“Do you remember our first kiss?” Hokuto asked suddenly. It was a little after midnight. The moon was high and the city was awake, but Taiga felt like they were the only 2 people in the world.
“No,” Taiga said. He remembers, of course, he only lied because he wanted to see if he remembered the same way Hokuto did, and he wanted to listen to Hokuto’s voice.
“It was summer. We were skipping PE to listen to songs on my old iPod. It was the same 15 songs, but you didn’t care, you wanted to listen anyway,” Hokuto recalls.
“You put your head on my shoulder. You said you were going to take a nap. But you reached out your arm to the sky, as if you were reaching for the sun,” Hokuto said, doing the exact same thing. Taiga remembers so well, he almost feels the summer heat even though it was winter in Tokyo.
“I reached out too, and I held your hand,” Taiga does the same, grabbing Hokuto’s hand and lacing his fingers with his.
“And then I kissed you.”
Taiga remembers what that kiss felt like like it happened yesterday. They were both so young, so naive. They both didn’t know what they wanted, but at that moment, Taiga was sure that he loved Hokuto, it was the only certainty he had.
Hokuto dropped their hands and looked at Taiga,
“Do you remember?”
Taiga only kissed him in response. The kiss was slow and languid, like the very first time. He felt like every incarnation of him was there, in that moment, kissing Hokuto, and in that same moment, he realized that he loved him. Taiga loved Hokuto, that was the only certainty, the only truth.
When Hokuto pulled away, Taiga felt tears form.
“Are you okay?” Hokuto asked him, so full of concern and care. Taiga laughs.
“I love you,” he said. “I love you, Hokuto.”
The room was quiet, the air stilled. Taiga didn’t care if Hokuto didn't respond right away. To him, he was telling the truth.
“I love you too.” Hokuto responded with no hesitation, like it was the only truth for him too.
The city outside was loud, but in the quiet room, Taiga and Hokuto felt like they were the only 2 people in the world.