Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Just two month ago, Yamada Taro didn't even dream about having the time and money to spend on going on his school's field trip that was supposed to take place shortly before summer break of their second year in High School, together with all of his classmates. So far, he had never participated in one, preferring to keep the money to spend on food for this big lovely family. Maybe, he had also been a little reluctant and didn't want to be parted from his siblings and his mother for several days in a row. Would they be able to take care of themselves?

This time, however, things were different. This time, his whole family had contributed for the fees that were necessary to pay to the school for transportation and accommodation of the school trip and had given the money to Taro on his birthday, carefully wrapped in a white envelop that his youngest siblings had enthusiastically decorated with crayon flowers and hearts.

It was just barely enough to cover the mandatory fees plus a tiny amount of pocket money Taro could spend at the field trip's destination, but the boy knew that it was a fortune for his family and that all of them – or at least the ones that were physically and age-wise able to – must have worked very hard to earn the money for him.

After trying to give the money back to his family with remarks like “I can't accept that much money, you can live a month from it!” or “You are too kind, I am not worth to waste your hard-earned money for my personal enjoyment”, which of course fell on deaf ears, Taro had finally accepted the gift, thanking his family wholeheartedly.

He even cried a few tears of happiness, which his siblings immediately caught from his cheeks before wrapping their dear older brother in a group hug and promising to take care of each other and not accidentally burn the house while he was gone. Still, Taro planned to set off a secret call to Ikegami Takako's mother, who he had befriended over the last months due to their similar shopping ethics, and ask her if she could drop by once during his absence, just to see if everything was alright.

Now, a few weeks later, the long-cherished dream of accompanying his classmates to an actual field trip, was finally in reach. Taro was excited, but also a little nervous. He had no idea how such things worked. He had even called his best friend, Mimura Takuya, a couple of times to double and triple-check about his to-do list before and his to-pack list for the trip, just to make sure he wouldn't forget anything important.

When he realised he didn't have a suitcase to pack, as his father was currently travelling the world again, and had the probably only suitcase the Yamada's earned in possession, Takuya had come over with one of his spare suitcased to lend it to his friend. To show their gratitude, the Yamada family had invited the boy to stay over for dinner, even if it only consisted of a bowl of rice topped with some cocktail tomatoes that Taro had grown in the school garden, an egg and a few nori flakes as a seasoning. Nevertheless, Takuya had stayed, happy to spend time with all of them, before he even helped Taro to pack.

“I don't think you will actually need your biology book on the field trip,” Takuya dared to point out as he sat onto the floor next to his friend after dinner, who was now gathering his things for the four day long trip, clothes, toiletries, and a stack of school stuff of which his friend had snatched the first book.

“Why not?” Taro had asked.

Takuya arched an eyebrow. “Are you planning on doing homework there? Cramming? You can take those few days off, don't you think so too?”

“I thought maybe I can read a bit on the bus ride,” Taro replied, “I'm not a scholarship student because I am a genius, I need to study, you know?”

Takuya looked at him as if he was about to negate Taro's statement, wanting to set clear that the young man indeed was some kind of genius, as he seemed far more intelligent than their other classmates, at least in school subjects, but didn't say anything. Instead, he sighed.

“Still, those four days are supposed to be fun, also the bus ride. So, no homework, no studying. I won't allow it!” Takuya said, playfully strict, setting the biology and the other school books aside, even if he could feel Taro's desperate look on him for taking them away. He chuckled. “Come on, Taro-kun, relax, it's fine, nobody will expect you to do any of these. It's all about fun, growing together as a class, and in between some hiking and maybe some cultural stuff the teachers organized for us.”

“But -”

“No buts, believe me, see it as a holiday vacation. I promise, it will be awesome,” Takuya smirked.

Taro sighed, looking at his friend still slightly critically, but in the end, didn't protest and even promised to not secretly put the books into the suitcase once Takuya had left for home after the other boy had threatened him to double-check before they would put the pupils' luggage on the bus.

