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Leo had been at home, casually listening to Claude's zatsu stream while packing everything he'd need for the personal training they had planned together later that day.
As Claude drifted from topics they'd talked about before to new conversations they hadn't yet shared, Leo couldn't keep the smile off his face. As FPS players, they both knew that clear communication was the key to winning whenever they teamed up. Calling out enemy positions, reporting their own status, constantly exchanging information to adjust their strategy and move toward the same objective…it had long since become second nature. Somewhere along the way, that habit had spilled into real life. No matter how trivial the story, they told each other everything, even filling in the gaps by watching fan clips whenever one of them had missed something. Piece by piece, they'd come to know each other almost completely.
Claude's voice echoed through Leo's small apartment as he moved from room to room, making it feel as though his best friend were right there beside him. The warmth of that familiar presence always put him at ease. He especially loved Claude's occasional ridiculous tangents, and the flustered reactions that followed never failed to bring out Leo's mischievous side.
—Just... not this one.
"…I'm easy. Show me a beautiful woman or the hottest man you've ever fucking seen and I fold. I fold! It's so easy"
Even though Claude had only been talking about game characters, the comment refused to leave Leo's mind. By the time they met at the gym, he found himself repeatedly scanning the room, secretly following Claude's line of sight.
At first, Claude remained completely focused on Leo's personalized training plan, checking whether anything needed adjusting, correcting his form, and thinking through additional exercises and nutrition suggestions. Little by little, Leo convinced himself he'd simply overthought the whole thing, maybe he'd even misheard the stream.
But once Leo sat down for a short break and Claude finally started his own workout, every alarm bell in his head started ringing again.
He was certain Claude's gaze kept drifting toward the man with the perfectly sculpted six-pack over to the left... the broad, muscular chest of another guy a few steps ahead... and the athletic young woman to the right with beautifully defined biceps...
"Hey... why have you been looking at me so strangely all day?"
Still catching his breath, the silver-haired man picked up his insulated bottle, gently swaying it back and forth before taking a sip of warm water. Once his breathing settled, he looked at Leo with quiet curiosity.
"Have I?"
"Haven't you?"
"...Hmm."
Faced with Claude's question, Leo wrinkled his nose and hesitated for several seconds before finally muttering under his breath, clearly reluctant to admit it.
"It's because of what you said."
"Huh? What did I say?"
"You literally said on stream that if you saw a beautiful woman or a hot guy, you'd immediately fold!"
"...And?"
"The gym is full of people like that!" Leo protested, his voice rising before quickly softening into a dejected mumble. "Unlike me..."
"Hey."
Claude set his water bottle aside so carelessly that it tipped over with a metallic clang and rolled across the floor. He didn't even spare it a glance. Instead, he grabbed Leo firmly by both shoulders, making the man look him straight in the eye.
"You've always been someone who shines, Leo. You just happened to stumble for a while. But you got back up, and you're working hard to keep moving forward. Don't talk about yourself like that."
"Claude..."
"You should have a little more faith in yourself. There are so many people cheering for you, how could you possibly think you're not attractive?" Claude's grip remained steady, his voice calm but unwavering. "Besides, being attractive isn't something that depends on your appearance. And you don't have to be perfect to be worth loving."
The sincerity in Claude's eyes left Leo momentarily speechless. The reassuring warmth of those hands resting on his shoulders settled deep inside his chest, and he closed his eyes for a brief moment, letting himself simply accept the encouragement.
Feeling considerably lighter, he couldn't resist teasing Claude again.
"Careful. You're sounding awfully cool right now. Don't end up eating your own words when you find someone to date right here in the gym."
Claude had already turned back toward the weight machines when he casually tossed a reply over his shoulder, a reply that landed like a bomb.
His words made Leo froze. Leo’s mouth slowly fell open as his brain struggled to process what he'd just heard. He wanted to shout after Claude, to ask him what exactly he meant...but for several long seconds, no words came out.
"Guess you didn't follow the stream carefully. I also said, ' I don't think I would ever go on a date with somebody that I did not already have like a preexisting friendship with.'"