you, that's the lovesick face he always has when texting his special one," Shirahama said in a mocking tone before he poked Karasubara's arm with his phone. The latter boy seemed visibly annoyed as he stared at Miyano. 

"Are you done texting your lady?" Karasubara sneered half-jokingly. Miyano felt a fresh wave of heat rush to his face. 

"You don't know who I was texting," Miyano tried to argue to no avail. Karasubara didn't look convinced. 

"Of course we know!" Karasubara accused, "I see you on your phone a lot, but I'd always assumed you were reading one of your manga online or something. Knowing you have a lady makes everything make so much more sense now! ‘Gets me wondering if your lady is a fujoshi, too. Did she get you into BL, Miyano?"

"Can we move on with the game?" Miyano suggested weakly, not exactly keen on explaining that  he  was the one to get his  boyfriend  into BL. Now that Miyano was thinking about it, his mind drifted to how Karasubara kept calling his partner his ‘lady’. Would that make Sasaki his ‘man’ if they were to follow the same logic? Hiwatari, ever the saint, flashed Miyano a thumbs up before he could get any further lost in that train of thought. 

"Never have I ever," Hiwatari started, before stopping to look at everyone in the circle with a dramatic pause before his next words. A chill ran down Miyano's spine as Hiwatari's eyes landed on him, a sly smirk curving his lips upwards before he confidently finished his sentence, "Been in a relationship with a guy."

The world stopped for Miyano. His breathing was abnormally loud suddenly, but that could have just been a delusion in Miyano's head from his sudden hyper-awareness of everything around him. Now as for his heartbeat, Miyano knew that was for sure extremely loud from the way he could feel it drumming loudly in his chest. The play wasn't one Miyano was expecting, and after being so careful to not reveal anything all night, it felt like everything was suddenly weighing heavily on his last finger that shook with the decision. 

He couldn't keep his finger in the air. It was deceitful to lie in a game based on the honor system, but he also wasn't sure if he should lower it. Once upon a time, Sasaki had assured Miyano that there wasn't a reason to hide their relationship, back when he'd told his mom about his boyfriend. The question in his mind lingered around whether or not that applied to former classmates as well. The memories of Sasaki apologizing for showing affection at school, fearful of watching eyes plagued Miyano's mind. 

Even if Miyano let himself apply Sasaki's affirmation to the current situation at hand, he still wasn't sure of what to do. He could put his finger down and admit to having a boyfriend rather than the girlfriend his classmate seems to be under the impression he has. He could also just take a candy and not explain, but that would create a total of four candies. It's not like Miyano is self-conscious about his relationship with a man, he just doesn't want to have to keep explaining himself. Although his classmates don't look like bad people, this is not the way Miyano would ever hope for people to find out about his relationship. It was already overwhelming enough to get teased for being in a relationship  period,  but to get teased for dating a guy… it sounded annoying to deal with. 

It would certainly be annoying if they turned out to be against same-sex relationships. Miyano wants to trust his classmates, he really does, but the topic has never been brought up as a class for him to get a clear judgment on what these guys' standpoint on the topic would be. Not to mention if they were against it, Miyano had doubts if they'd be willing to keep things on the down low. 

If only things like his relationship were more common. Things would certainly be easier. 

"Hey, you can't say something like that!" Shirahama's angry voice cut through Miyano's spiraling thoughts. 

"What does it matter?" Karasubara asked, tilting his head, "It doesn't apply to us, so it was kind of a useless play."

"Still, you never know!" Shirahama argued, his glare now aimed at Karasubara. The said boy scoffed. 

"You make it sound like you're gay," Karasubara retorted. It was probably meant to be a joke since he didn't seem to actually believe Shirahama would be, but the tone he used still rubbed Miyano the wrong way.

"And if I was?" Shirahama challenged. Tashiro's hand landed on Shirahama's shoulder to hold him back if things got ugly. 

"Well, are you?" Karasubara asked, his face no longer a teasing one. Instead, it was replaced by one of concern. He cursed under his breath, raised his hands in the air, and quickly rushed out, "Shit, man, I was just playing. If you are, then that's fine. I'm not against it."

"I'm not," Shirahama clarified. Karasubara's brows creased in annoyance again. 

"Then what gives, man?" Karasubara gaped, confusion lacing his voice. 

"Shirahama is right," Kuresawa chimed in, "Asking questions like that in a game that could possibly force someone to come out is unfair. Not to mention rude."

"I have to agree," Tashiro nodded along, dropping his hold on Shirahama.

"I didn't think of that," Hiwatari muttered. He cleared his throat while keeping his eyes on the candy box in the middle of the group. 