When Takuya smiled at him, encouragingly, Taro smiled back. His friend must be right, this field trip would be awesome, for sure.

TBC

Chapter Text

Apparently, despite Takuya's encouragement, Taro was still so nervous about the upcoming trip, that he didn't manage to sleep much the night before. He was at school way too early, Takuya being the only one who had arrived that early too, and so they had some more time to chat before everyone else, as well as the bus that would take them on to their destination, would come to the meeting place in front of the school.

Some of the girls of their class, including Ikegami Takako and her best friend, Nakai Masami, were the next ones to show up, trying to get into conversations with the two most popular boys of the whole school. The boys didn't mind to chat with them for a while, but as soon as they tried to arrange a seat next to one of them, Takuya informed them with a triumphant grin that he and Taro had already agreed on sitting next to each other during the bus ride. They both earned some disappointed looks, even if it surely wasn't such a big surprise, since the two boys were sticking together at school all the time, anyway.

One might expect the two most popular guys at school to be rivals, however, this was not the case with Taro and Takuya. They were sticking together since their first day at High School, helped each other out wherever needed, basically, they were the definition of “best friends”, and people knew better than forcing themselves between the two boys.

One after another, the teachers and the other students arrived. Sugiura Keichi and some of the other boys were being loud and cheerful to express their excitement to finally start the trip. The bus came, and everyone made sure their luggage was neatly packed into the storage room underneath the seats, the teachers ticked off the names of their students on a list and let everyone inside to find their seats, and shortly after, they were ready to go.

At first, Takuya was a little disappointed though, as Taro ended up falling asleep next to him, just ten minutes into the three-hour bus ride, as he had planned to play a few games together or make plans on how they wanted to spend their spare time at the field trip's destination. However, he didn't have the heart to wake his best friend up, especially not after Taro's head had slipped down to lean on the other boys' shoulder. Instead, Takuya grabbed the jacket that he had pulled off after entering the bus, and carefully covered his best friend with it so that he wouldn't catch a cold. When Taro released a content sigh in his sleep and adjusted his position slightly, getting even a little closer to Takuya, the boy smiled at him, tenderly. Taro must be really exhausted from the excitement about the trip, as he was obviously not used to activities like this.

While Taro slept like a baby for the next few hours, leaning against his friend, Takuya took it upon himself to make a plan for their spare time that he could present to his friend when he would wake up, of course, improvement suggestions always welcomed. He was also busy with keeping his classmates at bay, who tried to talk him into waking his friend up but was quite successful after telling everyone the heartwarming story of Taro being on his first-ever field trip, ever.

Of course, he didn't tell anyone that the Yamada's were poor, and so far hadn't been able to afford a field trip for their oldest son, but he managed to come up with some fantastical excuses of why the young wealthy genius had been indisposed at times like these. Having stayed home with his sick mother (well, thas wasn't even too far away from the truth, actually) had been one of those story, or donating the money for his field trip (and more) to an animal welfare association in order to support the repopulation of a certain Japanese island with the red-crowned crane, to ensure their continued existence.

At the latest when the boy started to elaborate on what exactly made the red-crowned crane so special and important for Japan, culturally and of course also from the viewpoint of animal rights activists, people started to turn around and dedicate their attention to other things as they found it boring to listen to. Well, at least, Takuya's strategy to be left alone and make sure that Taro could sleep in peace had worked and once their classmates were busy with other things, Takuya allowed himself to close his eyes too to rest for a few minutes. He even dared to lean his cheek on Taro's head for a bit. Sleeping was impossible for Takuya like this, so close to Taro, his heart beating fast, but he sincerely enjoyed the quiet moment between them, even if his friend was oblivious about what was really going on in Takuya's mind. Nobody knew, at least, he was convinced about it, how much Taro actually meant to him.

