"Pause there guys," Botan said, causing Imari to stop mid-sentence.

"What's the problem, Botan-senpai?" Asahi asked.

"I never noticed this before but, Asahi, you have a tendency to drop character when you're not speaking. It wasn't as noticeable with Hell Screen but just now, as Imari's monologue continued, you started reacting to him like an audience member would. With awe I suppose."

"Did I?" Asahi blushed. "I'm so sorry. I'll try my best to not let it happen again."

"It's fine, just keep in the back of your mind that you always have to stay in character. Even when you aren't speaking think about what sort of facial expressions your character would make or how they'd move in reaction to everything else in the scene. Let's go again from the top," Botan said and they started over.

It was running fine, and they got further into the scene than previously, before Imari stopped him this time.

"You're breaking character again."

"I am?" Asahi stared at him. "I was focussing this time though, I swear."

"You were focussing so hard that your acting became unnatural."

Asahi buried his face in his hands. "This is impossible."

Botan laughed, standing from her chair to pat Asahi on the back. "That's not true! You can't expect to fix every issue in a single rehearsal, so don't stress too much."

"She's right," Kaoru said. "Just do your best."

"Oh!" Botan burst out. "But you break character because you admire Imari, right? So if you just spend more time with him then you'll be more used to his presence and won't get put off balance during scenes."

"I don't know if that's going to help," Asahi protested.

"Nonsense!" Botan waved him off. "Just bond a bit with Imari and you'll see he's not worth getting distracted by."

Asahi raised an eyebrow instinctively. True, he didn't actually know any of his theatre club senpai that well yet but he didn't think he needed to put effort into extra bonding with Imari. He'd seen him in plenty of different situations that painted him in an unflattering, or at least strange, light. The first time they'd met Imari had needed to borrow his jacket to avoid people looking at his face for god's sake!

"I'm willing to do that," Imari said.

Asahi turned to him in surprise. "You are?"

"Getting to know you could be helpful."

"Then it's agreed!" Botan announced.

"Hang on a-"

"Now we just need to decide what you two will be doing. You have to get to know each other so it has to be a place you can speak. How about dinner?"

"That seems like a good idea," Kaoru nodded.

"And why are you two deciding for us?" Asahi interjected.

"Is there something else you had in mind?" Botan tilted her head.

"Well... no, but-"

"Then it's decided! You two can have dinner together. Now, where should they go, Kaoru?"

"We can eat at my house," Imari said.

"Huh!?" They all exclaimed, in various states of shock.

"In public we might attract attention. I'm more comfortable eating at home."

"As long as you're okay with it that's great, Imari!" Botan gave him a punch to the arm. "You're such a good senpai treating Asahi to dinner at your house."

"It's settled then," Kaoru said.

Asahi wanted to voice his complaints again but he had a feeling he'd just be talked over. Instead, he whipped out his phone and texted his family to let them know he'd be late home and wouldn't be needing dinner.

***

All through the train ride and walk to Imari's house Asahi was buzzing with nervous energy. He felt like a bit of an intruder even before crossing the threshold, barely any of his own friends ever came to his house and although the theatre club all knew where he lived they hadn't properly been inside. So it seemed impolite to go to one of their houses. Imari was actually going to have dinner with him! And they were alone! It felt weird not to have Botan or Kinugawa with him even if he had been alone with Imari before. Not to mention, Imari hadn't said a word the entire time.

"Sorry for the intrusion!" Asahi called instinctively when he and Imari stepped inside.

"It's all right. No one else is here," Imari informed him.

"I see. Your family working late in that case?"

Imari hummed non-committally. "You can do homework while I prepare some food for us."

"No, I'll help, Imari-senpai!" Asahi said. "I couldn't make you do all the work! We're supposed to be bonding, right? Cooking together will probably help with that. Besides, I always enjoy helping out in the kitchen!" Asahi flashed Imari a wide smile.

Imari blinked. "If you say so. Let's make curry, that's pretty basic."

While Imari twisted between his kitchen cabinets and fridge, collecting ingredients and utensils, Asahi quickly went through his bag to find his glasses. He slipped them on hastily before joining Imari. It just felt more comfortable to wear them, even if he rarely did so at school. Asahi didn't mind if Imari saw him with glasses and, other than a quick glance, he didn't go out of his way to acknowledge them.