To say Miyano was surprised wouldn't exactly be the correct word. He wasn't even sure if he had the words to describe the warm, comfortable feeling floating around in his stomach. It was similar to the relief he felt when his mother assured him that the love he felt for Sasaki was okay. It was like a heavy brick made from sugar was untied from his heart and dropped into his stomach below, melting away to create a pleasant wind. 

Even during the drag contest a year earlier, Miyano knew his friends had his back. Back then, Kuresawa had signed up as the backup contestant with Tashiro signing up behind that all to support Miyano. Realistically, Miyano should have expected this array of support to come from his friends now. There wasn't ever a moment since he'd become close to the two that had ever suggested they wouldn't have his back, whether it was encouraging him to pursue his feelings or when they dragged him to pay Sasaki a sick visit. Even Shirahama's support shouldn't have shocked him as much as it did. As much as the boy likes to complain about being single, he has gone out of his way to help Miyano plan a date with Sasaki before. 

It was nice to have people guarding his back like that. 

"Guys, it's okay," Miyano said with a nervous smile. Putting a finger down, he couldn't help but let his eyes linger on the box, "It's not like I ever wanted to hide I had a boyfriend, it's just overwhelming when people know you're in a relationship at all."

"If it's fine with you, then it's okay," Kuresawa nodded at him, some concern still present. 

"Hold on," Karasubara waved his arms around and leaned very close to Miyano, "You don't have a girlfriend? You have a boyfriend?"

"He just said that almost word for word," Shirahama grumbled, pulling Karasubara's collar back to pull him out of Miyano's personal space. 

"I know that! I'm just a bit surprised!"

"Have you seen the stuff he reads?" Tashiro asked Karasubara. Miyano nudged him hard. 

"That has nothing to do with it," Miyano scoffed even though he wasn't entirely sure if it was true or not. To his right, he heard a snicker. 

"Like your manga exchange had nothing to do with it," Kuresawa teased. 

"Well, you seem back to normal," Miyano muttered to himself. He got a half-hearted laugh in response. Across from him, Hiwatari wore a shaky smile, laughing along awkwardly with the conversation. Miyano tried to offer a reassuring smile, “I’m not mad about that, by the way. Like I said, I wasn’t hiding it.”

“I’m still sorry,” Hiwatari sighed. He had a lopsided smile, fingers fidgeting, “It was a really dumb thing to pry for in a game. Look, I’ll eat your punishment candy instead!”

“You really don’t have to-”

“Nope, I will!”

“That’s not against the rules, so I’ll take it,” Karasubara grinned at Hiwatari who grimaced at the candies in his hand. The dark-haired boy snickered cruelly and added, “Make sure to only eat one at a time!”

“Ugh, that’s deep-fried soap!” The poor boy yelped at the first of the candies. Miyano chuckled, relieved at the dodged bullet. 

“Miyano,” Tashiro poked at Miyano’s leg to get his attention. The black-haired boy turned his attention to his friend who had tilted his head in question, “So that time that you missed afternoon classes, was it because you were off making out with Senpai somewhere?”

“Tashiro!” Miyano squeaked in an impressive register, shoving his hands over his idiot friend’s mouth to shut him up. Tashiro mumbled out a protest into his hands, spit getting on Miyano’s fingers. He shot him a sour look before immediately removing his hands to wipe them on Tashiro’s sweater. 

“So that’s a ‘yes’?” Karasubara groaned, “You non-single people deeply disgust me! While we’re studying our best in the classroom, you’re off goofing around, acting all sappy and romantic and holding hands or something.”

“I skipped class one time!” Miyano reminded him, “And we don’t do those kinds of things just anywhere!”

“I have reason to doubt,” Shirahama shrugged, earning an eye roll from Miyano.

“So wait, how do two guys ‘do it’?” Karasubara asked, a mortified yell coming from the very flustered Miyano. While violence was very against his moral standards, Miyano found himself throwing the box of candy at the shameless classmate sitting opposite of him in the circle. 

“Dude, you can’t ask those things!” Tashiro yelled, stealing the words right out of Miyano’s mouth. He was pretty red himself for reasons Miyano wouldn’t linger on. 

“We’re at that age where we get curious about stuff, you know?” Shirahama supplied unhelpfully. Hiwatari grimaced at him. 

“I’ve never really wondered about that,” Hiwatari mumbled, not following the conversation anymore, “What Miyano and his boyfriend do behind closed doors can stay there for all I care.”

