Work Text
“—wait, what were the lines again?” makoto suddenly broke from character, dropping his arms down. togami pinched the bridge of his nose. “..”and with a silk thread plucks it back again, so loving-jealous of his liberty”. how come i know your lines better than you do?” the latter only smiled sheepishly muttering excuses such as ‘i forgot.’ and ‘it’s a long play!’.the two of them have somehow scored the roles of juliet and romeo in their school play, well, it was against their own wills. they were somehow foolish enough to agree to one of celeste’s bets, and that’s how they had to audition for the roles and got it, surprisingly. however, the costumes made for makoto were masculinized and he started wearing pants and a top that mimicked the style of juliet’s dresses rather than the dresses themselves, because of makoto’s fragile masculinity and endless pestering of the other students managing the play. togami still couldn't believe he managed to convince them to entirely change the planned outfits for him.now, togami agreed that it was foolish to take on the ultimate gambler’s deal, but this was something he hadn’t expected. she never really did specify what would happen if she won, she only ever said that it involved both him and makoto. he was blinded by his pride, he took her on, and lost.one minuscule—actually, massive problem. the blonde actually liked the brunette. he uncharacteristically isn't sure if he can actually handle acting as the love interest in a play with him, let alone a cliche bittersweet romance like romeo and juliet. he tried to shove away his feelings just to get it over with but they wouldn’t stop invading his mind. he scowled distastefully at the fact that he felt an attraction to the smaller boy, and he was actually going to get a chance to kiss him, atleast, in a play. but play or not, he was still thinking about it. some part of him wanted to see how soft makoto's lips were, but the other wanted him to disappear on the spot.just thinking about it makes him go beet-red, he certainly hates ludenberg for making him do this ridiculous nonsense. she knows about his unwelcome crush on the pathetically average student, doesn’t she? the student that might as well be called the ultimate average, the one that togami fancied. she set this all up so that she could humiliate him. she won’t escape from his wrath, that’s for sure. it pained him how plain and dull naegi was but he still couldn't help but have feelings for him. it was purely frustrating.after a week or so when they got the roles, makoto invited togami to practice the scenes with him. the blonde begrudgingly accepted and started meeting up with makoto after classes, often in the costumes that were handed to them. they often practiced in his dorm room due to it being convenient and so that no one would hear them. with each visit, togami’s heart thumped louder and louder and he started to soften up around him. the blonde certainly hated it, but he kept on meeting up with him. it was like this addicting feeling of his gut-wrenching in.. a not unpleasant way and the genuine warmth that he felt around him kept him going. hell, he was almost looking forward to the particularly romantic scenes of the play. love is an awful disease, but he tolerated it. just for makoto.and that’s how he would wound up in this situation. makoto yawned and flopped down on his bed, the blonde raised an eyebrow at this. “we aren’t done rehearsing, naegi. especially not after you forgot your line.” he frowns, with no real malice behind it. “can we have a short break? i’m pretty sure my legs are gonna cramp if i keep standing up.” he pleads, his expression turning akin to a kicked puppy. the blonde wanted to say no so bad, but he eventually gave in after a bit of glaring and agreed to a break. “I can’t believe we’re going through with this cliche play. romeo and juliet? seriously?” he scowled as he sat down on the desk behind makoto’s bed. “well, we don’t want ludenberg-san to get mad at us, do we?” makoto chuckled lightheartedly. making togami gulp somewhat nervously. “i suppose.. but this choice of theatre is rather.. tacky.”“you don’t like stories like these?” he asked, curiously while stretching his legs. “why would i? romeo and juliet is such a typical pick for commoners.” togami crossed his arms. “sometimes they can be fun to watch.” makoto argued back lightly “it’s worth it to rewatch a classic story every once in a while.” he just hummed in response, the main reason on why he dislikes it so much is because he's going to have to face makoto and his attraction to him because of this idiotic play. this was the only way of being able to complain about it without him knowing his true reason for hating it so much.the blonde stayed silent. he started getting a feeling that he was forgetting something. he assumed it was related to the play and immediately surfed his memory for which scene they were about to practice next. he imagines performing on the stage with the latter.“then, window, let day in, and let life out.” his sweet voice hums, opening the window on set. the stage lights make it seem so much more intimate, casting a cool light on the two of them as they stray inches away from each other.
