(A/N: There's not nearly enough Shu/Yuma content out there so I gotta make it myself goddammit)

For various reasons, Shu and Yuma had to limit the amount of affection they showed in public. Concerning their own separate families, there was somewhat of a Romeo-and-Juliet-type situation going on, as they were indeed from rival families who might've been unhappy with the idea of one of their own dating the enemy. There was also the matter that they didn't know how Karl Heinz would react to the idea if he happened to find out (as he was entirely unpredictable, and he had a way of finding things out), and lastly, Shu was utterly terrified of what would happen if Reiji found out that he was dating someone. Shu insisted that he could hurt Yuma, drive him away, or even kill him. So their relationship stayed a secret.

This proved a little difficult, though, because Shu and Yuma were the type of couple who just could not keep their hands off of each other.

They could be found in the hallways in the breaks between classes, Shu leaning casually against the wall and Yuma inches away, looking at him as if he were the only thing in the whole world worth his attention, and smiling like there was no other person he'd rather be talking to. Shu was clearly perfectly comfortable around him and showed it much in the same way a cat would, nuzzling against his shoulder and gazing at him with content, half-lidded eyes. Their conversations were average, the kind of conversation you'd expect any pair of friends to have, but their expressions and body language were much more intimate.

In class, they found it practically impossible to keep their attention off of each other for a whole hour. Shu sat behind Yuma (he had intimidated the person who was supposed to sit there out of his seat) and he had gotten into the practice of attending class every day just to see his boyfriend. Having absolutely no regard for the actual schoolwork, he would put his head down on his desk and grab loosely onto Yuma's shirt and drift off to sleep. When the bell rang, Yuma would wake him by gently ruffling his hair. After school was over they had a number of places they would go to be alone, like the roof or certain empty classrooms, and they had thought up an infinite amount of excuses for coming home late.

According to them, their respective families did not suspect a thing. Maybe their classmates did, though - after all, it was easy to tell while looking at them that they were mere seconds away from discarding the whole just-good-friends facade and kissing like no one else is watching. But that didn't matter; they didn't care what their classmates thought.

The point is that they were sure that their family wasn't aware of their relationship, and because they were so sure, they might've gotten a bit too comfortable.

It started off in little, more subtle ways. Yuma didn't hold back at laughing at Shu's sarcastic comments, even if his family members were around. Shu would smile and nod goodbye at Yuma as they parted ways, even in Reiji's presence. Yuma even admitted to Kou that he had only been listening to classical music recently. Kou raised an eyebrow at him but shrugged it off.

About once a month, Karl Heinz would arrange for both families to eat dinner together for some reason that nobody truly understood, but it wasn't as if they were in any place to refuse. It was usually loud and awkward, with plenty of arguing while Reiji and Ruki shared only the vaguest of conversations that nobody else could follow even if they tried. Yuma was a participant in the arguments as he usually was at the dinner table, and Shu was quiet and disinterested, again, as he usually was at the dinner table. Underneath the table, though, they were holding hands.

Yuma had become an expert at hiding the fact that he was secretly holding Shu's hand. He could scold Kou for taking too much food for himself while stroking the back of Shu's hand with his thumb, and laugh at whatever stupid thing Ayato said while swinging his arm gently back and forth, and lecture Azusa on eating his vegetables while running his fingers over Shu's knuckles as if he were trying to memorize every detail of his hand.

Shu, on the other hand, didn't participate in the conversation at all. He wasn't actually expected to, since he had always been this quiet, so that wasn't a problem. But Yuma's touch was awfully distracting, and possessed the ability to put Shu to sleep if he wasn't careful (which had been proven on multiple occasions). Shu rested his elbow on the table and supported the weight of his head with his free left hand, only poking at his food occasionally, and staring off into space, enjoying the weight and temperature of Yuma's hand. He had drowned out the sounds of his surroundings, and his eyes looked increasingly glazed-over with time.

Ruki was starting to give Yuma a certain Look. Yuma had seen that look lots of times. It was the "I see what you're doing, knock it off" look that Ruki had often given Kou and Yuma when they were being too loud and obnoxious in public. Yuma stiffened when he saw it on him now, but Ruki was across the table from him; there was no way he could know that he was holding hands with Shu under the table. So Yuma figured he must be doing something else wrong, and tried to act a bit more polite from now on.

The Look did not disappear. Yuma considered letting go of Shu's hand, but Shu looked like he was floating between sleep and consciousness right now, and he didn't want to jolt him awake by letting go - that would be even more obvious.

With a somewhat shaky sense of resolve, Yuma tried asking Ruki: "Something wrong?"

Ruki kept the Look on him. "I would say so. I thought you would know that it's not appropriate to hold hands at the dinner table."