Imari began directing him through the relatively simple steps of the cooking process as they worked side by side. Asahi didn't necessarily need the instructions but he was perfectly happy to let Imari direct him. It was fun to just cook a meal with a friend. Eventually they fell into enough of a rhythm that Asahi felt confident enough to start a conversation.

"Do you cook often, Imari-senpai? You seem pretty skilled."

He nodded in reply. "Most days. Sometimes I don't feel like it."

"Me too! Occasionally my sister will ask me for help in the kitchen but I'll be so tired from school I just want to collapse!" Asahi grinned. "I feel bad when I refuse her though. She works really hard."

"She sounds nice."

"She is! Well, most of the time. That's just what it's like being siblings I guess? You love them a lot but they can be super frustrating too. Do you have any siblings, senpai?"

"No. Just me."

"I can imagine you as a good big brother though... or maybe a younger brother actually? You seem good at taking care of people, but you also seem like the type who needs a lot of help you know? I'm not sure how to define you, maybe because you're such a good actor."

"I could say the same of you."

"I'm not a good actor," Asahi rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"I meant you're hard to define."

"Oh. Right..."

"It's not a bad thing." Imari tilted his head up a little in thought. "Though maybe that's why the others think we should spend more time together."

"Maybe... it's kind of funny though. When we're alone you're surprisingly easy to talk to," Asahi admitted. "I was afraid it might be more awkward."

"You're free to come for dinner any time."

"Huh? Wait, really? You don't need to offer that to me, Imari-senpai!"

"I enjoy your company. You're very considerate of me and you always work hard. And," Imari paused for a moment, "Sometimes it gets lonely here."

Asahi's eyes widened just a little. "Oh, well I enjoy your company too, Senpai. I uh may not be up to eating with you that often and I'd prefer not to do it as spontaneously as we did today if I'm honest, but I'd enjoy the opportunity to do this again in the future." Asahi could fell a blush creeping across his cheeks as he finished, turning to look away from Imari and back at the food he was preparing.

"Thanks."

They were silent after that, all the way until the food was finished. Then they set the table and sat across from each other. Asahi wasn't sure what to say next. He didn't mind the silence per se and when it came to Imari he usually didn't feel it was necessary to keep a conversation going because Imari seemed to enjoy saying few words. But they were technically supposed to be bonding and he wasn't sure how to do that without speaking. Unexpectedly, Imari solved the problem for him.

"Have you been watching or reading anything interesting lately?"

That kick-started a conversation about their favourite books and TV shows that was surprisingly relaxed and fun. Occasionally they enjoyed similar things but most of the time their tastes didn't align at all and they ended up recommending each other some of their favourites. It also seemed Imari had been influenced quite a bit by Botan in what he decided to read as he stated he liked to read the original work when they modified or drew inspiration from plays or books that already existed.

After dinner the conversation shifted to more mundane things like homework and upcoming tests as they did the dishes together. Imari even offered to help Asahi should he ever need it considering he was an upperclassman and probably knew everything he was already learning.

"Thank you for having me over. I'll see you tomorrow at school," Asahi said once they were done, picking up his school bag.

"I'll walk you home."

"You don't need to do that," Asahi assured him. "You shouldn't have to inconvenience yourself."

"I need to make sure you get home safe as your upperclassman."

"If you insist," Asahi said uncertainly. "But, really, I'll be okay walking on my own."

"I like walking."

And that was that. The two ended up leaving together and heading to Asahi's. Weirdly, the walk felt shorter than Asahi thought it would and he couldn't help but wonder if it was because of Imari's presence. They reached his front door in no time.

"I guess this is it. Thank you for walking with me Imari-senpai."

"It was no trouble." Imari leaned forward into his space and Asahi was almost certain he felt Imari's lips brush against his cheek, but when he pulled back he was holding a leaf in his hand. "You had a leaf in your hair," Imari explained.

"Uh, thanks," Asahi managed to stutter out, his whole face flushing red. "See you later!" Then Asahi was pulling open his door and practically slamming it in Imari's face.

He touched his cheek as he sank to the ground in embarrassment. He didn't think Imari had really kissed him, that wouldn't make any sense, but the idea that he could have was enough to turn Asahi's legs to mush. And that uncharacteristic little smile he had seen on Imari when he was holding the leaf made it seem just that little bit more plausible that Imari really had...