Title: Sleeping Beauty with Blue Hair
Fandom: Ensemble Stars!
Pairing: Kanata/Souma/Kaoru
Rating: PG
Length: 2,522
Author Notes: Written for Challenge 263: Magic at fan_flashworks. Also for the 'Teamwork' square on my bingo card.
Summary: A sleeping prince requests a kiss.


Reaching the fountain, Souma drops Kaoru’s arm and gestures towards it emphatically.

“He refuses to move!”

Dubiously, Kaoru peers over the edge. Sure enough, Kanata lies partially submerged within, eyes closed and smiling mischievously.

“...I mean, that’s not really unusual for him,” he remarks.

Souma’s mouth twists unhappily. “He is being exceptionally stubborn today, and the hour is growing late! I am at a loss...”

Kanata giggles.

Kaoru sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Look, can’t you just pull him out if you really need to?”

“I am certainly capable of that, but...” Souma’s gaze drops. “I...do not wish to manhandle Buchou-dono if there is another solution...”

“Okay, so.” Kaoru again glances Kanata’s way – he still seems to be very much enjoying himself. “Obviously he’s trying to pull something...”

“I am not ‘pulling’ anything~” Kanata declares, slightly peevishly. “I am ‘asleep’~.”

“A-asleep…?” Souma repeats, brow comically furrowed.

Kanata nods.

“...right.” Kaoru crosses his arms. “Well, it’s clear that he’s not gonna move until we play along, I guess.” He can’t help thinking longingly of the many other places he could be right now other than here playing kids’ games at school, but he’s always been willing to put up with too much for Kanata-kun.

“Play along...” Souma repeats, still looking utterly befuddled. “I-I see… then, ah, if Buchou-dono is asleep, why is he nevertheless able to speak...?”

“A magic spell~” Kanata says.

“Magic… ah!” Souma’s hands go to his sword immediately. “You don’t mean, Sakasaki-dono has-?! Buchou-dono, I will challenge him immediately for your freedom!”

“S-Souma-kun, you don’t need to play along that much...”

“E-eh? Oh! Uh...” Souma’s hands drop bashfully.

Kanata giggles again, sounding truly delighted.

“Sooo Kanata-kun, is there some kinda way to break the spell then?” Kaoru asks. Please let it be that easy...

“There is! Isn’t it ‘obvious’~?”

Souma and Kaoru exchange glances.

“...no, don’t really think so?”

Kaoru gets a terrifying split second warning of what’s about to come when Kanata blushes.

“A kiss~!” he announces.

Kaoru stares. ‘Uhhh, no thanks!’ he thinks instinctively.

Souma’s reaction is much more elaborate.

“Eh-ehhh? A k-kiss? No, such a thing would be far too indecent, and in public as well…!” His cheeks have flushed scarlet in an instant. “Th-that is terribly inappropriate, I forbid any kisses from happening!”

But then he pauses, and Kaoru can see the gears working in his head.

“Th-though, then again… I have promised myself to Buchou-dono, and devoted myself to protecting him at even the cost of my life… For me to claim that a mere ‘kiss’ is too far – what truly loyal samurai would be so cowardly?!”

“Uh,” Kaoru says.

“B-but then again…!” Souma hides his face behind his hands, shoulders shaking. “A-am I perhaps merely satisfying my own desires…? Surely a humble one such as myself does not deserve such happiness, to share such a kiss with Buchou-dono...!”

“H-hey...” Kaoru waves a hand awkwardly in front of him. He doesn’t even want to know how much Kanata’s enjoying this right now. “You seriously don’t need to do this if you don’t want to. He’s just teasing you.”

“I’m not teasing anyone~”

Souma reveals his face but he still looks highly distressed.

“B-but, the night grows closer, and still he remains...”

“Look.” He really, really doesn’t want to have to do this. (He tells himself.) “Look, I. What if… what if I kissed Kanata-kun instead?”

“That is accepted~”

Souma’s brows knit a little.

“I...am somewhat dissatisfied with that possibility,” he admits.

“Yeah, well. None of us are getting to do what we really want to here, y’know? I mean, it’s not like I actually want to kiss a guy, or anything...~ If Kanata-kun was a girl, sure, definitely! This’d be a really wonderful scenario, and I’d do it eagerly~! But. He’s…not, so.”

“...I think I had better do it,” Souma says.

“Wait, hold on.” Kaoru holds up a hand to stop him. “Just to be clear, you understand he’s not actually under a spell, right?”

Souma glares at him. “I am not a child.”

“Yeah, okay, fine, but...”

“In fact, I have decided.” Souma straightens, head raised proudly. “I will kiss Buchou-dono.”

“...oh,” Kaoru says.

‘Somewhat dissatisfied’ sounds kinda accurate, really.

He watches as Souma cautiously approaches, nerve visibly falling away with every step. When he crouches next to the fountain, Souma stops and does not move for several long seconds.

“Snore, snoooore~” Kanata says.

“I-I am simply…!” Souma’s cheeks are very red again. “This is… my first kiss, and so...”

