Not so much propaganda fic as it is something I hope the pollers enjoy and laugh at. 5k Yuki, Muku, Blues Clues fic ft. summer troupe as supporting characters and cameos from Banri, Tsuzuru, and Daiki Aomine
"THIRTY SECONDS ON THE CLOCK," Kazunari crowed as Summer Troupe huddled around the TV screen Kazunari was casting Tumblr.
Muku rocked back and forth on the floor on his knees, hands clasped in front of him. "Please, please, please..."
"You guys are still a good chunk of votes ahead," Tenma said. "I wouldn't worry?"
Yuki held out a hand to immediately stop the other from speaking. "NOTHING is decided until the final results are out. You've seen how many times we've flip-flopped the results. DO NOT JINX THIS."
Misumi flung an arm around the shaking, whimpering, crying Muku and jostled him to and fro. "We're still soooo proud of you guys for getting this far!"
"Yeah, you guys were up against some heavy hitters, it's really--"
"EVERYONE SHUT UP," Yuki roared, eyes locked on the Tumblr poll.
"REFRESH THE SCREEN, REFRESH IT."
Kazunari refreshed the page with a dramatic swipe of his finger. Everyone held their breath.
Kazunari sucked in a lungful of air before jamming the party horn into his mouth and letting ear-splitting fanfare loose into the cramped room. Misumi reached into his pocket and threw out a handful of paper scraps he'd collected from the recycling bin.
"WE WON!" Muku burst out bawling. He threw himself at Yuki, flinging his arms around the other. "YUKI, WE WON! WE WON, WE DID IT! WE GOT TO THE FINALS!"
Yuki's entire body went limp as the nervous energy finally drained out of him.
"Oh my god," he whimpered to himself. "I can't believe we managed to pull that one out of our asses. I..." He sniffed. "I'm so glad."
"Yuki, are you... crying?!"
"No!" Yuki snapped, quickly rubbing an eye dry. "It's the dust in here because the hack never bothers to clean up, okay? It's just a Tumblr poll, it doesn't even m-mean...."
He clamped his quavering lower lip shut.
Kazunari and Kumon immediately crowded around him, creating a human wall that set Yuki apart from the rest of the world. "YUKIIIIIII, NO, DON'T CRY, YOU WON! IT'S A GOOD THING!"
He took a deep breath through his nose to calm himself and then drew his shoulders up, raising his chin. "I'm fine. You're right. This is a good thing. Let's go out and celebrate tonight."
"Burgers sound good." And then, a thought struck Yuki. "You know, I hate to say it but I was so caught up in making sure we'd be able to clear into the Finals that I never got a look at the other bracket. Who are we up against?"
Kazunari swiped right and scrolled to find the next post. Summer Troupe went silent as the other bracket's semifinals poll graced the screen.
"Oh, fuck," Yuki muttered.
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"They're icons," Kazunari said, gesturing reverently with his morning mug of coffee.
"Iconic dogs," Kumon pointed out. "Like, possibly the most iconic dogs within the past three decades, you know. It's Snoopy, Scooby Doo, and then Blue and Magenta in that order. That's a high bar to clear."
Yuki sat on the couch and crossed his arms, scowling.
Muku chose to arrive at that moment as a vision of golden grace and giddy glee, carrying two boxes and a pile of paper tubes stacked in his arms.
"Good morning, everyone," he said cheerfully. "Ready for another big day of campaigning for votes? I know I am! Let's all try our best!"
Almost like he'd taken his morning vitamin, Yuki found it in himself to stop pouting.
"Muku's RIGHT," Yuki said, unfurling his tight limbs. "This isn't the time to give up and mope. We need to get CAMPAIGNING. Map me, Muku."
Muku handed him a tube of paper without a moment's hesitation. Yuki spread out the map of Veludo Way's neighborhood on the company coffee table and flicked the cap off of a red pen.
Someone knocked at the door.
"I'll get it," Tenma said, already on his feet.
"I was thinking we could try to appeal to some international fans and convince them to vote, but I'm not sure what the best way to do that would be," Muku said, taking a seat beside Yuki on the couch.
"Maybe we can announce, like, two days in advance that we're going to be holding Lives during early AMs?" Yuki wondered. He circled another street. "If we're talking about the local scene, we haven't gone around Bakers Lane yet either. The bakeries might be okay with us putting up posters in their windows. The most important thing right now is increasing traffic to the blog as much as we can."
