The object of said affections, by contrast, was not so simple -- or at least not as simple as he had once believed. Still, when he turned with the cups of tea and saw Declan so contentedly expectant, it was hard not to take an appreciative pause of his own. Something honest and thoughtless, a skip in his chest and a reminder of how beautiful Declan was, both physically and otherwise.

Aoba clung to that feeling as he slipped into the opposite chair and slid one of the cups across the table to the best friend he'd ever made in such a short span of knowing them.

"So..." he began, hesitating, before going with, "I'm probably going to sound ridiculous by the time I'm done, so bear with me, okay?"