* * *

School had just finished and everyone was heading home. Megumi and Yuuji were standing beside Yuuji's locker.

"Can we go to a restaurant today? I really want to try tsukemen! (dipping noodles)" Yuuji asked.

"Not today, let's go another time," Megumi told him. "We need to finish that project that's due next week. You can come over and we can work on it at my house." He suggested.

Megumi remembered how he thought before. That he didn't want Yuuji to visit his house yet, especially because he didn't want anyone to meet his dad. But somehow, he was comfortable with it now. 

If Yuuji was going to be a part of his life, then he would have to meet Megumi's family eventually. No use hiding it forever.

And then he remembered. They were only fake dating. He looked at Yuuji who was standing beside him, taking something out of his locker. 

This is only fake so why does he feel like my actual boyfriend? Megumi wondered.

Maybe because it feels real to me. Megumi thought at the back of his head.

"I can't wait to see Nue!" Yuuji exclaimed. He smiled.

Megumi smiled back. "Yeah, I'm sure Nue will be excited to see you too," he told Yuuji. 

Yuuji felt warm inside. Megumi was smiling a lot more now. At first he didn't smile much but now he seemed happier. Maybe it's because he got everything cleared up with Yuuta and now he had a bit more freedom. 

Wait, Yuuji thought. He got everything cleared up with Yuuta. So does that mean...?

Now that Okkotsu-senpai said that Megumi can choose who to love and that he'll just stay friends with Megumi, then are we going to keep fake dating? Yuuji wondered. 

If everything is cleared up, if that's the case, then...

Megumi doesn't need to be with me anymore.

We only started this fake dating thing so that Megumi could get away from Okkotsu-senpai, but now that it's cleared up we don't need to continue right? Yuuji thought.

But the thing is, I don't want to stop.

"Are you done getting everything from your locker?" Megumi asked, snapping Yuuji out of his thought. 

"Uh, yeah! I'm all good now. Let's go." he said.

And they started walking. 

⤜-------⤛

Megumi and Yuuji arrived at the front door step of Megumi's house.

Megumi put his key in the door knob and was about to turn it, but he hesitated. Yuuji had already met Tsumiki, but he was worried about what his dad would think, bringing Yuuji home. 

Should I lie and tell him that Yuuji's just a friend? Megumi thought. But wait, we're fake dating so it's technically not a lie. But if I tell him that we're just friends he'll tell Yuuta's parents and then....oh fuck I don't even know. 

He'll probably punish me for dating someone other than Yuuta. 

Megumi flinched, scared at what his dad would do. But then he mentally mustered up some courage.

I'll just tell him we're dating, for continuity's sake. If he punishes me then whatever. This is my choice, and I'll accept whatever happens from it. I'll have to face it in the future if I don't do it now, so I may as well get it over with.

"Megumi is something wrong?" Yuuji asked. "You're just standing there." He noticed Megumi was just staring blankly at the door knob.

"No, it's nothing," Megumi brushed it off. He opened the door. 

Megumi expected to see his dad right there in the living room, sitting on the couch. But he wasn't there.

Instead Tsumiki walked downstairs and greeted them. "Oh, Megumi you're home. Dad's out right now to buy something but I think he'll be back soon." She said. 

Megumi sighed in relief that he didn't have to tell him right then and there.

"Okay," he said. "I brought Yuuji home so we could work on a project together. We'll just be upstairs." 

"Then I'll be in the kitchen if you need me," she told them.

Megumi and Yuuji walked up the stairs and entered Megumi's room.

It was an ordinary and plain room. There wasn't much decoration, and there weren't any standout colors. Megumi liked it that way, he liked keeping it simple. 

Once they were inside, both Yuuji and Megumi sat beside each other on Megumi's bed.

"Are you really okay?" Yuuji asked again. "You look like you've been on edge this entire time." He pointed out. 

Yuuji was really good at reading me and my emotions, Megumi thought. 

"I'm just kind of nervous about something." He answered. He was playing with his thumbs. 

Then he looked at Yuuji. "I was thinking about telling my dad about our relationship. But I'm hesitating because of how he would react. And also if I should even tell him in the first place, because we're technically fake dating." He said. 

"Maybe you don't have to tell him," Yuuji suggested. "Okkotsu-senpai has agreed to be just friends, so we don't even have to keep dating." 

And the moment Yuuji said those words, he regretted it.

Why did I say that!? Yuuji thought. I shouldn't have pointed it out.

"You want to stop dating?" Megumi looked him in the eyes. 

"I, uh..." Yuuji responded nervously. "I'm okay with stopping if you want too. I agreed to it in the first place just so I could help you out."

But I don't want to stop, Yuuji thought. I want to keep being with you. 

"Then let's continue," Megumi said. "If I break up with you now, Yuuta's parents and my dad will see this as an opportunity for me to get back with Yuuta, even if Yuuta is okay with being just friends. Our family situations aren't cleared up yet after all." 

It's actually just an excuse, Megumi thought. I want to keep dating you. 

"Is it really that bad?" Yuuji asked. "Will your families oppose it that much?"

"Yeah," Megumi answered. "You saw how the people at school started spreading rumors and talking shit about me and you because I'm not dating Yuuta. It'll probably be 10 times worse when it comes to my dad and Yuuta's family. We've always been treated like we were one person and you couldn't separate us, and now that I'm trying to separate from him, well....things are going to get pretty rough." He explained.

Megumi added. "But with your help, I think I can change things. Yuuta already accepted my choice of who to love, so maybe our families can too." He said, hopeful.

It doesn't matter who my soulmate is, Megumi thought.

Because there's already someone I'm in love with. 

"I'm glad that we're dating," Yuuji blurted out. "Even if it's only fake. Because it means that someday, you'll be able to find your happiness with the person you love. I want you to be happy, Megumi."

Megumi smiled, touched by what Yuuji said. 

He's always rooting for me. Rooting for me to succeed, always rooting for me to be happy. Supporting me. Listening to me. Making me smile.

"You know, back then, me and Yuuta did everything together." Megumi mentioned. "He was my first for a lot of things. My first friend, my first partner, the first time I held hands with a boy, and my first date." Megumi mentioned.

Yuuji could feel himself getting jealous, hearing Megumi talk about all his experiences with Yuuta. "...Uh, okay...?" Yuuji said, sulking.

But then Megumi leaned in close, and pressed his lips against Yuuji's cheek.

"But you are my first kiss." Megumi said.

Yuuji blushed a bright shade of pink, not expecting that Megumi would kiss him, albeit on the cheek. 

And you are also my first love, Megumi thought.