"I know one of the bakeries' owners! They used to live next door to us, they might even let us do special pink and blue cookies if we put a down payment--"
A shrill scream interrupted them.
Summer Troupe hurried to the front entrance, where Tenma was sprawled flat on his ass.
"I... I..." their leader repeated, stammering.
Yuki's knees buckled. "Oh, wow."
A young man stood on the other side of the threshold, hands on his hips and a wide grin upon his face. Two dogs, one pink and the other blue, sat at each of his heels.
"Hi!" Steve said cheerfully. "Is this Mankai Company?"
"Ba bow bow!" Blue barked.
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It's just a guy and two dogs, Yuki told himself over and over again as sweat pooled in his palms.
"Tea? Coffee?" Tenma asked tremulously, balancing an assortment of drinks on a tray.
"We have it with pulp and no pulp and semi-pulp, any preference, s-sir?"
"Call me Steve!" Steve said jovially. "I'll take it with pulp. It's healthier that way, you know!"
Tenma's eyes welled with tears. He ducked his chin to hide his face. "I'll never drink orange juice without pulp ever again. I swear."
"So why are you guys even here?" Yuki asked.
Tenma nudged him hard. "Be polite."
"Well, because of the polls, Blue and Magenta have been having a really fun time meeting so many new friends. We figured we'd fly over this time too and meet the competition. Have a nice time together!" Steve looked around for a moment. "Sorry for the inconvenience, do you have any banana muffins?"
Tenma turned on his heel and whipped out his phone in one smooth notion. "Igawa? I need a case of the city's best banana muffins dropped off pronto. Please. Thank you."
He stalked off towards the entryway.
"It's an honor to meet all of you," Muku said. He kneeled in front of the two dogs, holding out a hand for each to sniff. "Especially you two! I've been a fan ever since I was two years old."
"You want to go play with Magenta in the yard for a second? It might help her get more comfortable, she's shy around strangers."
His eyes brightened. "Can I?!"
Steve smiled wide. "Sure, go ahead!"
"W-What does she like? Fetch? Chases? Tricks?"
"Astrophysics and oil painting, but lately she's been into crocheting as well. Do you have any yarn?"
Muku paused. "Crocheting?"
Steve laughed. "Magenta's a smart dog!"
"I'll... I'll go find some yarn!"
Muku ran off with Magenta at his heels.
Tenma reappeared with four 12-packs of fresh banana muffins piled in his arms.
"I have them regular, with almonds, with cranberries, and with chocolate chips, I just didn't know which you'd prefer," he said in a rush.
"I'll take one with cranberries! Thanks, friend."
Tenma's knees buckled. "Steve called me his friend..."
Yuki leaned forward, narrowing his eyes. "So why are you guys really here?"
Steve shrugged. "Blue wanted to come more than anything."
"Yep. Said she wanted to meet you two and become friends as well."
Yuki glanced at the dog. Blue bounced up and down. "Bow!"
"We'll get out of your hair in a little bit, but is it alright if we visit for the next few days?"
Yuki pursed his lips. "I don't... see why not."
A door opened in another hall. Autumn Troupe's leader rounded the corner.
Kumon leapt to his feet. "Get out of here, pretty boy! This is Summer Troupe business!"
"Fiddlesticks, is that flipping Steve and the dogs from Blue's Clues?" Banri asked.
He slapped a hand over his mouth, eyes widening.
Summer Troupe stared at him in varying degrees of surprise and concern.
"Fiddlesticks?" Tenma asked.
Banri pulled his hand away and stared at his clean palm, shaking and pale as though there was blood smeared across it. "What's happening to me."
"Blue's an ironclad G-rating," Steve said, taking a sip of his juice. "Mmmm, pulp. So yeah, no cursing around her. At all."
Blue preened. "Ba bow! Babababa bow!"
"What the flip-flap?" Banri blustered. His expression shattered. "You've got to be kidding me. Gosh, what an awful situation to be in." Banri slapped a hand over his mouth again. "GOSH? GOSH. I CAN'T EVEN SAY GOSH? DARN IT. JEEZ. FLIP. SHOOT. OH MY GOSH."
He collapsed on the floor yelling.
"The dogs managed to defeat Silky-Hair in a minute," Kumon marveled in muted horror. He glanced at Yuki and Muku with a crease between his eyebrows. "G-Good luck, you guys. Those dogs are scarier than I thought they'd be."
