[Its easy to sympathize with Hinata, just as it had been easy to sympathize with Mukuro. It’s so easy when their shared pain is the exact same shape, made of knives and bows and sadness behind a smile. Devoting to her had become as easy as breathing, because after everything that’d happened to them—-self inflicted and not—-she became the only thing to live for.
Komaeda doesn’t have to see Hinata face to face, to know what sort of expression he wears. It’s one he’s seen in the mirror a thousand times. Still, even if Hinata wouldn’t be nearly as honest face to face, Komaeda wishes they were. He wishes he could be there, to hold the others hand. To console him. To let him know they could grieve together, just as he’d grieved with Mukuro.
But they aren’t. So with a heaviness that has him picking at his keys a little slower, he responds:]
It’s not easy. When I talked to Mukuro, it was the hardest conversation of my life. I wanted to die, I was hoping she’d kill me, so I wouldn’t have to face those shameful feelings of love I wish I didn’t have…
But, for all the despair she caused, I can’t fully hate her, either. I think Nanami-san would understand that. She understands that… we were in pain, and Junko made us feel a little less lonely. A little more like… people.
And, you know, I’m here too, Hinata-kun. You aren’t alone, because I’m on your side. Nanami-san too.
She cares about you, and I think it would mean even more if you were honest with her. Maybe she feels like she can’t talk about that stuff with you right now either. The conversation might open things up, and help you become even closer friends.
of course I do always, no matter what I'd do anything for her
[In contrast to how long it takes Komaeda, that message, at least, is almost immediate, because he doesn't have to think about that answer at all. Of course he trusts Nanami; she was his first friend, and she was still, now and forever, no matter what, his best friend. Even if he hasn't told her everything, she's managed to pry through the boarded up doors to see the glimpses of all their depravity, and she still won't abandon them. It was one thing she had in common with AI self, and maybe it was why her AI self existed that way at all.]
maybe you're right
no, that's stupid, obviously you're right like you said, I'm just a coward
[Not one that was alone, though, and that had always made the difference. He'd have been this same coward at the end of the simulation, if not for the AI Chiaki; and he'd probably just keep hiding now, if Komaeda wasn't yellinga t him for it.]
well I'm glad she didn't kill you, even if it's not permanent here I guess in the end I'm still pretty lost without you and the others
Good. Because if you were to hurt Nanami-san, even I wouldn't be able to hold back against you, Hinata-kun.
[That was something they had in common—Nanami being their first friend, their best friend. He knows that he won't have to make good on the threat, because Hinata simply isn't the sort of guy who would go back on his word once he gives it, but he wants the other to know, just for good measure, that he'll be holding him accountable.
Otherwise he'll just run away again, won't he? They have to hold each other accountable, or they'll just keep running away.]
But I'm glad that I'm alive, too. Even if it isn't permanent, it would've been painful regardless. Besides... Our relationship became better after talking about the hard things.
I think that... being vulnerable like that, it really opens the path for deepening bonds. That's something I learned here, and something I wish I had been able to do sooner. With you, and with everyone else.
Because you make me feel less lonely, too. You, and Nanami-san... both of you saved me, you know? From myself.
[It actually makes him laugh a little, in a way that's both funny, and not. It's his own friends that have to keep him in check, after all, and if he himself did something to hurt Nanami, he'd deserve it. The him of right now is glad to know that Komaeda wouldn't hold back.]
it's weird I listened to a lot of what the others' had to say back on the island and asked them plenty of questions but I guess I was never really expected to talk about myself, anyway you were pretty much the only one that ever asked, but I could never figure out what you were thinking about it.
I'm still getting used to a lot of stuff I guess.
the truth is
after we found your body back in the simulation, it felt like I failed you it reminds me how grateful I am that you woke up
so uh I guess what I mean is if I was able to do the same for you at some point then I'm grateful.
[Komaeda pauses, feeling very much like a record scratch as he reads Hinata's message. Does he really not realize it...?]
You already have, you know.
Before everything, before Ultimate Despair, when neither of us knew each other... Nanami-san was the first person to reach out to me. She was the very first friend that I made, in my whole life. She wasn't afraid of me or my Ultimate Luck. She stayed by my side regardless.
When our memories were removed in the simulation, when we became the people we were before entering Hope's Peak... You did the same thing, you know? You reached out to me, and you wouldn't avoid me, even after you knew what I was and what I was planning. Despite having this sort of personality... You still stayed by my side.