They arrived at their destination on time, the weather was perfect, and the pupils behaved well as they exited the bus one after another and went to pick back up their luggage from the bus driver. Takuya gently shook Taro awake, who yawned and stretched and smiled at his friend.

“We're already here?” excitement flashing over the boy's face once he realised that they had arrived.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Takuya chuckled when Taro gratefully gave him back his jacket. “Are you ready for an adventure?”

Taro nodded, and so they got off the bus, got their stuff and lined up with the other students to get properly briefed by their teachers on how things would be handled here. They had arrived at a camping side nearby a forest, close to a small rural town. The camping site was equipped with small wooden cabins which could hold four people each, and a big fireplace that could be used for campfires and BBQ. During the bus ride, the teacher and students had already tried to figure out the best arrangements for the cabins, grouping the girls and boys together, preferably in combinations that wouldn't cause too much trouble but also not rip apart friends groups too much. Taro was relieved to find out that Takuya had already made sure that the two of them would share a cabin, and he even had no problem to share it with Sugiura and another boy from their class, even if Takuya seemed less excited about that outcome, for whatever reason.

“To be honest, I was speculating that we could take a cabin as just the two of us,” Takuya said before averting his gaze. “It... would have been quieter like this, and you need to catch up sleep, don't you?”

“Don't worry,” Taro chuckled, “If I need to, I can sleep through a thunderstorm.”

Takuya chuckled, knowing that his friend's statement was probably true. Taro smiled back at him, grateful for his consideration, and then encouraged him to go find their cabin and place their luggage before they were expected back at the meeting place to find out more about the detailed schedules for the upcoming days.

They would do some group activities to strengthen team spirit for the rest of the day and prepare dinner together. The next day, there was a trip to the nearby town planned for a little bit of sightseeing and shopping, as well as a big BBQ at the camping site (which Taro got excited about probably most out of the planned activities) in the evening, and on the last full day here, the class would make a long excursion through the woods before they would drive back home in the morning of the fourth day.

Even if Taro was still slightly worried about his family during the trip, the boy kept smiling, excitedly. Takuya had promised that this was going to be a great trip and he trusted him.

The “group activities to strengthen team spirit” turned out to be a handful of silly games the teachers made their students play with each other on the camping side's ground, including some ball games and stuff like a three-legged race. To Takuya's displeasure, the teachers had paid attention to divide the students into rather unusual combinations, so he and Taro had ended up being split into different groups so that they even had to face each other as opponents in a game of beach volleyball. Also, Taro was running the three-legged race together with Sugiura, who was obviously very excited about the chance to be so close to his secret-not-so-secret crush. Takuya had to admit that he had to pull himself together not to show that he was at least slightly jealous about the situation. OK, cross the “slightly”.

The boy was relieved to see that Taro also seemed happy to be reunited with his best friend when the teachers re-grouped the students for preparing dinner. They cheerfully chatted with each other about whatever came to their minds while peeling potatoes and cutting vegetables to prepare for making croquettes. Takuya could even arrange with the fact that Takako was in their group as well. The girl was always nice and friendly, and if she didn't have her eye set on Taro, they probably could have been even better friends. Takuya didn't try to push her away, but he also paid close attention not to accidentally push her right into Taro's arms, either.

Dinner was a success – except some slightly too well-done grilled fish that Sugiura's group had to re-do after they couldn't save enough of the fish to make it suffice for the whole class, and after dinner, everyone settled around the campfire and the teachers and students took turns in telling ghost stories.

Taro was maybe taking those stories a little bit too serious, as he seemed to be one of the more easily scared ones, but Takuya, who was sitting right next to him, made sure that his best friend wasn't too scared. He wrapped an arm around Taro's waist and pressing him closer when the boy winced at the truly spooky story Takako shared about one of her ancestors and even reached out to hold his hand when another classmate told everyone that he once saw a ghost in the mirror of the upper floor's boy's toilet at school.

