ink and flowers || one x one

[miss kobayashi]

he watched as kyo looked back at him with a smile. did it... not mean much to him, then? ren was really just a rebound? something to help kyo get over his last breakup. he sighed shakily.

his heart broke more as he watched the other start to walk away, moving to his feet and moving to follow him. he kept a small distance between them, feeling his heart ache but fighting through the pain.

" m... maybe I should just go home. I know how to get back from here. " he murmured, not wanting kyo to notice his fleeting composure, on the brink of tears.

[moonlessnight.]

kyo kept his gaze away from ren, not wanting to make the other feel guilty. as he spoke up, kyo slowly shook his head. "no..it's dark. you shouldn't go alone." he murmured.

as much as he wanted to go and hole himself up in his apartment for the next few days, it would be horrible of him to make ren walk home by himself. kyo took a shaky breath, shaking his head once more. "did i push you too much?" kyo suddenly blurted out, though his eyes stayed on the ground.

"i'm sorry if i did. i didn't want you to feel...bad about it. i just.." he shook his head. "i really like you. and, it's okay that you don't feel the same. i mean, you can't really control that sort of thing." kyo rambled quietly, just desperate to relieve some of the tension in the air. "i'm just..i'm sorry. i shouldn't have moved so fast."

[miss kobayashi]

ren nodded slowly when kyo insisted, still looking away from the other. his heard perked up when kyo spoke again, his words shocking him slightly. " what? " he questioned, his mind spinning.

" I thought... I... kyo, I kissed you. you didn't push me at all. I... wanted it... " his heart ached even more. did kyo think that it was his fault? no... it was all on ren. ren kissed him first. ren went looking for him. it was his fault.

he took in a shaky breath. don't cry. don't cry. this is your fault. " and I took advantage of you. of your breakup. I-I didn't mean to, I- " ren sighed, forcing himself not to cry. " this is my fault. I ruined this. "

[moonlessnight.]

kyo paused at ren's words, slowly turning to look at the male. he wanted to kiss kyo? confusion settled in, tilting his head slightly. so what was wrong?

as ren proceeded to explain, kyo immediately shook his head, moving towards the male. "ren, you didn't take advantage of me." he murmured gently, lightly placing his hand on ren's cheek. "that breakup? i don't even think about it anymore. it doesn't hurt, i'm truly okay. i don't want somebody as toxic as he was in my life, okay?" he spoke gently.

"you didn't take advantage of me, ren. i wanted it, too. i wouldn't have asked you out tonight, or continued to pursue you if i was still hurting from past relations." kyo murmured gently, a frown on his lips. "this is not your fault, ren. you didn't ruin anything." he spoke gently, running his thumb over the other's cheek.

[miss kobayashi]

ren watched as the male came closer, placing a hand of his cheek. he felt a tear run down his face, sniffling quietly as he began to cry.

" b-but, but wasn't I just your rebound? s-something to help you... you get over your old relationship? " he questioned, the insecure part of him wanting to think that he wasn't anything special to the person he had admired for a long time. a part of him wanted to feel like there wasn't any reason to be upset, to just pretend that kyo had gone on a date with him just to forget about the other guy.

" you... y-you didn't come back, to the flower shop. " he murmured, thinking back to when kyo had stopped coming. tears still streamed down his face. " I-I thought... maybe you didn't care about coming until you realized I could help you forget. "

[moonlessnight.]

kyo's brows furrowed at ren's question, his heart breaking as he saw the tear trickle down the other's cheek. he couldn't believe ren had felt this way and he never caught on. "oh, ren.." kyo murmured sadly, his brows pinched together. "ren, you will never, ever be a rebound to me, okay?" he spoke gently, wanting to kiss the male's tears away, but it wasn't the right moment.

as he spoke once more, kyo's heart dropped even more, hating that ren felt this way. "i came back because when you came into the parlor, and gave me that flower, i realized i couldn't just mope through life about a guy who treated me like crap practically the whole relationship." kyo murmured, wiping some of ren's tears with his thumb.

"i didn't come back because i knew you'd help me forget. once i got out of that relationship, i noticed everything wrong with it. that's what helped me get over it. i would never, ever want to use you like that." he whispered sadly, feeling horrible that he made ren feel this way. "a-and if you need time away from me, or you don't want a relationship, that's okay." kyo murmured softly. "when i said i wished for you to be happy, i meant it. and that's whether i'm with you or not, okay? you are never a rebound. you are so, so much more than a rebound."

[miss kobayashi]

ren looked up as kyo began to spoke, sniffling quietly. the tears still feel from his cheeks, feeing embarrassed for breaking down once again in front of the other. he wanted to disagree with kyo, wanted to protect himself when kyo assured he wasn't a rebound, but at the same time, felt relief to know that he meant something.

he felt his whole chest ache when kyo offered time away from him. he wanted to shake his head, wanted to protest ever leaving his side again, but he was scared and broken, he just wanted kyo to tell him it was okay. it was selfish for him to even expect that of kyo.

" I-i'm happy when i'm with you. i'm so happy. kyo, I've liked you for so long and i'm so scared to get hurt that i don't want to think that you actually like me back. " he rambled, barely able to get the words out as his throat tightened. " you mean so much to me, and, a-and i didn't want to mean that much to you back. "

[moonlessnight.]

kyo gently wiped ren's tears away, heart aching that the male had felt this way. as he began to speak, kyo listened quietly, gently stroking his cheek. "you mean everything to me, ren. and we can keep it extremely slow, if that's what you want." he spoke gently.

"i promise i will never want or try to hurt you. i don't know if that means anything or helps anything, but i want you to know that." kyo added in a gentle tone, a small smile on his lips.

"you consume almost every thought i have, as bad as that sounds." he admitted with a small chuckle, trying to lighten the mood a bit. "and whatever you want to do, i'm fully on board with, okay? whatever makes you comfortable and happy. that's all i want."

[miss kobayashi]

ren felt his heart thud as kyo admitted how much he meant to him. don't say that. he silently told kyo, knowing that this whole mess was still his fault. just like every other one. it was his fault. my fault. he told himself, over and over until the guilt engulfed him.

he sucks in a quiet sob, reaching out for kyo and tugging him close, hiding his face in the other's chest. he takes his arms and wraps them around kyo, hugging him as tight as he could.

" i'll be happy when you're happy. i don't want to make any more choices. " he admits weakly, his voice muffled while keeping himself still hidden.

[moonlessnight.]

kyo watched ren, wishing he could somehow glue the boy back together. he wondered what had hurt him in the past, or if it was just a mindset he always had. as ren hugged him, kyo immediately wrapped his arm around the other.

he tilted his head, kissing the top of ren's head and gently rubbing his back, holding the male in his arms. "okay, no more choices." he murmured gently. they'd figure it out later, right now he wanted to help ren feel better.

he held ren in his arms for a while, beginning to hum under his breath in an attempt to help comfort the other. "everything's gonna be okay." he whispered quietly.