Sometimes Words Aren't Needed

This was it. He was going to do it, for real this time.

Even as he was giving himself a pep-talk, Aoyagi's phone went off, and the nervous blond nearly jumped clean out of his socks. Peeking at the screen, he sighed in relief, realizing it was only Makishima who had texted him. He nodded to himself, steeling his resolve.

It was the weekend, practice was done for the day, and his mother had gone out with a bunch of her girlfriends only minutes earlier, which meant a long, quiet night for Aoyagi. The blond took hold of his phone, typing a quick response to his senior before heading downstairs from his room to wait in the living room.

Only a couple minutes passed before he received another message, followed by a soft knock at the front door, to which the blond got up and answered. And there stood Makishima, in his brightly striped shirt, backpack slung over one shoulder.

"Hey." He inclined his head, and Aoyagi nodded in greeting, stepping aside to let the other in. Makishima toed off his shoes, looking back at Aoyagi. "Upstairs?" Aoyagi nodded, following Makishima once the elder began his ascent.

They made their way to Aoyagi's mother's room, she had a tall, full-body mirror, and Makishima placed his backpack on the edge of the bed. "I folded them as well as I could, here's hoping they aren't too wrinkled."

And one by one, Makishima laid out four simple dresses. Once he finished smoothing them out, he unzipped a small compartment, taking out a brush and some hairpins and putting them aside. Makishima gestured for him to pick a dress, and Aoyagi reached for the dress the color of lavender.

Aoyagi would have to do something to show his appreciation for this somehow, for all the trouble Makishima went to on his behalf. With his mother around, Aoyagi was afraid to keep the dresses at home, for now at least, in case she found any dresses that weren't hers. He really wanted to avoid that conversation for the time being. Makishima had even helped him in picking them out when they went shopping a couple weeks ago for this very purpose.

Now Makishima turned his back to the blond; they had moved past any embarrassment of undressing in the same room as one another frighteningly quickly, for the both of them. Aoyagi dislike changing around anyone who wasn't Teshima, and Makishima was…well, Makishima. Still, his and Makishima's similarities were more than enough to put Aoyagi at ease around the climber, and it showed.

He slipped out of his shorts and t-shirt and pulled the dress over his head, straightening the long sheer sleeves and adjusting its white lace accents before he gave a quiet hum.

Makishima turned around and smiled at him, nodding in approval. "Not bad at all. White shoes definitely, and maybe…" Makishima reached over to the bed and picked up his hairpins and brush. "Hold on a moment."

Aoyagi was perfectly still as Makishima ran the brush gently through his hair, untangling it gently and slipping a couple pins into the bangs hanging over his left eye, pinning them up and away and revealing his whole face. "Cute." Makishima smiled, and Aoyagi managed a small smile in return.

The blond let out his breath slowly, feeling the very elusive happiness that he rarely got to experience settle throughout his whole body. Sometimes…dressing as a boy just felt so wrong that he could hardly take it, and this right now…it was just…perfect. Aoyagi went to sit on the edge of the bed for a minute, feeling content all the way down to his toes, and he released a happy sigh.

He looked up at Makishima, and found that the older was wearing a gentle, happy expression. The peak spider took the two steps he needed to get closer, then reached out and laid his hand on Aoyagi's shoulder. It was only for a moment, but it got his message across, and Aoyagi let out what was considered, for him, to be a laugh, and Makishima grinned in return.

"I really like this one, it's beautiful, but why don't you try this one on too?" Makishima gestured to another one of the dresses, and Aoyagi nodded, rising from the bed. Makishima dutifully turned his back as Aoyagi slipped out of the lavender dress and picked up the one that the other had gestured to.

It was a cream color with coral accents and short sleeves, and this one Aoyagi really did like compared to the others. He tied the tiny ribbon in front in a bow and hummed quietly to let Makishima know he was done. Makishima turned around and grinned, nodding his head in approval. "That one's not bad either. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say that it matches you best."

Aoyagi blushed and looked himself over in the mirror, turning this way and that, while Makishima started talking out loud about what kind of shoes would go best with it and any potential accessories.

It had only been a few seconds before Makishima was interrupted by knocking; knocking that sounded like it was coming from the front door. Aoyagi froze in place, and turned very pale very quickly.

"Don't worry, I'll go see what it is, it's probably nothing." Makishima waved his hands in a calming manner, turning around and walking out of the bedroom. As he descended the stairs, Aoyagi followed, stopping at the foot of the stairs and peeking around the corner at the front door. He wanted to make sure that it really was nothing important, and he hoped to whatever being was up there that Makishima was right.