Kaoru still feels some need to stop this. “Then are you sure? I mean, that’s a really special thing, so-”

“No one is more special than Buchou-dono,” Souma says, and he sounds so sincere that even Kaoru falls back, accepting the inevitable.

Even as he brings his face close he trembles. But when their lips finally touch, Souma’s shoulders slowly relax, dropping with every moment that the kiss holds.

Kaoru’s not sure how he feels.

Then Souma abruptly sits back. “A-and so!” he says. “Th-the kiss is complete…!”

They both lean in to watch Kanata carefully.

“...hmmmm,” he murmurs.

“W-was that acceptable…?” Souma murmurs in a high voice.

“It was...very good~ 100 points~!”

“Y-yes!” Souma pumps his fist excitedly. “Then the spell is broken!”

But before Kaoru can so much as begin to relax, Kanata drops another bombshell.

“Not quite…! It seems that ‘another’ kiss is in order…!”

Kaoru sighs deeply, energy leaving his body so quickly that he sits down on the side of the fountain.

“R-right… of course...” he mutters.

“Er, then…!” Souma licks his lips, looking determined. “I-I am prepared to once more-”

“Rejected~ It needs to be a ‘new’ person~”

Kaoru chuckles dryly. “Uh huh. How did I guess.”

“E-er… then,” Souma turns to him, warily. “It seems our only option...”

Kaoru quickly evaluates a few things.

It’s not like he actually needs to do this. Kanata-kun wouldn’t try to push him into something he didn’t want to do. He could insist that Souma kiss him again, or even find someone else to take over. (He’s not sure where Sakuma-san is right now but he has a good feeling he’d have no objections to kissing Kanata-kun for a game.)

...but. What if he just, like… pretended not to notice all of that?

And just, maybe… kissed him anyway?

“Hakaze-dono does not appear willing,” Souma notes, and Kaoru wants to laugh a little that now of all times Souma is using his name respectfully.

“It’s up to him~” Kanata says, in a way that probably means nothing but verges just a little too close to knowing for Kaoru’s taste.

“...you know what? Fine. All right.” He raises his head before he can chicken out. “Let’s do it.”

“Yay~”

He can feel Souma’s heavy gaze and wonders if he’s feeling the same thing he was feeling a moment ago.

“All right… geez, you always have to make trouble for me, huh, Kanata-kun...”

Kanata merely smiles. Jerk.

His heart is seriously pounding fast, and he tells himself that it’s just nervousness, which is honestly probably at least half true. He barely even feels it when their lips touch, except that of course it’s not just super extremely gross and bad which he’d also kinda expected even if he doesn’t like it.

He pulls back after a moment.

“Okay,” he says flatly. “Done.”

He can still feel himself blushing as he and Souma prepare for the verdict again.

“I would give that...”

“Why are you scoring these...” Kaoru mutters.

“98 out of 100! Some more ‘enthusiasm’ would be good next time~”

Souma nods like he’s taking this down in his head. “I see! I will remember that, too.”

“Okay, look, that’s not the point. Are you awake now? Can we finally go home?”

“Hmmmmm…”

“You have to be,” Kaoru says. “There’s nobody else around here. And almost everyone’s gone home already.”

“I need...’one’ more kiss!”

“Buchou-dono...” Even Souma is starting to look exasperated again. “You only instructed me to retrieve that man...”

Once more, Kaoru feels a strong prick of foreboding.

“The ‘kiss’ does not have to be with ‘me’...!”

Kaoru glares. “W-What…? Come on, now you’re just being ridiculous! I mean, sure, I get the whole game, the kiss wakes up the sleeping princess or whatever, but kissing someone else? That doesn’t even make sense!”

“I-I must agree!” Souma adds, appearing to catch on as Kaoru speaks. “I have no desire to kiss this fickle, womanising man…!”

“Ehhh...so you won’t do it, then?”

Kaoru grits his teeth. There is no way Souma will agree to this. He seriously, actually hates him, you know?

And sure, maybe he has actually imagined kissing him once or twice. Because he looks so much like a girl, and he honestly thought he was a girl the first time they met and he guesses his brain never entirely caught on otherwise because even though the kid is stubborn and too serious and incredibly uncute in every way he still kinda weirdly enjoys being around him.

And sure enough, Souma is glaring daggers at him, and it’s such a shame, really, because that blushing face framed by that long, swaying black hair really kind of makes him look exactly like Kaoru’s type.

As soon as this day ends he is going to pretend it never happened, Kaoru decides.

“I...I am willing to do whatever Buchou-dono asks of me,” he says stiffly.

It takes a beat for Kaoru to understand.

“You – what? You’re – okay with it?”

Souma sniffs. He’s still glaring. But Kaoru realises he looks nervous again. “Yes.”

Kaoru blinks, then he sighs. “Hey...look. I get that it’s kinda lame to back out now. But I know that you hate me, y’know~? You don’t need to force yourself.”

Souma stares at him for a long time.

“...I.” He bites his lip. “I...don’t believe that I do? Hate you.”