Maybe you were just trying to keep an eye on me, or maybe you genuinely cared about me... Regardless, you... Became my everything. Even if your meddling could be annoying, and your stubbornness uncute... I couldn't help falling for the Hinata-kun that would always reliably chase after me...
So what I'm trying to say is, you should already be grateful. You've done more than you realize.
[It was funny. For a long time, he'd thought Komaeda's thoughts, motivations and agenda were just things that he wouldn't be able to understand. After his death in the simulation, he wasn't entirely sure that had changed, even if they'd solve the 'murder.' It was obvious before, but now it was clearer; they really were the same.]
you always say a bunch of dramatic stuff about me, but I'm the same way, you know. I didn't have any friends before Nanami... and when we ended up in the simulation, you were the first person that reached out to me, too. even when you were troublesome and up to no good you still checked on me after I fainted on the beach, and made me go talk to the others. when you died, it felt like you'd left me behind.
[Maybe in the end, he couldn't help but fall for Komaeda in turn. But that's........ extremely embarrassing to say.]
so, even if you say it's enough, I want to do more. for one of the people I care about the most, I'd do anything.
[Previously, each message Hinata sent had been answered in a measured amount of time. Enough for Komaeda to think through a response and format it in a way that didn't make him look completely lame nor come across with an intention he didn't mean.
Which means it's noticeable, now, how long it takes for him to reply again. First, it was simply for reading the message once, then twice, and a third time for good measure. Then it was for how he picked apart each sentence, trying to decipher the meaning behind Hinata's toneless words and trying to understand what they could possibly mean, because... It can't be true.
Surely, Hinata cares about his entire makeshift class deeply. Surely, there wouldn't be any separation between himself and a guy like Kuzuryu, or Tanaka, or Souda, for that matter. Surely, if he lets himself feel too much hope for what these words could possibly mean, he might not be setting himself up for tremendous bad luck but instead, his heart broken, if he reads too much into it.
And yet, he wants to hope. He really, really wants to hope, but he can't know for sure unless he sees it in Hinata's face. A face unlike the one he saw in the simulation—twisted up with confusion and anger.
An hour goes by before Hinata will finally receive a message:]
You're at the community center, right? I'm on my way.
[He won't get a response back, either, if he sends one. Komaeda's already too preoccupied throwing on an appropriate amount of clothes for the weather outside, and booking it to the nearest bus stop just to catch the last line.]
[It's a weirdly long time. He tries not to think about it, instead returning to the work he was catching up on when the first message came. This was..... completely ineffectual, at beast, and a terrible distraction at worst. Hinata was-- mostly? confident that he hadn't said something wrong or stupid this time! It was probably nothing!
The message that does finally shows up does nothing to reassure him.]
wait why I mean I am but but
[?????
Regardless of Hinata's abject confusion and not-total-complete-probably panicking, he was indeed still at the community center when Komaeda shows up, having completely abandoned the notion of working, and instead looking like he was sorting papers at the front desk. This was mostly true to what he was doing, though he was sorting them poorly.]
[By the time Komaeda arrives at the community center, he's fully blue in the face, panting, and looking like he just ran two miles. Which might not be so bad for anyone else, but for a completely unathletic guy like him, it means he's wheezing just walking through the front doors. Luckily, Hinata's sorting papers at the front desk, so he doesn't have to run any further.
Instead, he strides up to that desk, ignoring anything Hinata might bumble about saying as he sharply cuts around it so as to not have any barriers between them, and then promptly shoves a finger into Hinata's chest.]
Hinata-kun, I don't know what you mean, when you say you want to do more for me. And when you say that I'm one of the people you care about most, I don't understand how that ranks with others. What I do know, is that... If you don't like this, then you need to push me away. Punch me, turn into a puddle. I don't care!
But unless you hate it... Please, don't run away away from me.
[He's still blue in the face, though this time it's a flush of embarrassment that reaches all the way to the tips of his ear fins and down his neck. He can feel his heart pounding so hard in his chest, that he worries for a moment if Hinata might be able to hear it too. He'd been thinking about this the entire bus ride over, but now that the guy himself is right in front of him, he can feel himself freezing up.
