Chapter Text
Romance was something that did not come naturally to Ishimaru Kiyotaka throughout his young life. He would scoff at the idea when his classmates gossiped of love. He would turn down confessions from hopeful underclassmen. He would repeatedly state how he had no time for such a thing. There was nothing about it that interested him. It wasn’t fascinating, or logical, or even reasonable. Romance was just a waste of time. Why spend your valuable teen years on something as tiring as relationships? It wasn’t productive, it didn’t benefit anything. Actually, the ultimate moral compass decided long ago that relationships were distracting. The number of times Taka had to interrupt a couple from public displays of affection– which was against school rules, Taka had to remind them all– is far higher than he could possibly count. He had lost track of all the moments he’s had to remind his own classmates to get their head out of the clouds of love and into their study courses. Romance was, for lack of better word, stupid, and Taka planned to not take part of it during his time at Hope’s Peak Academy.
But all that changed when he caught himself staying up way past his bedtime, staring at the ceiling, thinking of Mondo Owada.
Mondo. Brash, foolish, and aggressive. When they first met, he made Taka’s skin crawl with unpleasantries and distaste. It wasn’t that Taka straight out hated the guy, but he did have a strong dislike for the fellow classmate, especially when Mondo decided the hall monitor would be his object of annoyance of the day. Their relationship had started like water being poured on a grease fire– Big, unmanageable, and dangerous. Taka almost ended up ripping his hair out from the stress Mondo would put him through on a daily basis, both as a classmate and a law abiding citizen. For every ounce of lawfulness in Taka, there was an equal amount of chaos in Mondo. Everyone in school knew they had a mutual dislike for each other, some even described them as enemies. However, on a seemingly random Tuesday two years ago, their shouting match had reached it's limit. Mondo had proposed an endurance competition to determine who was the better man once and for all. Before they knew it, they were stuck in the campus' sauna, trying to outlast each other. The rest was history.
They now smile and laugh, wrap their arms around each other like they’ve been best friends since childhood. No one knew exactly what happened in that sauna, and Mondo and Taka ganged up on anyone who would ask. A moment shared between two friends, two brothers, was special, and wonderful, and, darn it, maybe a little exciting since Taka doesn’t normally keep secrets. Taka and Mondo did not have to share everything about their friendship to be considered valid and approved by others, they just needed to express their now mutual likeness for one another. And that was enough.
But as Taka logged into his laptop in the dead of night, he knew that wasn't the case anymore.
Recently, Taka had noticed things about Mondo that he hadn’t before. For example, the veins on his arms when he participated in dodgeball during gym class the other day. Or the muscles in his legs when he raced against Leon to see who was faster. Or the moments when Mondo re-enters his dorm after a shower, and Taka is waiting on his bed. Taka would look up at the sound of the bathroom door open, look at Mondo with his wife beater and towel wrapped around his neck, his shorts loose but fitting. Water drips from his naturally curly, wet hair, pushed out of his beautiful, sharp eyes. Skin so clear…
This is inappropriate. There’s no way anyone could think about their friend like this. This is… cinematic nonsense! The very thing Taka had been against from the beginning! He's become a victim to pining, of all things!
Now all the time wasted not researching romance had gone in vain. If Taka had some speculation on how to discuss his feelings for Mondo, even if it was a little, he’d be far better off than how he is now; hunched over his laptop like an ape, typing away on his browser for some sort of answer on how to feel properly.
There was a better way to go about this, there had to be. He could talk to his father. His father would be more than happy to give romantic advice to his one and only son, right? But that, Taka had determined, would be utterly embarrassing. Having to explain his emotions to his father was off the table! Just imagine the devilish look in his father's eyes the minute the words ‘I like someone’ would come out of his mouth. The never ending questions and concerns would be the absolute death of Taka. Fathers were off the table.
But surely, his fellow classmates and friends would be able to assist with Taka’s romantic dilemma? Fat chance. Sakura only questioned his choice of men (which Taka found offense to, but he didn’t know why), as Aoi told him just to come clean because ‘gay rights’. Leon just shrugged and advised Taka to just ‘go for it’, while Chihiro disagreed and said ‘maybe a love letter would be better’. Surely it wasn’t that easy! Nothing in the world that made Taka’s heart race this much, and hands sweat this disturbingly, could be easy! Even Makoto, who was actually there at the formation of Taka and Mondo’s manly bond on that faithful sauna Tuesday, and who was actually known for being helpful, wasn’t helpful! He just stared, embarrassed, and confessed that he thought Mondo and Taka had already taken their relationship to a romantic setting! How ridiculous!
So there he was, way past his normally scheduled bed time, going through pages and pages of romantic advice, how to’s, and even compatibility quizzes (surely these astrology signs couldn’t possibly dictate accurately who would be perfect together, and who would not!). Taka leaned back in his bed, rubbing his sore eyes and seeing stars. If he had to answer another question about how he thought Mondo acted around him, he was going to actually vomit. No exaggeration. Just straight up puke all over his dormitory… Okay, maybe a little exaggeration. He’d at least aim for the trash can.
The tiredness was getting to him, but it’s been difficult to sleep recently, knowing he had these feelings that he absolutely could not put a bottle cap on. The closest thing he could get to relieve these God awful emotions would be listening to music he normally wouldn’t. Lyrics about romance, crushes, pining, and so on, made the hall monitor feel understood, unlike his friends' advice. Taka even watched a classic romance movie the other night, where the entire movie had the two main characters hint at their affections towards each other. He was very frustrated with the whole ordeal, and wanted nothing more than to turn it off. 'It would be so much easier to just admit you like each other, it’s ridiculously obvious that you do!', he'd yell at the screen. But then they kissed in the rain, and music filled the scene while they danced, completely wet, vulnerable to illnesses but still carefree. Like all they needed was each other, and not a single thing could come between them. Taka found himself wondering if he and Mondo would ever have a moment like that.
Of course, that is cinema. Fake. There’s no spontaneous, unpredictable rain falling, and no music playing out of absolutely nowhere. He’s pretty sure Mondo doesn’t even know how to dance. This was a real, breathing, blood filled boy Taka had found himself swooning over. He needed real examples, from real people with real experiences. That’s how his search through the internet began.
Now, days into his initial thought, he’s gone through what felt like the entire world wide web looking for the perfect playbook to go about his feelings for Mondo. He felt like giving up and regrouping at a later time. Surely, his emotions would pity the tired mess he’s become and leave him alone for just a few days. He really didn’t want to use the excuse that he was studying all night again, he was worried that his classmates wouldn’t believe him anymore if he kept it up. But suddenly, like the clouds parted and angels sang, it appeared. The perfect advice, Taka was sure of it. He hastily clicked the article, the fastest he’s been all night, and read the contents hungrily. Yes… Yes! Taka pumped a fist in the air in pure joy, feeling his eyes water up with what could have been relief, but also could have been sleep deprivation. A solid, full proof plan that would easily let Mondo know of his feelings.
“How to Show a Guy You Like Him - wikihow”