“...oh!” Kaoru is confused, but he feels rather happy. “Huh! I mean, you’re always complaining to me and insulting me, so...”

“Erk.” Souma actually looks abashed. “I suppose I can be rather – harsh. I...apologise. I simply disagree with many things you do, and your reasons for doing them.”

“That, uh, still doesn’t sound very good...”

But Souma looks strangely soft, and the more troubled he looks, the more some very unfortunate instincts start threatening to take Kaoru over.

But he’s already kissed Kanata-kun, so he might as well lean into it, right?

“All right, let’s do it, then. Let’s kiss. For Kanata-kun’s sake.”

Souma’s eyes are wide, and Kanata cheers again.

This time, Kaoru doesn’t avert his eyes. It’s weirdly comforting, seeing the way Souma fidgets, lower lip worried under his teeth.

“It’s okay,” he says, aware that Souma will probably stab him if he calls himself ‘oniisan’ right now. “Just let me handle it~”

Souma nods, stiffly.

He still doesn’t really feel much of the kiss. But he’s just relaxed enough now to upgrade the sensation from ‘not awful’ to ‘kind of nice’, which is more than enough to make him regret everything about this day.

...it is kinda nice to see Souma looking up at him in something like gratefulness, though.

“Aaaand… the score is…!”

They both jump. “T-this gets scored, too…?” Kaoru mumbles, trying to manoeuvre his face back into its usual position, or at least something close enough.

“110! You exceeded all of my expectations~!”

“Ah…! Thank you very much, Buchou-dono…!” And, Christ, Souma’s pleased smile at being so praised is really not helping Kaoru feel normal again either, right now.

“So is that it? Are we done?” he asks.

Even now, Souma sits up at attention.

“The spell...is broken!”

Kaoru lets out a groan of relief, dropping his head into his arms. “Thank God.”

“Ah! Then Buchou-dono will leave the fountain, finally…?”

Indeed, Kanata’s head pops up above the edge, but he’s pouting.

“Ehh, you’re both acting like it was such a ‘trial’, but wasn’t it fun?”

Kaoru snorts. “I don’t really know where to begin with your idea of ‘fun’...”

But Souma glances between them both, and Kanata catches that.

“See, Souma? Wasn’t it nice to get a bit closer now than we used to be? Isn’t that what a club is for, to make ‘friends’ and nice ‘memories’?”

“I...” Souma fidgets again. “I will admit… I did not dislike this ‘game’.”

Well, then.

The two others turn to Kaoru expectantly.

“...c-c’mon.” He chuckles nervously. “You don’t need me to tell you how I feel about stuff like this...”

He kind of expects Kanata to shrug and say ‘that’s just like Kaoru~’ or something of the kind, and Souma to glare and accuse him of only being interested in pointless affairs, but as he speaks, they both actually look kinda – disappointed?

“I see...” Kanata does shrug, but it doesn’t feel the same. “Well, Kaoru can’t help being who he is...”

“It seems so...” Souma agrees, nodding solemnly. “There is nothing that can be done about it..”

“...a-ahh. Yeah,” Kaoru says.

And then, Souma perks, just a little.

“B-but I will say that, um, for myself…!” And there is that eager expression again, the one that reminds Kaoru of a puppy begging to have its head pet, the one that always makes Kaoru want to tease him because he has no idea what else he’d do with what he’s feeling right then-

And Kanata’s kind smile, so childishly happy, so carefree and unique and unlike anyone Kaoru has ever met, that makes him kind of want to try and befriend him and figure him out just a little bit more-

“Well, if Souma feels that way, then...~”

“Fine!” He raises a hand, glaring at the ground.

Years later, he suspects, he will recognise this as the moment he was lost completely. But all he can do right now is fall.

“I...didn’t mind it either. Actually.”

The two look at him for a moment, and then Kanata grins very widely, and Souma looks honestly excited for a moment before he remembers who is speaking and abruptly adopts a stern expression, and they’re both so dumb he has no idea why he cares about them so much but he really, really does.

“Ehehe… that makes me very happy!”

“Y-yes, I am also not opposed to – to Hakaze-dono’s presence.”

Kaoru closes his eyes. “Geez. Ugh. I mean, it’s not like I even know what you’re suggesting, still? Like, all of this is pretty weird, no matter how you look at it, so I’m not even sure what I’m agreeing to...”

“I think that’s ‘fine.’” Kanata looks so unreservedly pleased that Kaoru can’t help smiling himself. “We’re the ‘Marine Bio Club’, after all! Isn’t this what we do…?”

“N-no, I don’t entirely understand… though I also kinda do...”

“Yes, I would also prefer some further guidelines..” Souma admits. “But...wherever Buchou-dono goes, I will always follow. And… I am not opposed to doing something a bit more ‘weird’, on occasion.”

“Allright, then.” Kaoru leans back. The sun is finally starting to set, and the orange contrasts rather beautifully against the blues and greens before him. “I guess it’s settled.”

Souma nods, smiling. Kanata giggles.

“To the Marine Bio Club…!~”