for a second
title: for a second.
length: oneshot
word count: 3,272
rating: T
pairing: agata soujirou/tsubaki sasuke
disclaimer: sket dance (c) shinohara kenta. based on agata and shinba's class graduation in manga chapters 204-205.
A/N: in June, I want to write myself a graduation fic that involves the second button thing and I was watching sket dance around that time and this pairing is just so adorable. so I just have to do this. don't ask me why it came up so late, I'd rather shows you to my pile of assignments instead.
Tsubaki Sasuke had decided not to be a fool that regret and tell everything today, but that was easier said than done. As one farewell speech, a following answer, another encounter in front of the school gate and a throw into the air later, there were still a lot of words left unsaid.
Those were the words he would not like to be heard by any other person than the recipient, and for the whole morning everyone else had been there with him. Even when he decided to step outside of the building alone after the graduation ended, his members in the Student Council and the SKET Dan somehow seemed to have the same idea: approaching Agata, who was accompanied by Shinba, also to give him their own messages.
The amber-eyed boy thought it would be weird if he asked the others to go immediately, so he let them talk what they want first. He wasn't sure whether to speak too or not, but it's not like he's here to stare at Agata (or Shinba, or Student Council, or SKET Dan, or even the fences, whatever), so he told something he already said for like a thousand times since they first worked together: "I will give everything that I have for the sake of a better school!"
And the response didn't really change either, "Too serious, man!"
Although, if this was the usual, it and the previous speech for the seniors would be more than enough said, because Tsubaki could be certain that they'll meet again. Be it tomorrow at school, next Student Council meeting, next school event, or even at home, there's always a fixed time to meet again.
But it wasn't. He has no idea how busy would a normal high school senior that was concerned with his future studies would be (since he was an only child and his two nearest examples of a senior certainly weren't in that category), much less a freshman of a top-class university. With those two circumstances, he's not even sure whether there would be a next time or not.
And even if there is a next time, someone else probably would have beaten him to it. Actually, SKET Dan was the one who beaten him to it-to saying some of the things he wanted to say to Agata (at least their main idea is similar to his. No, it's not the same and it doesn't include everything he wanted to say.)
He knew he wasn't Usui, who has the intelligence and confidence to say that he'll enter Tokyo University next year and could be taken seriously. He also wasn't Onizuka, who has the right words to express that he was grateful without having to make himself look silly in front of the audience earlier. And he certainly wasn't Fujisaki, who has the courage to admit that he admired Agata Soujirou that easily, as if without any hesitations or second thoughts.
At least Fujisaki didn't make a stupid face he usually made when he's on awkward situations, so it's safe for Tsubaki to assume that his twin didn't see the former Student Council president in the same way he did-the nerve-wrecking way that should not be felt for another man.
So, after they let Agata back to the ground, Tsubaki talked before anyone else did, "Excuse me, but can I ask something to the president in private?"
Fujisaki then teased Tsubaki, "Aren't you the president? You don't have to ask for everyone's permission then, Mr. President."
Then, from Fujisaki's side, an unimpressed Onizuka was yelling, "Bossun! Don't pick up a fight with your cute little brother! You guys should bond together instead!"
"I wasn't referring to myself! I was referring to President Agata! And I'm not Fujisaki's cute little brother!" Tsubaki shouted at the big brother first and the yankee later.
He still couldn't get people like them. Seriously, can they just leave people's private lives alone? Not that he has a private life with Agata, but wasn't special feelings supposed to be a private matter? Unless he was that desperate and already came to SKET Dan for help (which would never happen, because the president clearly won't send him there so he could receive a nice confession later), they couldn't just meddle with it all they want.
Meanwhile, Agata swore he was just going to say yes, but the kids were being bothersome. Yet, he did nothing except watching the things that happened in front of him, since he knew that Tsubaki would not ask for anything from him unless it's something he seriously couldn't achieve by himself, and the little boy trusted him on that.
