Prompt: Gakuen / Highschool / University AU/Confession/Film/Struggle
Tolys was leaving in two weeks. Alfred had known about this from the very beginning; after the school year concluded, Tolys would have to return to Lithuania. But now that it was here, Alfred couldn’t help but feel heartbroken.
He had gotten to know Tolys after they were partnered up in one of their shared classes. They had become fast friends shortly after that, but recently, Alfred had discovered he felt something more.
It had started after he and Tolys had watched a scary movie together, and Alfred couldn’t fall asleep. Tolys had been kind enough to stay over and even slept beside Alfred after Alfred woke up screaming from a nightmare. As he stared at Tolys’s sleeping face, it became abundantly clear that Alfred liked Tolys more than just a friend. That was four months ago.
He had two weeks left. Two weeks to come clean and finally tell Tolys how he felt. Every time he had attempted to confess in the past he would chicken out as soon as he met Tolys’s gentle gaze. Luckily their friend Kiku quickly caught onto Alfred’s feelings and failed attempts at confessions.
“Why not film it?” Kiku suggested during one of their annual Friday movie nights. “Maybe it will be less nerve-wracking that way.”
That seemed like a reasonable solution, and, if done right, it could be very romantic. So Alfred had agreed and began compiling all the images and videos he had taken with Tolys over the course of the year, and with the help of Kiku, he compiled it into a video with a confession at the very end. Now all he had to do was send it. That proved to be the most challenging part of it all.
“You shouldn’t leave it until the last minute,” Kiku advised.
“I know…I know, but whenever I go to press send I just…I freeze up.”
“Hand it over,” Savino snapped.
The Italian rolled his eyes before snatching Alfred’s phone. “If you can’t hit send then I will.”
“Vinny!” Alfred tried to take his phone back, but Savino was persistent and sharply turned away.
“Done,” Savino said with a smirk as he handed Alfred his phone back.
“Vinny,” Alfred whined again. At least it was now done, and all Alfred had to do was wait for Tolys’s reply.
He wouldn’t hear from Tolys until later that evening, leaving Alfred to worry all afternoon. He jumped at every ding of a phone, and he was constantly checking and refreshing his messages with Tolys. Finally, just before dinner, his phone dinged.
Alfred’s heart pounded in his chest as he read the message over and over. That gave him half an hour to get ready and maybe even get Tolys some flowers. With a plan in mind, Alfred grabbed his keys and headed out.
Alfred was late getting home. When he arrived at his apartment, Tolys was standing outside the door. “You could have gone in, you know,” Alfred noted, feeling guilty for making him wait, “That’s why I gave you a spare key.”
Tolys shrugged. “I don’t know. I always felt weird just letting myself in.”
“Well, I’m here now. Would you like to come in?”
Alfred unlocked the door and let Tolys inside. The Lithuanian stood awkwardly in the middle of the small living room, fidgeting with the sleeve of his sweater. Alfred hated seeing him so nervous.
“Th-These are for you,” Alfred stuttered out, handing over a bouquet of pale pink peonies.
Tolys flushed a deep shade of red but was happy to accept the flowers. “They’re beautiful Al, thank you.”
The two lapsed into an awkward silence. Tolys caressed the petals of the flowers, trying to focus on anything but Alfred while Alfred turned towards the window as if something outside would give him an answer as to what to say next.
“So…” Alfred eventually said.
“I really like you. B-But I don’t want this to change anything if you don’t want to. M-Maybe I should have said that before giving you the flowers. N-Not that I wouldn’t have given you–” Tolys lifted a finger to Alfred’s lip.
“It’s okay,” Tolys said with a shy smile, “I-I was actually really happy when I got the video.”
“Thank God.” Finally finding his confidence, Alfred pulled Tolys into a tight hug, lifting him off the ground. Tolys laughed lightly, returning the hug with just as much force.
“Now what?” Alfred asked as he returned Tolys to the ground once more.
“Well, we have a little time before I head home, so I suppose we go on a date and see where that leads.”
In the back of Alfred’s mind, he wondered what would happen when Tolys went home. He hadn’t thought that far ahead, having been too occupied with the actual confession. Surely a long-distance relationship would come with many struggles, and it was something they would have to discuss before he left. But when Tolys extended his hand and suggested they get dinner and a movie, Alfred figured those questions could wait until tomorrow.
