Ryuga x King

Coming Out

King's POV

"King..." King stiffened when he felt Ryuga's hand on his shoulder. He guessed it was him at least. That had been his voice after all.

"Too early," King grunted, not opening his eyes.

"It's nine in the morning," Ryuga grunted, nudging him.

King's eyes fluttered open. Ryuga was standing over him, gazing at King with those veiled hazel eyes of his.

"Okay, okay." King let out a yawn, struggling to sit up. "I'm up, I'm up." He tiredly rubbed his eyes. "Why am I up?"

Ryuga just facepalmed.

"Hey, don't blame me for being jet-lagged," King insisted, straightening up. He looked around. Besides the two of them, the living room was completely empty. King looked back at Ryuga. "Where are..." *Your parents-* "The others?"

"They left," Ryuga replied, sitting next to him.

"Oh..." King dipped his head. "Guess we're alone then, huh?"

Ryuga nodded. King's breath suddenly caught in his throat. *Tell him...* He shivered a little. Yesterday was the tournament, and they'd spent two days in Japan before then, meaning in only four days, King would be returning to America with his friends. Four days to tell Ryuga how he felt... King's heart was pounding out of his chest and he couldn't meet Ryuga's gaze.

"King?" Ryuga questioned.

King opened his mouth to reply. *What if he rejects me?! What if he thinks I'm weird for liking him?! Things could never be the same between us!* Eyes wide, King slapped his hands over his mouth, shivering as if it were freezing.

"What's on your mind?" Ryuga sounded concerned now but King still couldn't look at him.

King took a deep breath. The idea of Ryuga not returning his feelings was irrelevant compared to the idea of Ryuga not accepting his identity.

"I can't... I can't keep this a secret anymore." King pulled his legs into his chest. "I have to know if this is a dealbreaker."

"What is?"

"I-it's really personal. The only people that know are Masamune, Toby and Zeo."

"I won't tell anyone."

King looked up at him. "And you won't judge me either?" He was beating around the bush a little with these questions, unable to stop himself from trembling.

Ryuga raised an eyebrow. "Depends on what it is."

King winced. "Ryuga..."

"Okay, I won't judge you," Ryuga replied, dipping his head.

"Okay... okay..."

King looked away again. Then he had a moment of clarity: *If he hates me for this, he isn't the guy I thought he was... And he's not worth my time, or me leaving America.* King took a deep breath.

When he spoke again, his voice was even. "I... I'm bi."

"What?"

King turned to Ryuga. He stared at him with confusion in his eyes.

"Bi... like..." King almost facepalmed. Why didn't he expect this reaction from someone as socially inept as Ryuga? "I like both genders."

"In a romantic way?"

"Yeah... I swing both ways, however you wanna put it."

Ryuga just nodded. "Didn't know that was possible." He sounded completely calm.