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"They were... politer than I'd thought they'd be," Yuki said as they waved the man and two dogs off. Steve'd said something about staying at a hotel in the nicest part of town, which did bring into question what Blue's net worth and credit limit was. "Had better manners than some of the last few duos we were up against."
"Didn't that one girl threaten to kill you by the fifth hour?"
Yuki wrinkled his nose. Veronica Sawyer had not been one of his favorite people in the world. "God. And the audacity to speak to me like that when she had shoulder pads... whatever. Daiki and Momoi were nice too, Muku still gets brunch with the basketball player every Saturday. I prefer making friends with the people we're up against too."
"All just fun and games," Tenma mused.
"Yep. It's good not to get too invested it affects me emotionally." After a moment, Yuki jokingly elbowed Tenma in his side. "Just don't cozy up to them so much you vote for the dogs instead of us."
There was something about the way that Tenma Sumeragi was refusing to meet his gaze that made a traitorous thought appear in Yuki's mind. Surely not.
"Tenma," Yuki said calmly. He held out his hand. "Let me see your phone."
Tenma took a step back. "Uh? That's an invasion of my privacy, so no, thank you."
"Let me see. Your phone."
Tenma's eyes flicked back and forth from the door to the window, wondering what would be the better escape. "I don't even know what you're going on about. There's nothing on my phone."
"Open your Tumblr app, Tenma."
"Pssssssssht, what are you even? Accusing me of, what? I'm your roommate and your troupe leader, you've seen the way that I've been cheering for you and Muku and giving you shoutouts on my Twitter account, this is such--"
Tenma took a running leap for the window. Yuki threw himself next, grabbing onto his troupe leader's jean cuff and sending them both crashing for the floor. The two of them wrestled back and forth until Yuki could jam his hand into Tenma's back pocket and force his phone away.
"STOP," Tenma screeched. "YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW THE PASSCODE."
Yuki flashed the screen in front of Tenma's face. The phone unlocked.
"RURIKAWA, LET ME EXPLAIN--"
"YOU VOTED FOR THE DOGS?" Yuki bellowed.
"THEY'RE ICONS. THEY'RE MORE THAN ICONS. YOU DON'T THINK THEY WERE OUT THERE SINCE 1996 PAVING THE PATH FOR CHILDREN'S TELEVISION? THEY WERE TEACHING WHOLE GENERATIONS OF CHILDREN FOR HOURS ABOUT CONNECTING CLUES AND MAKING CONNECTIONS. YOU CAN'T DISREGARD THAT EVEN FOR A TUMBLR POLL."
"I'M YOUR FUCKING ROOMMATE AND TROUPE MEMBER, YOU HACK."
Tenma kneeled in front of Yuki and ducked his head. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It's Blue and Magenta. I've been their fan for years."
Yuki pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled deeply. This poll was going to be a lot harder than he'd thought.
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"Gooooood morning, friends!" Steve declared as he walked inside.
Tsuzuru whirled around with a scream, dropping his plate on the floor. Steve stooped down to grab it just before it made contact with the floor and shattered.
"Whoops. Careful there, broken glass is dangerous! Always make sure you get an adult to help you if you break something." He handed Tsuzuru the plate. "Are Yuki and Muku in."
Tsuzuru gawked. Steve waited patiently.
"Are you... Steve from Blue's Clues?" he asked in wonder.
"That's me! What's your name, friend?"
"I..." Tsuzuru's eyelids fluttered as he tried to get his brain running properly. "I'm Tsuzuru Minagi. I work here. As the playwright."
"A writer, huh? That's cool! I bet you spend a lot of time in your own Thinking Chair, don't you?" Steve did a little shimmy in the kitchen, snapping his fingers and moving side to side. Tsuzuru kept staring.
"You look... incredible," Tsuzuru managed at last.
"Thanks, friend! So do you."
A door suddenly slammed open from further down the hall and Yuki strode in, head held high.
"You're back," he said simply.
Blue suddenly bounded up and down the moment she saw him, yapping at the top of her lungs. She smacked a paw down on the floor, leaving a large blue pawprint in its place.
From further back in the hallway, Tenma collapsed with a high gasp.
"She did the thing!" he screeched.
"Oh! Look at that. Blue wants to help you figure out a mystery!" Steve said.