Rather, Komaeda swallows, his brows knitted tightly as he gazes down at Hinata with an expression caught somewhere in between desperate and scared. He has to push those feelings down, just a bit, just enough to lean forward and close the distance between them before the chance slips through his fingers. Even if the sensation is a lipless mouth to slime, he doesn't care. It's Hajime Hinata, finally, after too long.]
[The sight of Komaeda striding through the doors, clearly out of breath like he just ran the entire way there from the apartment (maybe he did??) is startling all on its own, even without the preamble of confusion, and the abrupt cut-off of anything he can say before he gets the chance. Absolutely none of it makes sense in the moment, and his brain is complete mush, and that's before Komaeda even kisses him.
Wait. Komaeda was kissing him?
It's a strange sensation, if he thinks about it. Lipless mouth against whatever goop currently constitutes Hinata's own face. Then again, he's not really thinking about it. He's more thinking about the fact that it's Komaeda, kissing him. His entire body jolts in surprise, and he turns red in an instant; but he also wonders, why the hell would he punch him? It's such a strange thought, for all that thoughts are actually occurring, which is very little.
The instinct to run is there, of course. That's just the way Hinata is, which is to say, a coward. But it's the shock of it, more than anything. He blinks, and stares, and when the surprise of the moment finally passes, he can feel the flutter and bubbling in his chest. He brings up one (slightly more drippy and sweaty than a few minutes ago) hand to hold the side of Komaeda's face, and returns the kiss... semi-confidently.]
W-Why... would you think I'd want to punch you...? [When he does pull away, it's with a bashful smile on his face-- but one that's beaming far brighter than the centers' lights, nonetheless.]
yeah it activates fever time (hinata becomes bright red) and allows him to execute kiss combos
[The touch to his cheek is encouraging, and enough so that it has Komaeda linger just a little bit longer in that somewhat returned kiss (really, how much kissing can actually happen between their mouths is subjective, but it's the intent that matters, he thinks). When Komaeda pulls away, he's even more sheepish than he had been before closing the gap between them, but not so much so that he doesn't still cling to Hinata's shirt just a bit.]
Well, if you hated the feeling of being kissed by me... I sort of expected something like that. I mean, I didn't know if you liked me, too, because you've never said it... And you're so much of a coward that I didn't want to do anything you hated, because what if you ended up hating me? I would feel like absolute scum, then... I would be the worst trash, and trash like that shouldn't exist, so—
[He's rambling, he can feel himself rambling and he knows he can keep going if he doesn't stop himself. So, Komaeda clamps his mouth shut and evens his gaze with Hinata. Rather, he needs to get one thing straight.]
You... do like me, right? I'm not just imagining this...?
[It's an idle wondering, but also actually kind of surprising. Maybe it was just... one of those things that felt like such a foregone conclusion, that he didn't even realize it could've been a mystery. Well, maybe it was the same the other way around, at the times Hinata thought Komaeda hated him.
But he doesn't do anything like trying to punch him, or push him off his shirt, or even try to melt away. He still looks extremely bashful, but the smile remains.]
Of course I do. There's nothing you could do to make me hate you... and I meant what I said. I want... to do more for the person that means so much to me.
how do his lips never get tired... thats so many homies to smooch
[In an instant, Komaeda's own face experiences a series of emotions, which likely would've gone hardly noticed were it not for how close their faces currently are. His brows furrow, and his mouth presses into a thin line despite its fixed smile-like appearance. His earfins fan, just a bit, and his gills flutter.
And then, as if the shyness of finally hearing the answer to his question has worn off in a matter of seconds, he exhales a hard sigh and manages to embody a frown.]
I tried to kill you at least three times, Hinata-kun... That's more than enough for most people to come to hate someone. [But, apparently, anyone but Hinata. Which only sort of makes Komaeda cling a bit more, as his arms settle around the other's middle in a loose hug with no intention of letting go so soon.] I suppose you're still an idiot, for liking me after all of that.
[He laughs, though the sound is more of a short huff of amusement.]
Does this mean... Um, rather, Hinata-kun. Since our feelings are mutual. Will you go out with me?
Obviously if you've tried to kill me three times, already, there's not much worse you can do to change my mind.
[He grins, completely in spite of being called an idiot. He laughs a little along with him, one hand resting on his arm as he stays leaning quite close. Hugging is usually awkward for him, but... it's nice. Nicer still watching the way Komaeda's earfins sort of fan out. Maybe it was cute? Is that the sort of thing that was cute?]