“This is too scary,” Taro whispered, pressing his eyes close and burying his face at Takuya's shoulder. “I'm not sure if I want to go back to school after this trip.”

Takuya chuckled softly and strengthened his grip around his best friend. “Don't worry, you just need to avoid the upper floor's toilet, ghosts are mostly bound to places, aren't they?”

“Really?” Taro opened his eyes, giving his friend the puppy eyes.

Takuya hoped that the flush he felt reddening his cheeks didn't show in the semi-darkness. He swallowed.

“If you are that scared,” he started. “Then I'll accompany you to the toilets from now on if you want.”

Now it was Taro's turn to giggle. He slightly pushed against Takuya. “Are we like girls, or what? I can go to the toilet by myself, I think.”

Takuya pretended to pout as he said, “I just want to say that I'm here to protect you.”

“Thank you, Mimura-kun,” Taro smiled, sincerely.

Takuya just laughed, trying to hide the happiness that was spreading inside his chest upon hearing Taro's words, and they continued listening to the others' ghost stories. Actually, the boy would have known one to tell by himself, about a poltergeist that apparently lived in one of his family's vacation homes, but he decided not to tell it in order not to scare his best friend even more.

Despite being scared from the spooky stories, Taro seemed tired enough to fall asleep almost as soon as the lights in the cabin went out, which resulted in him missing half of a round of truth or dare that Sugiura tried to initiate, but didn't succeed with, as Takuya pointed out that they could barely do dared in the darkness. In the end, it seemed to be advisable that the boys went to sleep early, anyway, so that they were as lively as ever for their trip to the nearby town on the next day.

TBC

Chapter Text

Breakfast on the next day was provided by a nearby farm just a few minutes walk away from the camping site, consisting of fresh milk, bread and eggs, some fruits for healthy diet balance, and self-made muesli. The students were shown around the farm and allowed to pat some animals like a couple of fluffy rabbits and some playful goats before they were then picked up by a bus that brought them to the nearby town.

The ride didn't take more than ten to fifteen minutes and after an obligatory visit to a local art museum – that no one except one of the nerdy girls really cared about – the class was dismissed to spend their time until the afternoon by themselves as they pleased. After that, they would meet up again here to drive back to the camp and prepare for the big BBQ the teachers would gather the needed ingredients for, in the meantime.

Of course, Takuya was off with Taro as soon as they were released, dragging him far enough from a pulk of girls that seemed eager to follow them, even sprinting for a bit to leave them behind, a slightly confused giggling Taro in tow. If anyone asked, he just wanted to spend more quality time alone with his best friend.

In the end, the two boys spent hours together in various shops of the small town, in order to find some small and affordable souvenirs that Taro could bring back home to his family. Of course, the boy was searching for something edible, as he preferred something they could really use over some figurines or other kinds of souvenirs that would just stand around their small house and collect dust.

Since the region was popular for its lavender fields, Taro chose a few different things like a small bottle of oil with lavender, honey with lavender, lavender tea, and an XXL-sized package of noodles, which had nothing to do with lavender but was on sale. Taro had also contemplated buying some lavender-scented handsoap, as he found the scent very calming, but since it was quite expensive, he denied himself to buy it. He didn't see that Takuya secretly bought it instead, shortly after, sure that he would find an occasion to give it as a present to his friend.

The BBQ back at the camping site was a huge event, the fireplace as well as some garlands with lanterns lightened up the approaching night, and the students were all busy to prepare the side dishes, like bread with garlic butter, green salad and potato salad, while the teachers were grilling the meat, some boys volunteering to help them. Once they finished their task of cutting the vegetables for the salad, Taro and Takuya approached the teachers to check on them, Taro already dreaming of the taste of grilled soft chicken and beef in his mouth. Takuya could do nothing but smile when he saw his friend that happy.

Luckily, everything tasted amazing, so Taro's expectations weren't disappointed, and Takuya was relieved, that his promise to his friend, that this trip would be a nice and fun experience, was fulfilling itself.