"You must have one, Blue's got a sense for this sort of thing." He crouched beside her with a grin, and indeed, the dog seemed to have bright, wise eyes that knew more than she was letting on. "Now remember, Blue will put a paw print just like that one on all of the clues. Blue's Clues."
Yuki furrowed his brow. "You want me to take your dog out on a walk?"
"It's more like Blue's going to take you on a walk."
"How long's that gonna take?"
Steve got up again, dusting off his knees. "Oh, fifteen minutes or so. That's how it ends up for us most of the time, anyway. Now what should we do?"
"What do you mean we, first of all--"
"Clean off the pawprint! You're right." Steve went to go fetch spray and a rag. Yuki gawked after him.
Tsuzuru suddenly sighed loudly. Yuki glanced at him only to see the playwright gazing and tugging at his collar.
"He cleans too?" Tsuzuru asked, eyes glazed and dreamy.
Yuki took a big step back. Nope. Nope. He wasn't going to touch that at all.
Blue jumped once and barked to catch his attention.
Yuki looked down at her. "Right. Let's go for a walk, I guess."
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Walking next to Tenma Sumeragi should have gotten him used to it. How many times had Summer Troupe been forced out of public establishments just because one rabid fan caught a glimpse of orange hair beneath the hat and yelled, "TENMA SUMERAGI?!?!?!" at the top of their lungs? But walking with Blue at his side was something else entirely. Almost like a cosmic hand that pulled the puppet strings of the universe, the masses parted like the Red Sea wherever he went.
"Oh my gosh, is that Blue?"
"Haha, that dog's blue just like--Jeepers, is that Blue's Clues?"
"Jiminy Crickets, dear, look!"
Slowly, what Tenma had been trying to explain to him made sense to Yuki. Blue wasn't so much a celebrity as she was possibly the only omniscient, all powerful force in the world.
"I'm sorry," a little girl said nervously as she approached them. She looked over her shoulder where her mother was urging her to keep going. She held a cellphone in her small hands. "C-Could I have a picture with Blue?"
Yuki glanced at Blue, who immediately pranced two circles around the girl while barking. The little child giggled elatedly.
"I never thought I'd get to meet him," the little girl said, throwing up a peace sign and a wide smile. "H-How do you know Blue?"
"Her," Yuki corrected. "Blue's a girl. And I don't know her very well, just got lucky, I guess. We're in a competition together."
"Yeah. Competition for a bracket to see who's the most pink and blue duo."
"Oh. So it's Blue and Magenta, and you and...?"
"Do you know MANKAI Company?"
The little girl shook her head. "No."
Yuki sighed. "Well, my friend Muku."
The little girl hesitated.
"B-But... aren't you green?"
Almost like getting slapped across the face for the fourteenth million time, Yuki took an involuntary step back and grimaced. "I'm pink."
"If you say so. Thank you for the picture, Blue!" The little girl ran off.
Yuki looked down at the dog. Blue's ears trembled and there was a shine in her eyes.
"Stop laughing," Yuki barked down at her. "It's not funny."
Blue's ears didn't stop quivering.
"It's easy for you to laugh at. Your name's freaking Blue of all things. I've been fighting for my life just to stay in the poll, let alone win." Yuki pursed his lips tight together, upset. "I've spent all these years sewing myself the prettiest pink outfits from scratch--a boy dressing in pink in middle school. You can imagine what that was like. And then to be told by everyone that I'm not even pink? Over and over again? The freaking mod of the poll vetted and greenlit us."
He buried his face in his palms.
"I'm pink," Yuki said astutely, more to himself than anyone else. "I am. That's why winning this is so important. I need to--to prove to everyone that I am pink, actually." He stared at the dog through a crack in his fingers. "And that's why I'm going to do whatever it takes to beat you fair and square. I hope you understand."
Blue barked cutely, batting her eyes. She waved a paw, and then pointed her nose to the little stand she'd placed her pawprint upon. Yuki raised an eyebrow. A cotton candy machine?
Suddenly, Steve's eternal words of wisdom came to mind. "Now remember, Blue will put a paw print just like that one on all of the clues."
Well. Yuki sure needed a clue right now.
"I'd... like to buy a cotton candy, please," Yuki asked the vendor.