"Tsubaki-kun, what do you want? Can I ask Unyuu Group to make it?" then there was Unyuu Mimori, the current vice-president that replaced Tsubaki's position, her hands already punching some numbers in her cellphone as she offered help to him.
"My lord, can I get it for you instead?" Katou Kiri bowed in front of him, his moves swift as if he would be able to find and bring the thing in the next second. Well, he is able to do so, if it was closely placed enough.
"No! I should get this thing by myself or it wouldn't be meaningful!"
For a second, Tsubaki felt he had strongly turned down both of them. And for the next, he started to feeling heat on his cheeks when realizing what he said could be misinterpreted-or, in this case, correctly interpreted. Still, there is no way he would let anyone arrive to that conclusion!
But, most likely, they did.
"Daisy-senpai, tell the president he's being sappier than the drama reruns my mom watch every week, and that makes men even more disgusting," Usami complained.
"D.O.S," Asahina muttered her most well-known acronym, then expanding it, "Disturbing and Overly Sentimental," though the original meaning would have still made sense for Tsubaki if the secretary was the one saying it.
"Oh ho, he's blushing! (≧◡≦) I think I know what this is about~ Tee hee~" Usui said cheerfully through his laptop, "We better leave them two now~ Go go!~~~ (ノ゜∇゜)ノ "
"I also advise the Student Council members and Shinba-senpai to leave now, or you would see something I'm not really sure you want to see," he switched the speech pattern and tone into a more serious one at the next sentence.
"Lunch time is nearing, so what if while we wait for Agata and Tsubaki-chan, I cook you some food in my house? Or we pick up pretty girls in the nearby shopping district?" Shinba came up with a way to kill time as he walked away with his juniors.
"Tell him although I don't like men, I don't want to pick up girls with men either," Usami asked anyone-preferably the girls-to deliver her objection to the wavy-haired male senior.
"What if I treat you guys to a lunch instead? You can pick any restaurant you want!" Mimori suggested.
"Any restaurant …Switch, you should have some recommendations in the internet, right?"
"This maid café in Akihabara provides excellent food and excellent service-" instead of searching for something in the internet like what Bossun asked, the guy in eyeglasses made up his own narration.
Himeko cut him as soon as she caught those two words, "Not the maid café, you damned otaku!"
"Excuse me, but I don't know if the president would allow me to eat before he does," Kiri said.
"I'm sure Tsubaki would not mind," Daisy replied in a straight tone.
With the not-so-strange combination's conversation fading in the background, Agata and Tsubaki were left in a seemingly empty Kaimei Academy campus. Instead of going outside, the pair headed inside, though they just rambled mindlessly and wordlessly around the first floor's corridor, past various rooms, including the classrooms for the first years.
"So what was that thing you want from me that you must get yourself? Am I the only person in the world that owns it?" Agata asked lightly to break the awkward silence, in his usual relaxed manner.
The question made Tsubaki bow his head as they kept on stepping together, not answering until a few minutes later when they arrived in front of the staircase. He sat on the lowest tread, raised his head to face the older boy and said, "President… I don't want anyone else to hear it, it's embarrassing… so I think we should find a quieter place…" while the only sound audible other than himself talking was Agata attempting to sit beside him.
Another sound he could hear later was his heartbeat-his own heartbeat, he could feel it-and it's just getting louder and faster for every second passing. Then there was a reply, "Ka ka ka, what's to be embarrassed of?"
Tsubaki simply frowned at Agata before the latter continued, "But, if it's what you want, why don't we head to the roof?"
The underclassman only nodded. Honestly, he felt that was a strange choice, having pictured the school rooftop as a crowded place when there's no class. However, when he reconsidered the fact that now their lively academy was this empty, he was relieved Agata was still as sharp as ever.
For a second, a smile crept on Tsubaki's lips as he recognized Agata following him. And for the next, he brushed it off, thinking he would look like an idiot with that expression. It's not like Agata hadn't called him so-you could say it already became a pet name of sorts, even-but Tsubaki just didn't want to be even worse.