At least, so he thought.

It was on the next day, during their excursion through the nearby forest, when things eventually went wrong. Was it a squirrel or a bird, that drew Taro's attention, they didn't remember afterwards, but the boy tended to get more and more distracted from paying proper attention to where on the ground he was setting his feet. The narrow path made from gravel and dirt that the students walked upwards to reach the hill was already dangerous as it was, so they were reminded by their teachers. In the end, though, Taro's interest in nature and his curiosity won over the repeatedly advised caution, and that was how it happened.

Taro heard a crackling noise coming from the forest, saw something scurrying by, perhaps, and the moment he turned his head and his foot met a stone on the ground in an unlucky angle, he slipped, stumbled, and started falling downhill. He didn't scream, too shocked in the moment to realise what was even happening.

“TARO!”

It was Takuya who reacted first, hurriedly reaching out towards his best friend to catch him at the arm and pull him back onto their path, but it was already too late.

So, the two boys tumbled down the hill they were currently climbing, sliding down the dirty slope together, taking grass, leaves, stones and branches with them on their slide. It hadn't taken long though, until Takuya had pulled Taro closer to his own body, at least, and pressed him close, the boy's face against his chest, trying to protect him from getting hurt.

“Mimura-kun, watch out! Mimura-kun!” Taro had started yelling halfways through their fall, drowning a scream from one of their teachers from above. The boy clenched his fists into the fabric of his friend's shirt. “Watch out, watch out! Mimura-kun!”

Taro was obviously panicking, but at the moment, there was nothing they could do than try to only get hurt as little as possible. Takuya felt some spiky branches scratching his arms, and he felt a slightly numb pain at his head before he tried his best to round his shoulders and duck his head so he wouldn't hit another stone or whatever it had been.

The fall seemed endless, and Takuya was so scared that Taro could have been hurt, that, once they had come to a halt at the bottom of the hill, surrounded by trees and grass, Taro in his arms, he almost didn't dare to let go of his friend. Taro had fallen quiet, the shock probably settling in. His clenched hands were slightly trembling and he was breathing heavily. Takuya just lay there and didn't move. He didn't care about how much his arms burned from the scratches, or how much his head was hurting, he just hoped with all his might, that Taro wasn't hurt too badly.

Taro moved first, carefully freeing himself from Takuya's embrace, who just sighed in relief at the knowledge that his friend at least was able to move. It couldn't be that bad then, could it? Taro sat up, looking at his friend with a worried expression. He was covered in dirt, probably the same as Takuya himself, but luckily, overall he looked OK.

“Mimura-kun,” the boy said, leaning over his friend again, to examine him. His voice was a broken whisper. “Mimura-kun, I am so sorry... Are you hurt?” the boy started checking his friend from top to toes. “Oh gosh, your arms are bleeding! Let me take a look at that!”

“It's fine,” Takuya groaned, trying to sit up, but then decided to stay in a lying position for just a little longer until his head stopped spinning. “I'm OK, don't worry. What about you, are you OK? Are you hurt somewhere?”

“I – I don't know,” Taro said. He still looked shocked. “I don't think so?”

“Are you sure?” his friend asked, giving him a strict look. “Stand up and check properly.”

Taro listened, but once he tried to stand up, he immediately hunched back down, whimpering in pain, his hands coming towards one of his ankles.

“It hurts...,” Taro murmured, squinting his eyes.

“Wait, don't move,” Takuya said, panic flooding his system.

Damned, hopefully, his friend's leg wasn't broken or something. The boy finally managed to sit up and this time it worked, even if he still felt a bit dizzy. He leaned forward to his friend, telling him to show him his injured foot, but he wasn't a doctor, and he couldn't say how bad the situation actually was. Takuya tried to stand up himself, which worked better than expected and reached out a hand towards his best friend, to offer his support.

“Do you think you can stand up with my help?” he asked, carefully.