We've already been on one date, and you're only asking me out now? [He quirks an eyebrow in amusement. Look Lila didn't count their dumb not-date as a date but Hinata did--]
Of course. Oh-- [He perks up to attention, looking towards his desk as one of the tentacles on his head reaches out, slighting open a drawer and pulling out two tickets.] I-I actually-- I was gonna ask you later, if you were free, b-but... someone organized a whole secret gift-giving thing during the holidays, and I got two tickets to the amusement part, s-so... if you wanted to go...
[He trails off into bashful mumbles. Like an idiot.]
[By the face Komaeda makes, it might be obvious that Hinata wasn't the only one who got a talking to about the arcade cleaning date, and really... He was just too shy to actually be forward, if he's being honest with himself!! It was a bit of a trick, mostly because he didn't expect Hinata to say yes if he asked outright, but also that he had absolutely no clue what a good date activity would actually be.]
Well, I just want to make sure, and hear it directly from your mouth, if you want to be my...
[He trails off with a bit of hesitation as Hinata's tentacle retrieves those tickets, just sort of... watching. He still isn't quite used to seeing Hinata so dexterous with his slime, and it really only solidifies just how long he's been gone. Right...he's been caught within the Sea of Stars for nine months while everyone else here has grown from their experiences... Meaning, he can't afford to hesitate, not when the future is so unsure—]
I'll gladly go to the amusement park with you, Hinata-kun! As your b-boyfriend [—okay just a bit of awkward hesitation—] i, if... that's alright with you, that is.
[He's deft enough to keep hold onto the tickets, and grab them with his free hand once their close enough as the tentacle droops back into something imitating hair. Smooth enough to be intentional, but it's taken a lot of practice. Though at least that practice means he's... actually solid enough to kiss--]
It's alright with me if it's alright with you. [He can say that confidently, only because Komaeda is so much more nervous about it.]
Th-Then we can go together... as b-boyfriends.
[(He will realize he said this in about two hours and freak out appropriately then.)]
[Though he doesn't say it, again the proximity afforded to them both allows Hinata to see his feelings true as day on his face—an expression that says of course it's alright, is that even a question? After all, who's been chasing who, all this time? Even within the simulation, even when the very heart of their ideals clashed, he couldn't keep his gaze from chasing after Hinata.
And now, without Nanami to buffer between them, when it's just the two of them wrapped up in each other's arms, all of his confidence seems to falter. He's glad that he isn't alone in that, though. The awkward charm Hinata exudes is still his favorite, he decides.]
Wow... To think I finally got my hands on you, right before Valentine's day... Am I lucky or what? [It's said, partly as a joke, as his tail comes to loop loosely around the spot where the approximation of Hinata's feet half-melt into the floor.] Though, we both know I don't have my luck... So now I'm a bit excited about getting the chance to enjoy an amusement park and try rides other than the merry-go-round...
Can we go on all of the ones that get your heart racing? Someone told me about a ride that spins you around super fast... That Ultimate Astronaut, guy.
Oh, you met Momota...? [Hm. He feels like he should apologize to someone, but he's not sure if it's Komaeda or Kaito. Maybe he'll just.... not.]
I dunno... having to deal with me is still pretty unlucky, it feels like. [He chuckles, a bit self-deprecatingly, though still full of humor. And also ignoring how weird it is to hear 'get your hands on you' anyway. He's.... still bubbling a little.]
Of course we can! It feels like forever since I got to go on a thrill ride, or a rollercoaster... and actually enjoy it. [Extremely hard to enjoy them when you get stuck in a shitty funhouse, admittedly.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
<MrBrightside> cw: suicidal ideation
Komaeda doesn’t have to see Hinata face to face, to know what sort of expression he wears. It’s one he’s seen in the mirror a thousand times. Still, even if Hinata wouldn’t be nearly as honest face to face, Komaeda wishes they were. He wishes he could be there, to hold the others hand. To console him. To let him know they could grieve together, just as he’d grieved with Mukuro.
But they aren’t. So with a heaviness that has him picking at his keys a little slower, he responds:]
It’s not easy. When I talked to Mukuro, it was the hardest conversation of my life. I wanted to die, I was hoping she’d kill me, so I wouldn’t have to face those shameful feelings of love I wish I didn’t have…
But, for all the despair she caused, I can’t fully hate her, either. I think Nanami-san would understand that. She understands that… we were in pain, and Junko made us feel a little less lonely. A little more like… people.