Although he was sure what he planned to do once they reached the top would turn him into exactly that, he wished neither to stop climbing the stairs nor to ask for something more possible to be fulfilled by the president. Since the president never told him not to be foolish; he told them in the valedictorian's speech not to regret instead. And what does that make him if he failed to obey that after taking every previous advice, however much he had struggled against them.
Tsubaki wanted to get it off his chest before he explodes. Agata wanted to listen, comply, and then go home to take a nap. So, it wasn't surprising if the way they ran through the stairs would have fitted the image of the sports festival's sprint event.
Except this was not a competition, they were not in the track, Tsubaki was too nervous and Agata was too concerned he keep asking what's wrong and informing that the younger should just relax since it's just him every once in a while, be it when the stairs changed directions or when they made it to the next floor-which was brushed off with a "President, you say we'll head to the roof first?" by Tsubaki, whom then averted his gaze from Agata as he climbed even faster, even skipping a few steps in the progress, while the older pretty much kept his pace.
Given the ridiculous amount of effort, Tsubaki arrived at the roof quicker than he expected. He stopped just some steps from the end of the stairway, breathing some fresh air while waiting for Agata to show up. It didn't took long before the former president came while asking a simple question, "Now what?"
The current echoed the words he heard, "W-what?", feigning confusion as he was still not ready to say it yet.
"What you wanted, fool," Agata answered, with the fool part purposely threw in for teasing purposes, because he was sure Tsubaki knew what exactly he meant before and it was just his timid side getting to him, fully visible with the blush on his cheeks.
Just that was enough to trigger Tsubaki to let out what he was hesitating from, what he brought them here for.
"I don't know if this sounded ridiculous… but… I want… the button."
And though he was not quite yet done with it, he can already feel both the relief and the shame he was supposed to feel after telling everything he needed to.
"Yours was just fine, why would you want a button?" Agata approached him, trailing his right hand through Tsubaki's prim and proper uniform when they were close enough, checking each visible button there.
Although he believed Agata won't do anything bad, Tsubaki was too startled to move away, so he tried to be clearer, "It's not like mine was broken! What I mean was… I want President's second button! I know this is too embarrassing, isn't it?"
Too clear, even, as he realized what kind of stuff he blurted out without thinking.
His words were cut short by Agata, who had backed off, "Are you sure it's not a prank? Did Shinba or Fujisaki and his SKET Dan tell you to do this? Do you understand the meaning?"
At this point, although he was in fact not being reprimanded (as a comparison, it's not even half of what he experienced when he was suspected of being in a relationship with Saaya), Tsubaki lost the last bit of his composure and started crying.
Agata was half right about it: the second button idea was not his own's, it was Shinba's and it's only because he guessed that Tsubaki has romantic feelings for Agata. The assumption had run for long, and when they were alone, the self-proclaimed magician of love always came up with plots to make Tsubaki confess. Shinba had been utilizing each and every opportunity for the two-from the school festival, Agata's birthday, the third-years' retirement from Student Council, Valentine's Day, moments when Agata was preparing for exams, when he failed, when he retried and succeeded-but it hadn't worked, mostly because Tsubaki believed he worked hard with a passion for the school and not an infatuation for a certain person that led him.
He only went along with this one since there would be nothing else after then.
It was not simply just to shut one persistent person up, though. If that was his intention, he could have done it earlier. But if he did, he would have ridicule himself in front of Agata Soujirou, the President he dearly respected, the genius that could do things others can't, the caring friend and brother who has his own way to show his affections, the handsome young man who was pretty popular with the girls, but never thought much about it-and that's where Tsubaki concluded that he, at some point, had fell.
As for what asking for a second button means, he searched it on the Internet when he was writing the student representative's speech for today. It could be interpreted as a way of confession without saying the like or love word itself-which was just fine for him, so he agreed to do so.