“farewell, farewell! one kiss, and I'll descend.”
realization suddenly hit the heir like a semi-truck. he widened his eyes, he never actually talked in too much detail about it with makoto, so something in him was slightly nervous. it was irritating, he shouldn’t be nervous. members of the togami family don’t let overwhelming emotion control them yet, the blonde had a bad feeling about this. he pushed that thought aside for now and decided to pick up the book he brought here and read while makoto was resting.a few minutes pass, and makoto lets the heir know that he’s ready to perform the scene. masking his hesitance, the blonde agrees and closes his book shut. gulp. here it goes.“ah, yeah.. what scene are we performing again?” makoto scratched the back of his head as he patted down his costume. how was he supposed to describe this? “the two of them on the balcony saying their,--er..farewells.” he managed to say with a neutral expression on his face. makoto paused for a little bit before his eyes widened in revelation, his mouth curved into an ‘o’ shape as well. “o,oh.. we don’t have to do the kiss if you don’t want to.” makoto blurted out, a visible tint of red appearing on his cheeks. togami turned away in embarrassment as well, attempting to hide his facial expression. he can feel his face heating up. he only gives a hum in response.they awkwardly prepare to perform the scene, and togami puts on a brave face. it’s just some dumb scene, what harm can it possibly do? he endlessly repeated to himself, but to no avail. while performing, as usual, makoto inches closer to him, as said in the script. “then, window, let day in, and let life out.” he pleasantly smiles, togami noticed that his breath hitched slightly with a fair amount of blush on his face.“farewell, farewell.. —one kiss, and I'll descend.” togami looks up at the brunette, his heart is beating quicker than ever, and a sense of warmth surrounds him. a drop of sweat drips down his face as he bites his lip.goddamnit, fuck it.he leans down as he cups makoto’s cheek and gently closed the space between them. makoto’s eyes widen for a brief moment, but then he kisses back.his lips were soft, and something felt like it bloomed inside him. it was akin to electricity, it felt incredible. like an overwhelming sense of serenity and happiness waved over him. he's wanted to do that for so long, not that he'd admit that out loud.they stay like that for a few seconds before parting for air. the two of them were a mess, they were comparable to the shade of a tomato. the blonde stood up properly, wiping the sweat off his face. “i’m really fond of you, naegi. in case that wasn't obviously clear yet.” he confessed pulling back his hair and adjusting his glasses. makoto's shocked face turned into a small grin. “i really like you too, togami-kun. i have for a while.” the heir couldn’t help but smile, in both relief and joy. "i'm surprised you like me back, though.. i always thought you hated me." looking down, embarrassed. "you're really stupid naegi, you know that?" he chuckled a bit. "why would i go out of my way to spend my precious time with you if i disliked you so much?" makoto's mouth parted to say try to retort, but nothing came out. he just huffed.it was like he was in a state of pure euphoria at this point, he could not be happier.the heir picked up the latter, and adjusted him so that he was straddling him and made him lean against the wall, makoto yelped in surprise but didn’t truly mind the action. “just call me byakuya.” the heir’s uncommon smile returned.“then.. call me makoto.” the shorter male stammered slightly, hanging his arms over togami’s shoulders, pushing the two of them closer. the blonde leaned in for the second time. he didn't really care about anything else at this moment, he just wanted to enjoy his time with the guy he loved.they both forgot about practicing after a while.maybe togami won’t get mad at ludenberg after all, and just maybe he liked romeo and juliet.