“You guys have it all wrong…” 

If any word had to be used to describe the heap on the ground that Miyano had become, it would be ‘pathetic’. His face was hidden in his hands while he was curled up in a ball to hide from the world. When Hanzawa had warned him that people would ask questions they wouldn’t ask heteronormative couples, he knew he should mentally prepare. None of that mental preparation was enough to suppress the shame and embarrassment he felt at the question his  very straight  classmate just asked. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Miyano never thought a question like that would be one he’d have to deal with in high school. 

“Okay, don’t answer then,” Karasubara sighed, raising his hands in defeat, “But can we at least know who it is? Is it someone we know or something? The only person I can think of would be Hirano, but I have a feeling he’s not the kind of guy that even feels romantic attraction unless it hits him over the head with a brick.”

“It could be that guy who would always come by to talk to Miyano,” Hiwatari chimed in, “You know, the guy with all the piercings and stuff? The one who would call Miyano ‘cute’ and stuff.”

“You could be right!” Karasubara snapped his fingers together before turning back to Miyano, “I distinctly remember that you two shared manga together, right? And you read BL so it makes sense!”

“... is it really that obvious?”

“Now that I think back on it, yeah, it really is,” Karasubara cackled, an underlying dead tone to it, “I don’t remember really seeing him smile much when I would see him outside of class, but when he was around you he’d light up like a Christmas tree! You would think he’d just won the lottery every time he saw you. Oh, you stupid happy couples-!”

“This is mortifying,” Miyano grumbled to himself, still half-hoping that the ground would open up and swallow him so he could escape the situation. 

A buzz from his phone startled Miyano out of the cave he’d created with his arms. He didn’t bother checking the message, already knowing who it would be from. Instead of opening his phone, Miyano stood up and started moving his desk back to where he had moved it from. Kuresawa shot him one of those looks that Miyano had learned to pick up as an observant one. 

“We should go ahead and go now since the game is over,” Kuresawa spoke up, also moving his desk back where it was, “All this talk about romance has me wanting to see my girlfriend.”

“Not another word about her,” Karasubara warned, “Or else I’ll have to implement a policy that every time you talk about her, you have to eat a punishment candy!”

“For my girlfriend, I would take any punishment,” Kuresawa declared, probably half-jokingly. Miyano couldn’t be too sure when it came to that dedicated boyfriend. 

“You’re gross,” Shirahama gagged at him, scrunching up his face in disgust. Kuresawa simply chuckled in response. 

Before long, the desks were all neatly reorganized to where they were before they had started the game. The boys decided to turn in the key as a group, keeping their chatter up as they made their way through the school. Once the key was turned in, the group of boys continued their way to the entrance of the school, chatter accompanying them. 

As they neared the front, Miyano took the opportunity to check his phone and nearly choked on his spit when he finally read the message his boyfriend sent him. He rushed to change his shoes, ignoring the questions from his classmates as he hurried to the gate. He stopped a few feet away from the gate as his eyes landed on the figure belonging to his boyfriend who was leaning against the wall, a smile plastered on his face. 

“Hey, Miya,” Sasaki smiled down at him. Miyano’s face flushed as he ran to close the few feet-long distance between them to lightly tug at his sleeve. 

“Shuumei! I told you to text me when you got to the station! Not when you got here!” Miyano complained without actually being bothered by his boyfriend’s presence. Sasaki smiled down at him, a glint in his eye that had Miyano narrowing his eyes at him, “Don’t tell me you never planned to tell me when you got to the station?”

“Sorry, Miya,” Sasaki laughed a little, “I was actually at the station when I texted you. I didn’t want to rush you.”

“You should have just told me!” Miyano sighed, starting to walk ahead of him, “I wasn’t busy with festival stuff anymore when you texted me. I was playing a game with my classmates, so I could’ve left at any time.”

“That would be rude to your classmates,” Sasaki teased, “Have you been dying to see me that much?”

After having an afternoon full of embarrassing questions directed his way, Miyano somehow managed to remain unphased. Instead of turning into the flushed mess he usually became at his boyfriend’s teasing, he allowed himself to slip their hands together and muttered, “You cannot be asking me that when you came all this way to see me before asking.”

“... You’re so adorable,” Sasaki mumbled barely audibly. It was still loud enough for Miyano to pick up and roll his eyes at. 

“Whatever. Anyway, how was class? Did that classmate of yours ask you to hang out again?”

“Ugh, he always does. He doesn’t ask me to go on group dates anymore, but it’s still a pain.”

“Don’t talk about your friends like that!”

“Miya, you toss the term ‘friend’ around way too lightly.”

“You took him to that event to help you buy the manga for me, didn’t you?”

“... Did festival prep go well today?”

“You’re avoiding the question!”