Makishima looked back at him briefly, then turned to open the door, which revealed…Teshima. Aoyagi felt faint, and he saw Makishima's spine straighten in surprise. "T-Teshima…"

Teshima tilted his head, and Aoyagi could almost see a physical question mark hovering above his head. "Makishima-san?"

Makishima reached up to yank on a lock of hair, giving the raven his lopsided grin. "Y-yo. Uh, what's up?"

Teshima recovered from his confusion quickly, smiling at his upperclassman. "I'm here to see Hajime, what're you guys up to?"

Aoyagi was definitely going to be sick. He whipped around and tore up the stairs, uncaring of all the noise he was making, and dashing into the closest open door and slamming it and locking it behind him. It was just his luck that it happened to be the bathroom and not his bedroom, and the blond really couldn't tell anymore whether he was actually going to be sick. Despite his queasy stomach, he climbed behind the shower curtains and curled up in the bathtub, content to pretend that he was dreaming, or didn't exist, or possibly both.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Teshima craned to look around Makishima. "Was that Hajime? Is he alright?"

Makishima swallowed, trying to think something up while simultaneously trying not to let Aoyagi's obvious panic make him panic. It was plain to him that the blond had wanted to keep this a secret, and of course standing here was the one person he probably wanted to keep it from most. "Uhm, he's actually not feeling all that well. I came over to give him some…uhh…some tea. It works for me when I'm not feeling my best, s-so I figured I'd try?" Makishima inwardly cringed when he turned his statement into a question. He wasn't sounding too convincing, and Teshima raised an eyebrow.

"He asked you? Before me?" He didn't sound angry or upset, just confused.

Makishima shrugged awkwardly. "I just kinda figured he'd already talked to you…"

Teshima straightened. "Can I come in? I want to make sure he's okay."

Makishima said a quick, silent prayer, hoping to God that he wasn't going to end up doing something that wound up sending everything to Hell in a handbasket, and held the door open for Teshima. The raven quickly toed off his shoes, jogging over to the stairs before taking them two at a time to get to the top. He noticed that the bathroom door was closed, and he rapped on it gently with his knuckles.

"Hajime? Are you alright?"

The only noise from the bathroom was a small, startled gasp.

"Are you not feeling well?" Aoyagi didn't respond, and Teshima waited, hoping for something, anything, from his best friend. A couple minutes of silence had Teshima's brow furrowed. "Hajime, please talk to me, you're starting to scare me."

On the other side of the door, Aoyagi was curled up in a tight ball, desperately trying to hold back the sob that was forming in the back of his throat. He felt like he was on fire, his body heating up from all the stress and embarrassment, and he didn't trust even any minute sound he made not to give him away. Teshima was the most perceptive person he'd ever known, and he knew he wouldn't be able to hide his distress, so he stayed silent.

Meanwhile, Teshima was beginning to really fidget. "Hajime, please say something." His voice was practically drowning in concern, and there was a noticeable note of panic in it.

Aoyagi couldn't help it; a tiny noise slipped out.

It was only a miniscule hiccup, but Teshima's ears perked and his eyes widened in stunned realization. "Hajime…Are you crying?"

Crying seemed like a rather soft word for what Aoyagi was doing. He had his face buried painfully in his knees, and the fabric of the dress was sopping wet from all the tears he was shedding, and it was getting nearly impossible to breathe. He really didn't mean to, but once he made that one little sound, more followed, each getting progressively louder until he was full out wailing into his hands.

It was still quiet by anyone else's standards, but to Teshima the sound was comparable to a shelf of pottery suddenly collapsing onto a concrete floor, and it was enough to send him into outright hysterics, and it showed in his voice. "Hajime, please, open the door. I don't know what's wrong but let me help you! Let me at least try. You're really starting to scare me, so please…" Teshima only managed to get the last word out in a whimper, and he rested a hand on the door, using it as a support as he leaned forward, suddenly feeling weak. "Please Hajime…"

Teshima hated when other people cried. Not because he thought that it was gross to do so, or anything of the sort, but he was the kind of person who didn't normally cry unless someone else was. He knew it would only fuel the waterworks, but the raven couldn't help it when his own eyes started to sting. It wasn't often that he felt so completely and utterly unable to help someone he cared about, and the fact that it was Aoyagi right now, of all people, somehow made his chest ache worse.

He let out a tiny whimper, realizing that the blond had gone silent again, and he was just beginning to really feel despairing when he heard the lock turn. He gasped and leaned back, off of the door, as it opened and Aoyagi peeked around at him from the other side. The blond looked awful; his cheeks were stained bright red, from embarrassment and crying both, and his frown was one of the deepest Teshima had ever seen on his face.