Yuma and Shu tried to separate as quickly as they could and place both their hands on the table. Shu succeeded, but Yuma's undershot it a bit and accidentally smashed his hand on the edge of the table, making the whole table jolt in the process. He cried out in pain and rubbed the back of his hand.

Now everyone was looking at him. Shu had started eating his mashed potatoes in the most innocent manner possible. Yuma slowly and carefully placed his hands down on the table, tenderly rubbing the one he had just banged against the table.

"...What are you talking about?" Yuma was, admittedly, very bad at lying.

"Oh, shut up," Kou interjected. "Everybody here knew you were holding hands this whole time."

And a hush fell over the crowd. Yuma's ears turned red.

Still, he didn't give up. "What?! That's...ridiculous. I wasn't holdin' hands with anyone." He glanced over to Shu for help, but Shu was super interested in these mashed potatoes all of a sudden.

"It wasn't difficult to tell," Reiji scoffed, adjusting his glasses. "You two hold hands at school all the time so we know what it looks like. Plus, it was fairly obvious since you two were both trying to eat with only one hand." Ayato made a face that suggested that he was the only one who hadn't noticed.

Shu (who was luckily left-handed and hadn't had a problem eating with just his left hand) tried to look somewhere else. While Yuma was turned red, Shu was turning pale.

"Yuma," Ruki said in a somewhat stern voice. "Don't do those sort of things at the dinner table. Save it for your private time."

Yuma's whole face felt warm and he buried his head in his hands. "Oh my God."

Azusa, who had been sitting to Yuma's right, gently patted Yuma's arm. He had seen Yuma pat people's heads when he wanted them to feel better, and Azusa had picked up the habit and offered both people and inanimate objects friendly pats. "It's okay, Yuma. When dinner is over...you can hold hands with Shu all you want."

"Azusa, please. Please stop."

Kou burst into laughter. "Don't tell me you thought you were hiding it? Geez~ You guys were so obvious, anyone could tell you were dating!"

Yuma groaned and put his head down on the table, and Shu quietly put his fork down in resignation.

"Yuma, sit up straight. Your table manners are deplorable today."

"Give them a break!" Laito laughed, waving his hand dismissively. "You embarrassed them. They were probably gonna tell us when the time is right."

Reiji's voice was low and flat. "Is that so."

Upon remembering that Reiji was still there and most likely judging him harshly, Yuma lifted his head and sat up very straight. Shu was probably still afraid of what Reiji would do, and Yuma had to fix that however possible.

"Yeah," Yuma responded, a little too loud. He had locked eyes with Reiji in what he meant to be a respectful way, but it didn't help that he was looking down on him at an angle. "I was going to tell you, but I couldn't yet."

Shu, who was absolutely planning on keeping it a secret forever, looked at Yuma with wide, confused eyes. Reiji watched Yuma with a level, unperturbed stare, waiting for him to continue.

Yuma took a deep breath. "I wanted to become a person that was worthy to date Shu. Someone you would approve of. Because that's something that both you and Shu deserve. I couldn't tell you until I finished improving myself."

Shu stared at him in a bewildered trance, as if heavenly light was radiating off of Yuma as he spoke, and Laito put his hands over his heart. "Aww!"

Reiji smirked and crossed his arms, looking somewhat satisfied. "Goodness gracious. You don't need to worry yourself about what I think. But I wish you luck in whatever self-improvement you wish to fulfill."

Yuma breathed out a sigh of relief, and looked over to Shu, who was still staring at him as if he were some sort of angel. Yuma offered him his usual crooked smile, and went back to eating.

Once the meal was over, Shu tugged on Yuma's sleeve and pulled him aside.

"Thank you," he sighed. "For everything you said back there. You really saved us."

Yuma laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't say it to save us, though."

Shu blinked his blue eyes at him. "...What do you mean?"

"I meant everything I said back there." Yuma nervously took Shu's hands in his. "I want to improve myself until I'm worthy of being with you. Then I'll properly tell everyone how much I love you."

Shu's eyes softened a bit, and he squeezed Yuma's hands.

"And when that time comes, I want to marry you."

Shu's body tensed up and his eyes widened. He gripped onto Yuma's hands tightly and leaned forward excitedly. "You do? You want to-?"

Yuma laughed at Shu's reaction. That was the most excited he's ever seen him. "Of course I do!"

Shu was shaking with the effort of containing his emotions. "I-I do too. I want to get married too. I do-"

Yuma laughed and ruffled Shu's hair affectionately. "Slow down. I told you I have to prove myself first."

Shu hugged Yuma without warning, tightly. He buried his face in his chest and clung to him as if he were afraid he would suddenly disappear. Smiling to himself, Yuma wrapped his arms around Shu too, running his fingers up and down his back.

"Looks like we have another secret to keep."