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Rui grabbed some random papers, shoving them in his bag, wrapping the robots in newspaper and nestling them in the bag like little eggs in a nest. He hummed haphazardly to himself, since everyone else had gone home after practise- Mafuyu had come to walk home with Emu, and Nene had walked with Tsukasa, presumably. He was the only one still packing up, so he took his time, making sure everything was secure, before swinging his van back over his shoulder and trudging home- until he heard a deafening crunch back stage. Grabbing a spanner, Rui crept towards the noise, slipping soundlessly behind the heavy, moth-bitten curtains that Emu kept saying they would replace, and into the narrow passage that lead to the basement under the stage. Coughing, groaning, swearing, floated up to his ears, and he dropped the spanner, knowing exactly who it was. "Tsukasa, what are you doing?" The troupe leader was tangled in the ropes that pulled up the curtain, his hands drawn up behind his back, legs twisted, his face scarlet as he realised Rui was watching him. "Do you need any help?" Rui chuckled, as Tsukasa struggled beside him. "No- I'm PERFECTLY CAPABLE! Of getting down myself!" Tsukasa yelled, twisting around and banging his head on the floor. "OW!!" "Ok, let me help you." Rui smiled, untangling the ropes and letting Tsukasa tumble to the floor with a sudden bump. The shorter boy immediately leapt to his feet, muttering and gathering his costume, heading for the door. "Hey, Tsukasa, aren't you even going to say thanks?" Rui grinned, following him out. "Well, thanks! But I didn't need your help!" Tsukasa boomed, clattering up the stairs. "What were you even doing down there?" It seemed impossible, but Tsukasa's blush darkened. "I... I was practising." He muttered, leaning against the staircase. "Why? We were just practising for 2 hours. Don't you have anything better to do...?" Rui teased, but his words petered off as he saw the Tsukasa's eyes shine in the darkness. He reached out, his hand resting on the other boy's shoulder, which was trembling slightly. "I need to practise more... or I won't be able to bring joy to everyone." Tsukasa sighed, staring up the staircase at the sliver of light falling through the curtains. Rui felt a jolt of uneasy go through him. He'd always assumed Tsukasa was this completely arrogant person... but perhaps that was just a façade, to protect his own insecurities. "Tsukasa, you're the best in our group." Rui began, and soon enough the words he'd been holding in for months poured out of him. "You write most of the scripts, you sing incredibly, and your ideas are always so exciting... it's a pleasure to work with you." As he'd been saying this, he realised he'd stepped closer, and now their faces were incredibly close, so close he was almost blinded by the luminous smile that split Tsukasa's sadness in two. "Thank you, Rui... how could I forget? I am a WORLD FUTURE STAR!!!" Tsukasa grinned, bounding up the stairs two at a time. "Haha..." Rui laughed quietly as he followed him out, smiling softly. Maybe one day... he could confess his feelings