While wiping his tears away, Tsubaki exclaimed spontaneously, "I'm sure I'm serious about this! It's not a prank! It's not like I'm going to ask them about something like this! And what I asked for means that I want to say that I like you, President Agata Soujirou!"
He was responded with a string of Agata's characteristic laughter and another question from him, "So you like me and not Saaya?"
He sighed at the thought while recalling a few weeks ago, when Saaya asked him about Fujisaki and both Tsubaki and Agata had misunderstood the circumstances following that. It had been tough for Tsubaki then, especially after knowing that he had indirectly caused Agata to fail his first attempt on entering Tokyo University with a problem that only existed in the exam-taker's brain.
As if I'd like her with a brother like you, he said that in his heart as he nodded firmly.
Agata ruffled Tsubaki's hair as he told the latter, "You know, Tsubaki? That was really cute of you."
And Tsubaki would have shouted "I'm not cute!" if this was not Agata who complimented him. Instead, he only stared at the older's clothes, totally not letting go of his first target.
Seeing an unusually speechless Tsubaki, Agata removed the second button of his dress shirt, threw it to Tsubaki, and chattered easily, "I was going to give that to you since earlier. It was a pain that everyone was there, but what can we do. Couldn't have you on a scandal, right?"
"Exactly, President," Tsubaki affirmed when he caught the plastic button, "That's why I don't read you a love letter earlier …not that I have one to read now."
"No. You don't have to. I'd still adore you either way. You're wholehearted and you stick to your principles. Not to forget being cute, too."
Despite just acknowledging that the crush he had for his president was mutual, Tsubaki was still bothered with what he gained, "By the way, why did you give me the dress shirt's button and not the blazer? I thought it usually came from the blazers?"
"Tsubaki, the second button was supposed to be the one closest to the heart. Our school blazers' design was low-necked and it had only two buttons, so you could say it defeated the purpose," Agata presented a witty answer for him.
"I see."
"Now, may I?"
The graduate stepped even closer, holding Tsubaki's face as he leaned in towards him. The younger was taken aback with this affectionate gesture, but as he stood in his place and closed his eyes, he was sure the outcome would be perfect. That was until he felt something on his lips and came into a conclusion that Agata had just stolen his first kiss.
For a second, Tsubaki smiled back into the kiss. And for the next, he ran away then yelled from the other side of the roof, "President! Don't you remember that public display of affection at school grounds are against the rules?"
"It doesn't matter anymore, I'm no longer a student here," Agata uttered indifferently.
"But I still am!" Tsubaki retorted.
"Hey, it's alright to loosen up sometimes. And one more thing, be quiet or someone may hear us and then infer that Kaimei's latest two school presidents are dating each other."
The last sentence was enough to hush Tsubaki's complaining.
"Anyway, Mimorin texted me earlier that she's booking this restaurant to celebrate Shinba and I graduating, and she invited our friends in the Student Council. And your brother and his friends too. Wanna join?"
"Up to you, President," Tsubaki chimed brightly, "Let's go downstairs first."
And even when he didn't want the rest of the world to know, when Agata offered his hand, he still grabbed it, not letting it go as they skipped through the stairs again. Because he would hold him close, as long as it takes, but it would still be enough even if it's just for a second of solitude, warmth and love.
Omake:
And the next day, when SKET Dan was doing nothing except waiting for requests and Switch was rewinding the CCTV they have in the stairway to the rooftop, he told Bossun and Himeko that he found something interesting. As expected, Himeko squealed at Bossun's adorable little brother and criticized Bossun for being oblivious with love. Bossun's alibi is that he doesn't like boys. And Switch was showing him pictures of attractive men, both 3D and 2D, just to test the club leader's reaction.
