"I think I-" Kiyoshi started saying, then silently mouthed the rest of his sentence. Kenji smiled lightly, cupped his face, and brought it closer to the screen. It was almost midnight, and both of their rooms were dimly lit. For the time being, Kiyoshi and Kenji were only able to communicate from afar; due to social distancing.

"Sorry, you've muted again," he said and watched as Kiyoshi silently exclaimed, followed by a chuckle that was soon to be heard by him.

"Not again! I'm still pretty bad at this 'online' thing," he replied, grasping the fact that he's pretty bad with every tech device he's used before.

"Don't worry about it, you were saying..?" Kenji asked.

"Oh, um, I said I think I miss skating together with you the most," Kiyoshi replied with a bright smile.

"Cute!" was the familiar word that sped through Kenji's mind. He acknowledged his true feelings for his friend a long time ago and decided to accept them but keep them hidden for the sake of their friendship. He loves how wholesome their bond is, how happy they are when they're together, how they enjoy similar interests, the way Kiyoshi expresses his thoughts and emotions. Kenji loves him - and he's willing to respect the boundaries of his desires.

"I miss that too," Kenji said. They kept talking for a while and eventually decided to go to bed. Kiyoshi was left with the challenging task of ending the call as Kenji left the room. He looked around for the button to click. In the end, he managed to, unknowingly, mute his friend, then minimise his screen.

"There we go," Kiyoshi whispered to himself with a satisfied smile and went to sort his bed.