Chapter 5- The First Smile That Felt Real

Chapter 5- The First Smile That Felt Real

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Kaito didn’t leave the room when the silence settled. Instead, he leaned back against the couch, arms crossed, still close to Yuto, but his eyes weren’t quite as guarded as before. He didn’t look away this time when Yuto’s gaze met his.

“You’re still here,” Kaito said, voice softer than usual.

Yuto couldn’t help but smile faintly. “Would you rather I leave?”

Kaito didn’t respond immediately. The air between them was lighter now—no longer strained, but fragile, like the first crack of sunlight after a storm. It was quiet in the apartment, but the kind of quiet that didn’t feel suffocating.

“Why do you stay?” Kaito asked, his voice unusually vulnerable.

Yuto hesitated, but only for a moment. “Because I want to.” He shifted a little, glancing at the photo on the wall, the one of Kaito as a kid with his father. It was old, yellowing at the edges. “You don’t have to carry everything alone.”

Kaito’s gaze flickered toward the photo too, his expression hardening for just a second before it softened again.

“Maybe I don’t know how to let anyone else carry anything for me.”

Yuto’s heart tightened at the way Kaito said it—like the idea was foreign, impossible.

“You don’t have to,” Yuto replied quietly, his voice a little rougher than intended. “But if you ever do… I’ll be here.”

Kaito let out a short, breathless laugh, a little shaky but not as hollow as before. “You really do talk like a damn manga character.”

Yuto grinned. “I’m serious, though.”

“I know,” Kaito said, and for the first time, his smile reached his eyes. It was small—fragile—but it was real. For the first time, Yuto didn’t feel like he was chasing something that would disappear.

And for that moment, it felt like maybe Kaito wasn’t as unreachable as Yuto had thought.

“So,” Kaito began, shifting his posture and trying to lighten the mood. “Now that we’re in this deep, you gonna draw me?”

Yuto raised an eyebrow. “I already did, didn’t I?”

Kaito smirked. “You know what I mean.”

Yuto shook his head, but the smile on his face didn’t fade. “Maybe later. You might end up looking like a superhero in my sketches, and I don’t think you’re ready for that.”

Kaito chuckled, the sound rare and a little off-key, but full of something Yuto hadn’t heard from him before.

“Fine. But just so you know, I’d look amazing as a superhero.”

Yuto laughed, the sound genuine and easy, no longer held back.

And for a moment, there was just the two of them—no weight, no past, no expectations. Just two boys sitting in a small, forgotten apartment, sharing a smile that felt like the first real connection.

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( well I was wondering should I give it a bit of spice by adding smut? Or will that ruin the plot? Umm I am still thinking so I am not sure!! Let me think)

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