Taro looked at him, his face slightly distorted by the pain, but he reached one hand up to grasp Takuya's and let himself get pulled up, slumping against his best friend in the process. They both stumbled a little bit but quickly managed to stabilize each other.

A teacher was already approaching them, hurrying back down the path from the hill and calling out for them, asking if they were OK. When the man reached the two boys, and a quick check of Taro's foot at least showed that it didn't seem to be broken, they took Taro in the middle, who seemed to have problems to tread with his injured foot, and together they walked back to the camping site. The teacher informed them that he would carefully check on them and treat their injuries, while the rest of the class would finish their excursion and join them later.

Back at the camp, the teacher provided some first aid to Takuya's scratched arms, who cursed at the burning of the disinfectant on his skin but was thankful for the help he received with wrapping his arms into bandages so that no dirt could enter the wounds. Taro's ankle, which luckily only seemed to be sprained, was once more being carefully examined and then treated with some crème and patched up with a stabilizing bandage. The boy was set on bedrest for the rest of the day, and so was Takuya, as the teacher suspected a slight concussion from the fall, or at least didn't want to risk anything.

After making sure that the boys were aided properly, the teacher asked them if he could leave them by themselves in their cabin while he started preparing dinner for when the rest of the class with their female teacher returned, and both agreed. Actually, they were even glad to be left alone.

“Mimura-kun?” Taro was the first to speak after releasing a deep sigh.

“Hm? What is it, Taro, is your foot hurting badly?” Takuya asked, turning his head to look at his friend.

Since they had both taken the lower beds of the two bunk beds in the cabin, they could easily face each other. At least, they could, if Taro would actually look at Takuya. For now, though, the boy only seemed to stare up to the underneath of the bunk bed above him.

“It's OK when I don't move it so much,” Taro replied. “But... I was really scared today,” his voice broke again.

Worried, Takuya frowned. “Scared because of our fall?”

“Yeah,” Taro replied. “Well, because I was scared that you might have been badly hurt.”

“I told you, I'm fine,” Takuya chuckled to lift the mood. “Our teacher said the wounds on my arms don't look so bad and you know I'm a bullhead, there needs to happen more than a fall to break my head.”

“Yes, but you could have been badly hurt, just because you protected me! It would have been my fault and I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself,” finally, Taro turned his head to look at his friend.

Takuya held his breath when he saw that there were tears collecting in Taro's eyes. He couldn't hold back and got up from his lying position, even if he had been adviced to lay down for a few hours and trying to ignore the protesting dull headache. He stood up from his bed and approached Taro's, sitting down on the floor beside him. Taro blinked and quickly lifted a hand to wipe away some tears.

“But nothing bad happened,” Takuya whispered, reaching his hand to put it on Taro's arm in an attempt to calm him down. It was heartbreaking to see the boy crying, and he at least felt partly responsible for it. “Remember? I told you, I'm here to protect you. Always. I'm sorry I couldn't prevent you from hurting your leg, but I'm really happy nothing worse happened to you. We were probably lucky under the given circumstances.”

Taro chuckled, but he sounded desperate. “That is absolutely not your fault and you know it. I've been careless and I'm really sorry for dragging you into that. How do I even deserve your protection to such an extent?”

Instead of immediately answering, Takuya showed his friend to shift a little bit, so he could climb into the bed right next to him. He lay down beside Taro, positioning himself so that they were facing each other. Taro looked at him a little confused but didn't complain, and when Takuya lifted his hand to gently brush over Taro's cheek, the boy didn't flinch.

“Taro, listen to me,” Takuya whispered. “You deserve the world, believe me.”

One last tear dropped from the corner of Taro's eye. He lifted his hand to cover Takuya's and tried his best to smile again. “Thank you. I don't know what else to say but thank you.”

“For you, I'd do it again,” Takuya smiled, and it became so hard to not let his overflowing feelings that he was harbouring for his friend, spilling over. “For you, I'd do everything.”