Once again, I'm sorry if the end felt out of the place. Man it's hard to start but it's even harder to end. And the rule Tsubaki mentioned can be either an official rule made before him or a rule he wanted to assign but was never approved by Agata (and Shinba).
length: oneshot
word count: 3,272
rating: T
pairing: agata soujirou/tsubaki sasuke
disclaimer: sket dance (c) shinohara kenta. based on agata and shinba's class graduation in manga chapters 204-205.
A/N: in June, I want to write myself a graduation fic that involves the second button thing and I was watching sket dance around that time and this pairing is just so adorable. so I just have to do this. don't ask me why it came up so late, I'd rather shows you to my pile of assignments instead.
Tsubaki Sasuke had decided not to be a fool that regret and tell everything today, but that was easier said than done. As one farewell speech, a following answer, another encounter in front of the school gate and a throw into the air later, there were still a lot of words left unsaid.
Those were the words he would not like to be heard by any other person than the recipient, and for the whole morning everyone else had been there with him. Even when he decided to step outside of the building alone after the graduation ended, his members in the Student Council and the SKET Dan somehow seemed to have the same idea: approaching Agata, who was accompanied by Shinba, also to give him their own messages.
The amber-eyed boy thought it would be weird if he asked the others to go immediately, so he let them talk what they want first. He wasn't sure whether to speak too or not, but it's not like he's here to stare at Agata (or Shinba, or Student Council, or SKET Dan, or even the fences, whatever), so he told something he already said for like a thousand times since they first worked together: "I will give everything that I have for the sake of a better school!"
And the response didn't really change either, "Too serious, man!"
Although, if this was the usual, it and the previous speech for the seniors would be more than enough said, because Tsubaki could be certain that they'll meet again. Be it tomorrow at school, next Student Council meeting, next school event, or even at home, there's always a fixed time to meet again.
But it wasn't. He has no idea how busy would a normal high school senior that was concerned with his future studies would be (since he was an only child and his two nearest examples of a senior certainly weren't in that category), much less a freshman of a top-class university. With those two circumstances, he's not even sure whether there would be a next time or not.
And even if there is a next time, someone else probably would have beaten him to it. Actually, SKET Dan was the one who beaten him to it-to saying some of the things he wanted to say to Agata (at least their main idea is similar to his. No, it's not the same and it doesn't include everything he wanted to say.)
He knew he wasn't Usui, who has the intelligence and confidence to say that he'll enter Tokyo University next year and could be taken seriously. He also wasn't Onizuka, who has the right words to express that he was grateful without having to make himself look silly in front of the audience earlier. And he certainly wasn't Fujisaki, who has the courage to admit that he admired Agata Soujirou that easily, as if without any hesitations or second thoughts.
At least Fujisaki didn't make a stupid face he usually made when he's on awkward situations, so it's safe for Tsubaki to assume that his twin didn't see the former Student Council president in the same way he did-the nerve-wrecking way that should not be felt for another man.
So, after they let Agata back to the ground, Tsubaki talked before anyone else did, "Excuse me, but can I ask something to the president in private?"
Fujisaki then teased Tsubaki, "Aren't you the president? You don't have to ask for everyone's permission then, Mr. President."
Then, from Fujisaki's side, an unimpressed Onizuka was yelling, "Bossun! Don't pick up a fight with your cute little brother! You guys should bond together instead!"
"I wasn't referring to myself! I was referring to President Agata! And I'm not Fujisaki's cute little brother!" Tsubaki shouted at the big brother first and the yankee later.
He still couldn't get people like them. Seriously, can they just leave people's private lives alone? Not that he has a private life with Agata, but wasn't special feelings supposed to be a private matter? Unless he was that desperate and already came to SKET Dan for help (which would never happen, because the president clearly won't send him there so he could receive a nice confession later), they couldn't just meddle with it all they want.
Meanwhile, Agata swore he was just going to say yes, but the kids were being bothersome. Yet, he did nothing except watching the things that happened in front of him, since he knew that Tsubaki would not ask for anything from him unless it's something he seriously couldn't achieve by himself, and the little boy trusted him on that.
