Izzy looked at the tiny guy sitting across from him with an expression of moderate bafflement. Sora was a year younger than him, but they were in the same baking club, and as of the start of the term they also took the same psychology class, and it ended right before lunch on both Tuesdays and Fridays. Since they were both into anime and baking and online games, it just made sense to eat lunch together and chat about stuff twice a week. As such, Izzy had come to think of Sora as a friend, a good bro, perhaps even a little buddy, although he didn’t say that last one out loud. After all, if Izzy had been four foot eleven like Sora, it would probably have been a sore point for him. So he figured it was best to avoid the topic of height altogether. Still, even though there were some things they didn’t really talk about, Izzy was nevertheless starting to think of Sora as a very good friend. Which was why he so confused. “I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” “I love you. Please be my boyfriend.” “Well, I guess I did hear you correctly then. Huh.” “Oh, was I too quiet? I know my voice is a little soft…” “No, that’s not… It’s not that I didn’t hear you, I just… You love me?” “I do!” “Since when?” “Do you remember when we were at the baking club and it started pouring with rain and you gave me your umbrella?” “Of course I gave you my umbrella. My apartment building is literally twenty feet down the street from the building the club is in. You live in the dorms five blocks away. You clearly needed the umbrella more than me. That can’t possibly be it.” “Of course that isn’t all of it, but that’s when it started.” Izzy briefly wondered if this was some sort of prank, but Sora was a terrible liar, and right now he couldn’t see anything but nervous honesty in those wide, brown eyes. Which left him rather at a loss. After all, Izzy had kind of written off romance as being for other people. He was tall, sure, but in a stocky, overweight kind of way. He wasn’t particularly good-looking, his grades were mediocre at best, and he certainly didn’t have much in the way of wealth or status. So he’d never actually had to deal with anyone falling for him before. Which was probably why he ended up asking the question. “What do you even love about me, anyway?” This, it turned out, was a mistake. “I love how you’re always thoughtful and willing to help people even when it’s bothersome for you. I love how you always smile at me whenever you see me. I love how big and soft you are. I love how you always listen to me properly even when I’m talking about things that you’re not that interested in…” “Ummm…” “I love that you’re kind to animals, even the ones that aren’t cute. I love how invested you get whenever you’re studying a new recipe. I love how you never hesitate to do your best to help me study, even when you’re struggling yourself. I love your deep, soothing voice. I love the fact that you don’t judge people for being different…” “I, ummm…” “I love that you make little notes on your phone whenever anyone tells you anything that seems important to them so you won’t forget it. I love how cool your playstyle is when we clear raids together. I love how expressive your face is. I love the fact that you hug people properly without doing the stupid back-slapping thing. I love…” Izzy had no idea how much time had passed, but the sun had gone down at some point. The last however many hours had passed in some sort of fugue state. It was as though his baffled mind was somehow adrift on a sea of endless and increasingly specific positive affirmation. “I love how you’re always happy when you pipe decorations onto a cake even though you don’t think you’re any good at it. I love the way you sometimes end up talking to my plushies like you were talking to actual pets. I love the way your brow furrows when you read about something you find interesting. I love…” Izzy slammed his hands down onto the table, and Sora jumped a little. Izzy felt kind of bad for startling him, but if he had kept going for much longer Izzy felt like some part of his mind would never be the same again. “All right. I get it. Fine. You’re clearly extremely in love with me.” “So will you be my boyfriend?” Sora asked hopefully. Izzy hummed thoughtfully. He still felt very out of his depth when it came to the whole romance thing, but even he realized that the chances that he would ever encounter anyone else who loved him even nearly as much as Sora did were very slim. “All right. I’ll date you. On one condition.” “Oh, sure. What is it?” “If anyone ever asks you why you love me, you have to limit yourself to five reasons or less.” “That… sounds difficult. But if that’s what you want, I’ll do my very best.” Izzy couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, you do that. I gotta admit, you’re actually kind of adorable.” It took Sora a moment to really register the compliment, but when he did he turned beet red and let out a happy little squeak.