Taro took a deep breath. “But why?”

Takuya drew a breath, his heart was by now hammering like crazy in his chest, but suddenly, he didn't care so much anymore to hide his feelings. Hadn't he contained them for long enough already? Maybe, now it was the time to finally speak the truth, to let Taro know.

“Because you are just so precious to me, you understand?” Takuya replied in a whisper, his look soft.

He would be lying if he wasn't a little bit scared. Scared that Taro didn't understand, or worse, that Taro understood but didn't reciprocate his feelings. He would be able to live with it eventually, sure, but he would want to stay friends with the other boy even if he got dumped, just because he was such a kind human being that he didn't want to miss him from his life. But would Taro allow him to stay by his side?

“Precious?” Taro repeated.

Takuya nodded. “And what I mean by that is... not only as my best friend.”

Taro swallowed, visibly, and Takuya wasn't sure if he was imagining things, but he thought he saw a hint of red spreading on his friend's cheeks. Did he realise that Takuya just confessed to him?

“What... what do you mean?” Taro finally asked, furrowing his brows slightly.

Of course, it hadn't been obvious enough, or at least, Taro wanted to make sure, and Takuya owed him, to be honest with him. He considered his options, his eyes leaving Taro's just for the split of a second, wandering to the boy's lips before he looked him back into the eye. He could risk it, couldn't he? He just needed to be a little brave. Eventually, he decided that he could do it. He swallowed, wetted his lips a little bit with the tip of his tongue, and shuffled a bit closer. Taro's eyes grew bigger, but still, he didn't back off.

“Let me... let me show you?” Takuya asked.

“Uhm, OK?” Taro replied, a hint of confusion in his voice.

“But promise me, you won't hate me,” Takuya chuckled awkwardly, trying to smile.

Damned, he was more nervous now than he expected. It wasn't like he had done this so often, furthermore, this was Taro, and he really didn't want to ruin things. Still, he knew, if he ever wanted to find out if the two of them could be more than just best friends, it's him who needed to take the initiative.

Taro smiled softly, “Mimura-kun, how could I ever hate y-”

But the boy couldn't finish his sentence, as suddenly, a pair of soft warm lips covered his. It wasn't a long kiss, but long enough to make Taro realise that this wasn't any kind of joke, but that this was a real kiss, and there could be only one reason for it to happen. Taro might not be experienced, but he wasn't completely clueless.

When Takuya drew back, carefully, he released a breath. Now, that he finally did it, he felt even more nervous than before, and he was sure, his voice gave it away, but he needed to set this straight now.

“So... do you hate me now?”

Taro looked truly surprised, but actually, he didn't look exactly as if the surprise had been an unpleasant one. Could Takuya hope?

“No...,” Taro whispered, and Takuya swallowed, trying not to interpret too much into his friend's reply.

“Do you... do you get what this means?” Takuya asked suspiciously, his heart beating like crazy. It couldn't be so easy, or could it?

Taro blushed, cutely, and for a moment, he averted his eyes. Was he getting shy?

“I think I do,” he said, biting his lower lip before he looked back up at his friend “But I have a question...”

Takuya frowned, but nodded, indicating that Taro could ask whatever he had on his mind.

“Can we do that again?”

Takuya blinked, dumbfounded. He had expected a lot of questions, but definitely not that one!

“Are you sure?” he asked, slightly confused. Could he really be so lucky? “I mean, I understand if you would prefer doing something like that with something else, maybe one of the girls, I mean -”

“Mimura-kun, stop!” Taro surprisingly spoke up, looking Takuya straight into the eye. His face was red like a tomato by now, but it made him only look more adorable if that was still possible. “Listen, I really didn't expect this to happen but let me tell you one thing,” the boy took a deep breath. “If there is anyone I'd like to do that with... ki-kissing, I mean... then it's you.”