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"You know, I didn't care about this poll at all when it first started," he said to Blue as they sat upon the bench and watched the sun set beneath the carnival's silhouette. The sky had no stars yet but the lights upon the Ferris Wheel were just as enchanting. "I saw someone nominated me and Muku and... well, I liked the idea of it, sure. But then we kept winning, even though we thought our fanbase were pretty small and no one would care that much. The last poll raked in over five thousand votes. Muku and I were losing for most of the time too... God, I was telling myself more than anyone else that it didn't matter if we lost or won. It was good enough that we got that far into the brackets. We won that too. And now... we're up against you."
Yuki pursed his lips, tip of his tongue darting out to wet them.
"Yeah?" Yuki asked, before chuckling hoarsely. "I mean, of course you guys made it that far. You two are some of the most famous people in the world. Animals. Characters. Whatever. But... But I started thinking that it wasn't about who was more popular or not. It was about who cared more. Who wanted that win more. And every time we made it through, it just--it felt like everyone cared and wanted the best for us. That meant a lot to me."
Blue suddenly leaned forward and licked the back of Yuki's hand. He shook himself free of his thoughts.
"Right," he said with a feeble snort. "My cotton candy's gonna melt at this rate."
He pinched and pulled from the center.
And in that moment, it was suddenly all so clear.
As Yuki pulled the tufts of cotton candy from the paper cone, the fairy floss in pinks and blues blending in his hands and giving way with the press of his fingers, he realized. He felt Blue place a gentle paw upon his arm, and he turned to lock eyes with her.
None of this had been about winning.
None of it had ever been about winning.
He gazed at the cotton candy in his hand. It had always been about... pink. And blue.
"Oh my god," he whispered to himself, cheeks flushing red with shame. He stared at Blue, wondering if she could see just how sorry he was. If it would be enough. "I... I need to..."
Blue gazed at him, tilting her head to the side. Her blue eyes reminded him so much of the one person he'd neglected in his selfishness.
"I need to go find Muku," Yuki said breathlessly.
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"Yuki!" Muku cheered. He showed him the t-shirt he'd just finished printing. "I made it with Kazunari, don't you think it's cute? See, it has you in a pink dress with the pink label over it, and me in a blue shirt with the blue label over it, and it says Vote Yuki & Muku 4 Pink and Blue. That way, no one's going to confuse you for blue or green again!"
Yuki seized the t-shirt and threw it on to the bed.
Muku dove after it. "YUKI, WAIT, THE INK HASN'T FINISHED DRYING YET--"
"Muku, Muku, listen to me," Yuki said, near tears. God, he couldn't remember the last time he'd had his eyes mist over so often over a course of a scant few days. "I was wrong. I was so wrong. And I'm sorry."
Muku stared at him as he straightened out the discarded shirt, making sure the paint didn't smudge. "Uh?"
"Put that down." Yuki took the shirt from Muku's arms and tossed it haphazardly onto the table. He seized Muku by his shoulders and dragged the other boy closer. "Listen. It was never about winning. It was about having fun, and being pink and blue. And there's no one else in the world I'd want to be my blue. I don't care about winning that dumb Tumblr poll anymore. I just... I just want to have fun with it. With you. I'm sorry I became so obsessed with winning."
Muku stared, awestruck. "Yuki..."
"We can drop out of the race tonight. I can send a formal notice of withdrawal to the blog admin. I'm serious, I don't care about it at all anymore. You're what's important to me."
"Yuki..." Muku repeated, clasping their hands together. He took in a deep breath. "What did that dog do to you?"
"H-Hold on. I need to call a friend. Stay right here, don't move. Don't worry. I'll fix this."
Muku left the dorm without another word, and Yuki could only find it in himself to gape at the door that'd been shut in his absence.
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It wasn't often someone taller than Omi or Tetsurou entered the MANKAI dormitories.
"Why'd you bring him here," Yuki muttered as Muku called in the extra help. "To make my Napoleon complex worse?"
"No," Daiki Aomine deadpanned before the other could reply. He tossed his jersey onto the floor and sat down on it, crossing his legs and hands planted firmly on his knees. "Sakisaka called me in so I could set your head straight."
"Daiki's really great at giving motivational speeches," Muku added. "I thought if he gave you one too, you'd..."
"I'm right," Yuki snapped. "This contest is stupid. It's not about winning, Muku, it's about being pink and blue. I know we are. We can stop this madness."
"It is not about being pink and blue," Daiki said firmly. "It's absolutely about winning."
"I can see why any career in writing children's books didn't work out for you."