And, you know, I’m here too, Hinata-kun. You aren’t alone, because I’m on your side. Nanami-san too.
She cares about you, and I think it would mean even more if you were honest with her. Maybe she feels like she can’t talk about that stuff with you right now either. The conversation might open things up, and help you become even closer friends.
You trust her, right?
<MainSqueeze>
always, no matter what
I'd do anything for her
[In contrast to how long it takes Komaeda, that message, at least, is almost immediate, because he doesn't have to think about that answer at all. Of course he trusts Nanami; she was his first friend, and she was still, now and forever, no matter what, his best friend. Even if he hasn't told her everything, she's managed to pry through the boarded up doors to see the glimpses of all their depravity, and she still won't abandon them. It was one thing she had in common with AI self, and maybe it was why her AI self existed that way at all.]
maybe you're right
no, that's stupid, obviously you're right
like you said, I'm just a coward
[Not one that was alone, though, and that had always made the difference. He'd have been this same coward at the end of the simulation, if not for the AI Chiaki; and he'd probably just keep hiding now, if Komaeda wasn't yellinga t him for it.]
well
I'm glad she didn't kill you, even if it's not permanent here
I guess in the end I'm still pretty lost without you and the others
you and nanami
make me feel a lot less lonely
<MrBrightside>
[That was something they had in common—Nanami being their first friend, their best friend. He knows that he won't have to make good on the threat, because Hinata simply isn't the sort of guy who would go back on his word once he gives it, but he wants the other to know, just for good measure, that he'll be holding him accountable.
Otherwise he'll just run away again, won't he? They have to hold each other accountable, or they'll just keep running away.]
But I'm glad that I'm alive, too. Even if it isn't permanent, it would've been painful regardless. Besides... Our relationship became better after talking about the hard things.
I think that... being vulnerable like that, it really opens the path for deepening bonds. That's something I learned here, and something I wish I had been able to do sooner. With you, and with everyone else.
Because you make me feel less lonely, too. You, and Nanami-san... both of you saved me, you know? From myself.
<MainSqueeze>
[It actually makes him laugh a little, in a way that's both funny, and not. It's his own friends that have to keep him in check, after all, and if he himself did something to hurt Nanami, he'd deserve it. The him of right now is glad to know that Komaeda wouldn't hold back.]
it's weird
I listened to a lot of what the others' had to say back on the island
and asked them plenty of questions
but I guess I was never really expected to talk about myself, anyway
you were pretty much the only one that ever asked, but I could never figure out what you were thinking about it.
I'm still getting used to a lot of stuff I guess.
the truth is
after we found your body back in the simulation, it felt like I failed you
it reminds me how grateful I am that you woke up
so uh
I guess what I mean is if I was able to do the same for you at some point
then I'm grateful.
<MrBrightside>
You already have, you know.
Before everything, before Ultimate Despair, when neither of us knew each other... Nanami-san was the first person to reach out to me. She was the very first friend that I made, in my whole life. She wasn't afraid of me or my Ultimate Luck. She stayed by my side regardless.
When our memories were removed in the simulation, when we became the people we were before entering Hope's Peak... You did the same thing, you know? You reached out to me, and you wouldn't avoid me, even after you knew what I was and what I was planning. Despite having this sort of personality... You still stayed by my side.
Maybe you were just trying to keep an eye on me, or maybe you genuinely cared about me... Regardless, you... Became my everything. Even if your meddling could be annoying, and your stubbornness uncute... I couldn't help falling for the Hinata-kun that would always reliably chase after me...
So what I'm trying to say is, you should already be grateful. You've done more than you realize.
<MainSqueeze>
you always say a bunch of dramatic stuff about me, but I'm the same way, you know.
I didn't have any friends before Nanami... and when we ended up in the simulation, you were the first person that reached out to me, too.
even when you were troublesome and up to no good
you still checked on me after I fainted on the beach, and made me go talk to the others.
when you died, it felt like you'd left me behind.
[Maybe in the end, he couldn't help but fall for Komaeda in turn. But that's........ extremely embarrassing to say.]
so, even if you say it's enough, I want to do more.
for one of the people I care about the most, I'd do anything.
that means you, obviously.
<MrBrightside> --> kinda action?