"Tsubaki-kun, what do you want? Can I ask Unyuu Group to make it?" then there was Unyuu Mimori, the current vice-president that replaced Tsubaki's position, her hands already punching some numbers in her cellphone as she offered help to him.
"My lord, can I get it for you instead?" Katou Kiri bowed in front of him, his moves swift as if he would be able to find and bring the thing in the next second. Well, he is able to do so, if it was closely placed enough.
"No! I should get this thing by myself or it wouldn't be meaningful!"
For a second, Tsubaki felt he had strongly turned down both of them. And for the next, he started to feeling heat on his cheeks when realizing what he said could be misinterpreted-or, in this case, correctly interpreted. Still, there is no way he would let anyone arrive to that conclusion!
But, most likely, they did.
"Daisy-senpai, tell the president he's being sappier than the drama reruns my mom watch every week, and that makes men even more disgusting," Usami complained.
"D.O.S," Asahina muttered her most well-known acronym, then expanding it, "Disturbing and Overly Sentimental," though the original meaning would have still made sense for Tsubaki if the secretary was the one saying it.
"Oh ho, he's blushing! (≧◡≦) I think I know what this is about~ Tee hee~" Usui said cheerfully through his laptop, "We better leave them two now~ Go go!~~~ (ノ゜∇゜)ノ "
"I also advise the Student Council members and Shinba-senpai to leave now, or you would see something I'm not really sure you want to see," he switched the speech pattern and tone into a more serious one at the next sentence.
"Lunch time is nearing, so what if while we wait for Agata and Tsubaki-chan, I cook you some food in my house? Or we pick up pretty girls in the nearby shopping district?" Shinba came up with a way to kill time as he walked away with his juniors.
"Tell him although I don't like men, I don't want to pick up girls with men either," Usami asked anyone-preferably the girls-to deliver her objection to the wavy-haired male senior.
"What if I treat you guys to a lunch instead? You can pick any restaurant you want!" Mimori suggested.
"Any restaurant …Switch, you should have some recommendations in the internet, right?"
"This maid café in Akihabara provides excellent food and excellent service-" instead of searching for something in the internet like what Bossun asked, the guy in eyeglasses made up his own narration.
Himeko cut him as soon as she caught those two words, "Not the maid café, you damned otaku!"
"Excuse me, but I don't know if the president would allow me to eat before he does," Kiri said.
"I'm sure Tsubaki would not mind," Daisy replied in a straight tone.
With the not-so-strange combination's conversation fading in the background, Agata and Tsubaki were left in a seemingly empty Kaimei Academy campus. Instead of going outside, the pair headed inside, though they just rambled mindlessly and wordlessly around the first floor's corridor, past various rooms, including the classrooms for the first years.
"So what was that thing you want from me that you must get yourself? Am I the only person in the world that owns it?" Agata asked lightly to break the awkward silence, in his usual relaxed manner.
The question made Tsubaki bow his head as they kept on stepping together, not answering until a few minutes later when they arrived in front of the staircase. He sat on the lowest tread, raised his head to face the older boy and said, "President… I don't want anyone else to hear it, it's embarrassing… so I think we should find a quieter place…" while the only sound audible other than himself talking was Agata attempting to sit beside him.
Another sound he could hear later was his heartbeat-his own heartbeat, he could feel it-and it's just getting louder and faster for every second passing. Then there was a reply, "Ka ka ka, what's to be embarrassed of?"
Tsubaki simply frowned at Agata before the latter continued, "But, if it's what you want, why don't we head to the roof?"
The underclassman only nodded. Honestly, he felt that was a strange choice, having pictured the school rooftop as a crowded place when there's no class. However, when he reconsidered the fact that now their lively academy was this empty, he was relieved Agata was still as sharp as ever.
For a second, a smile crept on Tsubaki's lips as he recognized Agata following him. And for the next, he brushed it off, thinking he would look like an idiot with that expression. It's not like Agata hadn't called him so-you could say it already became a pet name of sorts, even-but Tsubaki just didn't want to be even worse.