"I'm serious," he said. "It doesn't matter what the hell the context is. There is no overbearing message. You're in a contest? You go out there and do your best and may the best win. Don't disrespect your competition like that."
Daiki handed him a sports drink from absolutely nowhere. "Sportsmanship goes both ways, kid. No hard feelings because everyone puts in their best effort. It's the same reason why I never let that poll stop me from getting to know you two and be friends."
"Don't call me kid," Yuki shot back.
"That the best you've got?"
"You want me to call you names?"
"That's a part of it. Whatever gets your head in the game. Whatever makes you focus on the ball. It's all cool as long as you can still be cool off the court."
"These sport metaphors are getting out of hand."
"Do you know what genre I'm from?"
Yuki raised his hands in surrender.
"Think of it this way then, alright?" he offered, reaching forward to ruffle Yuki's hair. Yuki batted his hand away, lest the giant palm swallow his entire head whole. "Momoi and I went out there and did our best but you guys were the ones who came out on top. So you should go out there and try your best for our sake too."
Muku suddenly burst into tears.
"What--you alright, Sakisaka?"
"You're so cool, Mister Aomine," Muku said in between sobs. "Thank you for being so cool. I'm so glad we met. Thank you for spending time with the withered, sprouted, bargain bin kohlrabi I am."
Daiki looked flummoxed. "You're... welcome?"
"He's right," Yuki said softly, staring at the carpet. The young man got to his feet and smoothed the wrinkles on his skirt. "He's right. We made it this far, we sure as hell are taking home the gold. Muku, get up. We have flyers to print."
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"I can't believe I fell for the dog's psychological warfare," Yuki snarled to himself as he slowly fed the most recent batch of flyers through the laminating machine. "I thought I was better than that, I thought I was smarter. I am so MAD. Children's entertainer or not, that dog is the devil."
"Well, I wouldn't put it like that," Muku said tentatively, pushing down on the lever of the button-press. Another can button fell to the pile on the desk with a gentle plink! to break the quiet of the otherwise still 3 AM. "The polls rules said propaganda was okay. I guess it never explicitly banned the actual contestants breaking franchise boundaries to heckle their competition. What's it that Itaru says? I respect the grind."
Yuki didn't say anything, but the maroon spots on his cheeks were enough evidence.
"Yuki, do you want to talk about it?" Muku asked.
"You don't have to. But you know I'm always going to be there for you. We're in this together."
Yuki sighed. He put down the laminated flyer and didn't reach for another. Instead, he shuffled a little closer to Muku until their knees were touching, side by side.
"Do you think... we're doing the right thing? Really?"
Muku looked confused. "Like, the buttons? They're a little old fashioned, yeah, but I think they have their charms."
"No, not with the campaigning strats. I mean being in the competition at all."
"I know what Daiki said, Muku. But he's a sports guy. He's built for competition like this. We're not."
Muku blinked. "I... I think we are. But even if we weren't, what does that have to do with anything, Yuki?"
Yuki grimaced. "I thought dropping out was the best choice, though. I still kind of do. Like. Being the bigger person?"
The air in the room went still before the dam broke and Muku collapsed on the floor on his back, laughing wildly. Yuki gaped at the way Wonderboy's entire face went pink and the tendons in his neck strained from how hard he was giggling.
"Did I say something funny?" he snapped but unable to summon any poison to put behind the words.
"Yuki!" Muku said with a tired, adoring laugh. He surged up and grasped his friend's hands in his own, lacing their fingers and squeezing tight as though he'd never let go if he had any say in it. "I don't care about being the better, bigger person. I want to win with you! I want us to win! I want to be the most blue character because you're the most pink character to me!"
Muku pulled Yuki closer, resting their foreheads together.
"I wouldn't be trying this hard if someone put me on a blue bracket, or even a prince bracket. I don't think I'm confident enough to try my best on my own," Muku whispered. "It's because we're doing it together, Yuki. It's the pink and blue bracket. And we made it this far. Doesn't that mean something?"
Yuki's chin wrinkled. He let his head fall onto Muku's shoulder and sighed.
"You're too good at talking sometimes, Wonderboy," he said.
"I think I got too wrapped up in campaigning to everyone else that I forgot to win you over first," Muku murmured back.
Yuki went silent for a moment, soaking in the warmth of a hand that would always be there to hold his when he got scared.
"Let's go win this poll," Yuki whispered.
Yuki fought the smile. "We'll fight harder on the next one."