Which means it's noticeable, now, how long it takes for him to reply again. First, it was simply for reading the message once, then twice, and a third time for good measure. Then it was for how he picked apart each sentence, trying to decipher the meaning behind Hinata's toneless words and trying to understand what they could possibly mean, because... It can't be true.
Surely, Hinata cares about his entire makeshift class deeply. Surely, there wouldn't be any separation between himself and a guy like Kuzuryu, or Tanaka, or Souda, for that matter. Surely, if he lets himself feel too much hope for what these words could possibly mean, he might not be setting himself up for tremendous bad luck but instead, his heart broken, if he reads too much into it.
And yet, he wants to hope. He really, really wants to hope, but he can't know for sure unless he sees it in Hinata's face. A face unlike the one he saw in the simulation—twisted up with confusion and anger.
An hour goes by before Hinata will finally receive a message:]
You're at the community center, right? I'm on my way.
[He won't get a response back, either, if he sends one. Komaeda's already too preoccupied throwing on an appropriate amount of clothes for the weather outside, and booking it to the nearest bus stop just to catch the last line.]
panic action tbh
The message that does finally shows up does nothing to reassure him.]
wait why
I mean I am but but
[?????
Regardless of Hinata's abject confusion and not-total-complete-probably panicking, he was indeed still at the community center when Komaeda shows up, having completely abandoned the notion of working, and instead looking like he was sorting papers at the front desk. This was mostly true to what he was doing, though he was sorting them poorly.]
trance ability gifted
Instead, he strides up to that desk, ignoring anything Hinata might bumble about saying as he sharply cuts around it so as to not have any barriers between them, and then promptly shoves a finger into Hinata's chest.]
Hinata-kun, I don't know what you mean, when you say you want to do more for me. And when you say that I'm one of the people you care about most, I don't understand how that ranks with others. What I do know, is that... If you don't like this, then you need to push me away. Punch me, turn into a puddle. I don't care!
But unless you hate it... Please, don't run away away from me.
[He's still blue in the face, though this time it's a flush of embarrassment that reaches all the way to the tips of his ear fins and down his neck. He can feel his heart pounding so hard in his chest, that he worries for a moment if Hinata might be able to hear it too. He'd been thinking about this the entire bus ride over, but now that the guy himself is right in front of him, he can feel himself freezing up.
Rather, Komaeda swallows, his brows knitted tightly as he gazes down at Hinata with an expression caught somewhere in between desperate and scared. He has to push those feelings down, just a bit, just enough to lean forward and close the distance between them before the chance slips through his fingers. Even if the sensation is a lipless mouth to slime, he doesn't care. It's Hajime Hinata, finally, after too long.]
`trance kiss?????`
[The sight of Komaeda striding through the doors, clearly out of breath like he just ran the entire way there from the apartment (maybe he did??) is startling all on its own, even without the preamble of confusion, and the abrupt cut-off of anything he can say before he gets the chance. Absolutely none of it makes sense in the moment, and his brain is complete mush, and that's before Komaeda even kisses him.
Wait. Komaeda was kissing him?
It's a strange sensation, if he thinks about it. Lipless mouth against whatever goop currently constitutes Hinata's own face. Then again, he's not really thinking about it. He's more thinking about the fact that it's Komaeda, kissing him. His entire body jolts in surprise, and he turns red in an instant; but he also wonders, why the hell would he punch him? It's such a strange thought, for all that thoughts are actually occurring, which is very little.
The instinct to run is there, of course. That's just the way Hinata is, which is to say, a coward. But it's the shock of it, more than anything. He blinks, and stares, and when the surprise of the moment finally passes, he can feel the flutter and bubbling in his chest. He brings up one (slightly more drippy and sweaty than a few minutes ago) hand to hold the side of Komaeda's face, and returns the kiss... semi-confidently.]
W-Why... would you think I'd want to punch you...? [When he does pull away, it's with a bashful smile on his face-- but one that's beaming far brighter than the centers' lights, nonetheless.]
yeah it activates fever time (hinata becomes bright red) and allows him to execute kiss combos
Well, if you hated the feeling of being kissed by me... I sort of expected something like that. I mean, I didn't know if you liked me, too, because you've never said it... And you're so much of a coward that I didn't want to do anything you hated, because what if you ended up hating me? I would feel like absolute scum, then... I would be the worst trash, and trash like that shouldn't exist, so—
[He's rambling, he can feel himself rambling and he knows he can keep going if he doesn't stop himself. So, Komaeda clamps his mouth shut and evens his gaze with Hinata. Rather, he needs to get one thing straight.]