Aoyagi had finally resigned himself to ending this entire mess, and he opened the door completely, ready for whatever Teshima might say to him. What he was not ready for was Teshima surging forward, ignoring any and all outward appearances, and wrapping his arms around him, pulling them as close together as he possibly could and squeezing gently.

After a minute, Teshima got his trembling under control, and raised one of his hands to rub Aoyagi's back, turning to nudge his head against the blond's. "What on earth is wrong? Are you alright? God, did you have me worried!"

Aoyagi made a small, choked sound, and Teshima pulled away just enough to look him in the eye. He looked beyond confused, one of his hands coming up to touch the lace on one of Aoyagi's sleeves. "This? This is what you were worried about?"

Aoyagi groaned, wrapping his arms around Teshima's waist and hiding his face in the other's shoulder. "Junta…"

He felt Teshima's hand in his hair a second later, gently moving through the strands in a comforting gesture. Then Teshima sighed and cupped Aoyagi's face in both hands, bringing them face-to-face.

"Hajime, look at me." He had to say out loud, since Aoyagi wouldn't meet his gaze. The blond finally looked up, and found that Teshima was smiling. "I just figured I'd say it out loud, but really, you can dress in whichever manner makes you feel most comfortable, because I just want you to be happy and be yourself. Geez, you could walk around wearing platform heels, a crop top, and a feather boa and it wouldn't bother me." He grinned when the blond wrinkled his nose, then added in a much quieter tone. "I'm not going to love you any less because of what you wear, Hajime."

Aoyagi let out a quiet exclamation and Teshima smiled in response, and the blond was finally able to let out the breath he had been holding. His body sagged with relief, but Teshima supported him as he always had, his hands moving from Aoyagi's face to steady him.

He had just began to look up, to finally look Teshima in the eyes again, when suddenly Teshima was kissing him. His aim was a little off, he only managed to get Aoyagi's top lip, but the blond released another, this time louder, exclamation, and Teshima pulled away immediately.

"I'm sorry Hajime! I was aiming for your forehead but you moved!" Teshima was red in the face, and Aoyagi figured that he must be too, but he shook his head, tugging on the hem of Teshima's t-shirt with both hands.

The raven's eyes widened in surprise, and he tilted his head a bit to the side, eyebrows furrowed. "W-what do you mean?"

Aoyagi huffed out a tiny sigh, wrapping his arms around Teshima again and pulling him close in a hug, turning his head and pressing a kiss to Teshima's cheek before hiding his face in the other's shoulder once more.

Once he got over the initial shock, Teshima gathered Aoyagi closer and kissed his hair, reaching past him to grab one of the washcloths hanging on the wall and running it under the sink with one hand. After he helped Aoyagi wash his face, he took the blond's hand and led him downstairs, intent on getting him a glass of water.

It seemed that Makishima had left at some point, the other's bright purple sneakers no longer present by the front door, and Aoyagi made a mental note to text him as soon as he could.

Meanwhile Teshima presented him with a glass of cold water, smoothing his hair and tucking it behind his ear as he drank. Aoyagi smiled at Teshima, setting his glass on the counter when the raven pulled him into another hug and kissed the side of his head. Aoyagi turned to face him, and Teshima paused, as if he were about to ask a question.

Their wordless exchanges really were going to become legendary someday.

Aoyagi nodded in response to the non-verbal question, and Teshima was having a hard time hiding his smile when he angled his head and kissed him, properly this time. Aoyagi's hands wound up wrapped around Teshima's waist, while Teshima's hands had found their way back to cup the blond's cheeks. And when they finally managed to pull away, even if they were both blushing, they still didn't look away from one another, yet another conversation taking place that only the two of them could possibly have.

'I'm really glad I met you.'

'I'm really glad I found you.'

'Junta…'

'Hajime…'

They both chuckled, leaning towards each other until their foreheads touched.

'I love you.'

Sometimes words aren't needed.

A/N

yeAH. DIDNT THINK I WAS GONNA DO IT, DIDJA? (Im pretty sure I surprised everyone with this. myself included TTwTT )
Based off of this - /MSutcliff116/status/643475282939236352

But yeah, when I saw the picture the need to write this was more intense than you can probably imagine, because, STORY TIME, I consider myself genderfluid, and one of the most frustrating things in the world for me is whenever I'm wearing a binder and have my hair gelled up and people (mainly family) complain "You look like a boy". Like. Yeah. That's kinda the point. I am trying my hardest to not look feminine, sooo... It just gets very upsetting sometimes, and it can be sorta hard to deal with when all the people who accept you whether you're a girl or a boy for the day are away at college or live in different states. /sigh/ so yeah, aside from that charming little tidbit, I think I'll just shut up and let you keep on keeping on. (^_^)/