Although he was sure what he planned to do once they reached the top would turn him into exactly that, he wished neither to stop climbing the stairs nor to ask for something more possible to be fulfilled by the president. Since the president never told him not to be foolish; he told them in the valedictorian's speech not to regret instead. And what does that make him if he failed to obey that after taking every previous advice, however much he had struggled against them.
Tsubaki wanted to get it off his chest before he explodes. Agata wanted to listen, comply, and then go home to take a nap. So, it wasn't surprising if the way they ran through the stairs would have fitted the image of the sports festival's sprint event.
Except this was not a competition, they were not in the track, Tsubaki was too nervous and Agata was too concerned he keep asking what's wrong and informing that the younger should just relax since it's just him every once in a while, be it when the stairs changed directions or when they made it to the next floor-which was brushed off with a "President, you say we'll head to the roof first?" by Tsubaki, whom then averted his gaze from Agata as he climbed even faster, even skipping a few steps in the progress, while the older pretty much kept his pace.
Given the ridiculous amount of effort, Tsubaki arrived at the roof quicker than he expected. He stopped just some steps from the end of the stairway, breathing some fresh air while waiting for Agata to show up. It didn't took long before the former president came while asking a simple question, "Now what?"
The current echoed the words he heard, "W-what?", feigning confusion as he was still not ready to say it yet.
"What you wanted, fool," Agata answered, with the fool part purposely threw in for teasing purposes, because he was sure Tsubaki knew what exactly he meant before and it was just his timid side getting to him, fully visible with the blush on his cheeks.
Just that was enough to trigger Tsubaki to let out what he was hesitating from, what he brought them here for.
"I don't know if this sounded ridiculous… but… I want… the button."
And though he was not quite yet done with it, he can already feel both the relief and the shame he was supposed to feel after telling everything he needed to.
"Yours was just fine, why would you want a button?" Agata approached him, trailing his right hand through Tsubaki's prim and proper uniform when they were close enough, checking each visible button there.
Although he believed Agata won't do anything bad, Tsubaki was too startled to move away, so he tried to be clearer, "It's not like mine was broken! What I mean was… I want President's second button! I know this is too embarrassing, isn't it?"
Too clear, even, as he realized what kind of stuff he blurted out without thinking.
His words were cut short by Agata, who had backed off, "Are you sure it's not a prank? Did Shinba or Fujisaki and his SKET Dan tell you to do this? Do you understand the meaning?"
At this point, although he was in fact not being reprimanded (as a comparison, it's not even half of what he experienced when he was suspected of being in a relationship with Saaya), Tsubaki lost the last bit of his composure and started crying.
Agata was half right about it: the second button idea was not his own's, it was Shinba's and it's only because he guessed that Tsubaki has romantic feelings for Agata. The assumption had run for long, and when they were alone, the self-proclaimed magician of love always came up with plots to make Tsubaki confess. Shinba had been utilizing each and every opportunity for the two-from the school festival, Agata's birthday, the third-years' retirement from Student Council, Valentine's Day, moments when Agata was preparing for exams, when he failed, when he retried and succeeded-but it hadn't worked, mostly because Tsubaki believed he worked hard with a passion for the school and not an infatuation for a certain person that led him.
He only went along with this one since there would be nothing else after then.
It was not simply just to shut one persistent person up, though. If that was his intention, he could have done it earlier. But if he did, he would have ridicule himself in front of Agata Soujirou, the President he dearly respected, the genius that could do things others can't, the caring friend and brother who has his own way to show his affections, the handsome young man who was pretty popular with the girls, but never thought much about it-and that's where Tsubaki concluded that he, at some point, had fell.
As for what asking for a second button means, he searched it on the Internet when he was writing the student representative's speech for today. It could be interpreted as a way of confession without saying the like or love word itself-which was just fine for him, so he agreed to do so.