You... do like me, right? I'm not just imagining this...?
this is actually how trials go in island mode
[It's an idle wondering, but also actually kind of surprising. Maybe it was just... one of those things that felt like such a foregone conclusion, that he didn't even realize it could've been a mystery. Well, maybe it was the same the other way around, at the times Hinata thought Komaeda hated him.
But he doesn't do anything like trying to punch him, or push him off his shirt, or even try to melt away. He still looks extremely bashful, but the smile remains.]
Of course I do. There's nothing you could do to make me hate you... and I meant what I said. I want... to do more for the person that means so much to me.
how do his lips never get tired... thats so many homies to smooch
And then, as if the shyness of finally hearing the answer to his question has worn off in a matter of seconds, he exhales a hard sigh and manages to embody a frown.]
I tried to kill you at least three times, Hinata-kun... That's more than enough for most people to come to hate someone. [But, apparently, anyone but Hinata. Which only sort of makes Komaeda cling a bit more, as his arms settle around the other's middle in a loose hug with no intention of letting go so soon.] I suppose you're still an idiot, for liking me after all of that.
[He laughs, though the sound is more of a short huff of amusement.]
Does this mean... Um, rather, Hinata-kun. Since our feelings are mutual. Will you go out with me?
[In the Boyfriend Sense. It's implied.]
that's why he needs all the talents
[He grins, completely in spite of being called an idiot. He laughs a little along with him, one hand resting on his arm as he stays leaning quite close. Hugging is usually awkward for him, but... it's nice. Nicer still watching the way Komaeda's earfins sort of fan out. Maybe it was cute? Is that the sort of thing that was cute?]
We've already been on one date, and you're only asking me out now? [He quirks an eyebrow in amusement. Look Lila didn't count their dumb not-date as a date but Hinata did--]
Of course. Oh-- [He perks up to attention, looking towards his desk as one of the tentacles on his head reaches out, slighting open a drawer and pulling out two tickets.] I-I actually-- I was gonna ask you later, if you were free, b-but... someone organized a whole secret gift-giving thing during the holidays, and I got two tickets to the amusement part, s-so... if you wanted to go...
[He trails off into bashful mumbles. Like an idiot.]
nerfed his own brain just to buff his lips
Well, I just want to make sure, and hear it directly from your mouth, if you want to be my...
[He trails off with a bit of hesitation as Hinata's tentacle retrieves those tickets, just sort of... watching. He still isn't quite used to seeing Hinata so dexterous with his slime, and it really only solidifies just how long he's been gone. Right...he's been caught within the Sea of Stars for nine months while everyone else here has grown from their experiences... Meaning, he can't afford to hesitate, not when the future is so unsure—]
I'll gladly go to the amusement park with you, Hinata-kun! As your b-boyfriend [—okay just a bit of awkward hesitation—] i, if... that's alright with you, that is.
the true harem protagonist ideal
It's alright with me if it's alright with you. [He can say that confidently, only because Komaeda is so much more nervous about it.]
Th-Then we can go together... as b-boyfriends.
[(He will realize he said this in about two hours and freak out appropriately then.)]
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And now, without Nanami to buffer between them, when it's just the two of them wrapped up in each other's arms, all of his confidence seems to falter. He's glad that he isn't alone in that, though. The awkward charm Hinata exudes is still his favorite, he decides.]
Wow... To think I finally got my hands on you, right before Valentine's day... Am I lucky or what? [It's said, partly as a joke, as his tail comes to loop loosely around the spot where the approximation of Hinata's feet half-melt into the floor.] Though, we both know I don't have my luck... So now I'm a bit excited about getting the chance to enjoy an amusement park and try rides other than the merry-go-round...
Can we go on all of the ones that get your heart racing? Someone told me about a ride that spins you around super fast... That Ultimate Astronaut, guy.
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I dunno... having to deal with me is still pretty unlucky, it feels like. [He chuckles, a bit self-deprecatingly, though still full of humor. And also ignoring how weird it is to hear 'get your hands on you' anyway. He's.... still bubbling a little.]
Of course we can! It feels like forever since I got to go on a thrill ride, or a rollercoaster... and actually enjoy it. [Extremely hard to enjoy them when you get stuck in a shitty funhouse, admittedly.]