Takuya blinked again, but no matter how often he closed and reopened his eyes, Taro was still looking at him, his cheeks red, but his eyes determined. Maybe, it was so easy. At least, shortly after, Taro was smiling at him again, which was the most important thing for Takuya. He wouldn't be able to bear it if Taro wouldn't be able to smile at him anymore, that much was for sure. Everything else was a bonus, and he would accept everything Taro was willing to give. Takuya didn't say anything more, and just looked at the other boy, reciprocating his smile, and when Taro shuffled a bit closer, his eyes glazed, Takuya instinctively closed his eyes shortly before their lips melted together in another kiss.

It was too early for “I love you” and too early for “I want you to be the only one in my life”, too early for anything more than those kisses they shared after their teenage confessions, but what they had right here right now, was enough for the moment. It was enough for them.

When later on, Takako came inside the cabin with some plates filled with dinner to bring the boys, and to check on them, she found them both cuddled up in Taro's bed, sleeping, Takuya's arms wrapped protectively around Taro, and Taro's hands fisted in the back of Takuya's shirt, holding him close. The girl didn't dare to wake them up, they must be exhausted from the excitement of their accident, and so she just placed the plates with food on the wooden floor, sure they would wake up once they got hungry, and went back outside to her classmates.

The two boys didn't show their faces again this evening, except the one time when Takuya went outside to wash the emptied dinner plates and to thank the others for taking care of them. Once he assured the teachers and he and Taro were doing OK, he vanished into their cabin again, enjoying their undisturbed togetherness until their cabin mates would join them later on for the last night in the camp.

On the next day, Takuya's head was still hurting, and Taro still had problems to walk, but their hearts were stronger than ever before, making their pain feel much less as a burden. There wasn't even the hint of a discussion with the girls if anyone could sit next to Taro or Takuya during the bus ride back home. The joined hands between the boys as they appeared at the breakfast table together, must have sent a signal that probably most of their fellow classmates couldn't misinterpret. There were a few curious looks and questions asked during the ride later on, which Takuya silenced with a simple wink, and the demonstration of placing a kiss on the back of Taro's hand which he didn't let go off for the whole time. Taro's red flushed face, the wide happy smile adorning his lips, as well as the fact that he didn't complain about the other boy's gesture, must have given the last needed answer and so, the two of them were left alone for the rest of the ride.

Takuya, who was picked up by his family's driver at the school grounds upon their arrival, insisted on bringing Taro home, who gratefully accepted, as he wouldn't be able yet to walk by himself. Throughout the whole car ride, Takuya was still clenching Taro's hand, who was answering the pressure gently. Just when they arrived and Taro reached to open the car's door and get out, Takuya held him back. Slightly confused, Taro looked at him.

“I am sorry,” Takuya said, his eyebrows furrowed.

“Sorry?” Taro asked, confused. “Sorry for what?”

“I promised to you an awesome trip and then, you got hurt. I'm really sorry.”

“What are you talking about?” Taro giggled before he quickly averted his eyes.

His cheeks blushed in a sweet red, so did the tips of his ears and Takuya couldn't help but find it incredibly cute. Then, the boy took a deep breath and looked back at Takuya, his cheeks still red.

“You know what, Mimura-kun? No, Takuya-kun. This trip was much better than I could have ever imagined.”

Before Takuya could reply anything, before he could even process that Taro had finally, after months, called him by his first name, Taro leaned closer, bringing their lips together for a soft and innocent kiss. As their lips parted, he leaned his forehead against Takuya's, and they simply stayed like this for a few seconds.

“Would you like to come inside and say hello to the others?” Taro then asked as he drew back and flashed his freshly baked boyfriend his usual, charming smile.

Takuya couldn't help but grin, before he replied, “Sure, I need to help you walk, anyway.”

They only separated their hands, so that Takuya could wrap his arm around Taro's waist for better support while walking, and as they approached the Yamada's family house, they got ready to deliver not only their souvenirs but also some good news, despite Taro's injury.

THE END