While wiping his tears away, Tsubaki exclaimed spontaneously, "I'm sure I'm serious about this! It's not a prank! It's not like I'm going to ask them about something like this! And what I asked for means that I want to say that I like you, President Agata Soujirou!"
He was responded with a string of Agata's characteristic laughter and another question from him, "So you like me and not Saaya?"
He sighed at the thought while recalling a few weeks ago, when Saaya asked him about Fujisaki and both Tsubaki and Agata had misunderstood the circumstances following that. It had been tough for Tsubaki then, especially after knowing that he had indirectly caused Agata to fail his first attempt on entering Tokyo University with a problem that only existed in the exam-taker's brain.
As if I'd like her with a brother like you, he said that in his heart as he nodded firmly.
Agata ruffled Tsubaki's hair as he told the latter, "You know, Tsubaki? That was really cute of you."
And Tsubaki would have shouted "I'm not cute!" if this was not Agata who complimented him. Instead, he only stared at the older's clothes, totally not letting go of his first target.
Seeing an unusually speechless Tsubaki, Agata removed the second button of his dress shirt, threw it to Tsubaki, and chattered easily, "I was going to give that to you since earlier. It was a pain that everyone was there, but what can we do. Couldn't have you on a scandal, right?"
"Exactly, President," Tsubaki affirmed when he caught the plastic button, "That's why I don't read you a love letter earlier …not that I have one to read now."
"No. You don't have to. I'd still adore you either way. You're wholehearted and you stick to your principles. Not to forget being cute, too."
Despite just acknowledging that the crush he had for his president was mutual, Tsubaki was still bothered with what he gained, "By the way, why did you give me the dress shirt's button and not the blazer? I thought it usually came from the blazers?"
"Tsubaki, the second button was supposed to be the one closest to the heart. Our school blazers' design was low-necked and it had only two buttons, so you could say it defeated the purpose," Agata presented a witty answer for him.
"I see."
"Now, may I?"
The graduate stepped even closer, holding Tsubaki's face as he leaned in towards him. The younger was taken aback with this affectionate gesture, but as he stood in his place and closed his eyes, he was sure the outcome would be perfect. That was until he felt something on his lips and came into a conclusion that Agata had just stolen his first kiss.
For a second, Tsubaki smiled back into the kiss. And for the next, he ran away then yelled from the other side of the roof, "President! Don't you remember that public display of affection at school grounds are against the rules?"
"It doesn't matter anymore, I'm no longer a student here," Agata uttered indifferently.
"But I still am!" Tsubaki retorted.
"Hey, it's alright to loosen up sometimes. And one more thing, be quiet or someone may hear us and then infer that Kaimei's latest two school presidents are dating each other."
The last sentence was enough to hush Tsubaki's complaining.
"Anyway, Mimorin texted me earlier that she's booking this restaurant to celebrate Shinba and I graduating, and she invited our friends in the Student Council. And your brother and his friends too. Wanna join?"
"Up to you, President," Tsubaki chimed brightly, "Let's go downstairs first."
And even when he didn't want the rest of the world to know, when Agata offered his hand, he still grabbed it, not letting it go as they skipped through the stairs again. Because he would hold him close, as long as it takes, but it would still be enough even if it's just for a second of solitude, warmth and love.
Omake:
And the next day, when SKET Dan was doing nothing except waiting for requests and Switch was rewinding the CCTV they have in the stairway to the rooftop, he told Bossun and Himeko that he found something interesting. As expected, Himeko squealed at Bossun's adorable little brother and criticized Bossun for being oblivious with love. Bossun's alibi is that he doesn't like boys. And Switch was showing him pictures of attractive men, both 3D and 2D, just to test the club leader's reaction.
Once again, I'm sorry if the end felt out of the place. Man it's hard to start but it's even harder to end. And the rule Tsubaki mentioned can be either an official rule made before him or a rule he wanted to assign but was never approved by Agata (and Shinba).