Do You Like Him?

   Within a year, Joshua became close to both Theodore and Joseph. It took almost a year for Joseph to accept that Joshua was a good guy, and he had no legit reason to be envious of him.

   In the beginning, it was hard for Joseph to accept Joshua. They could meet only one day a week. And even then, Joseph wouldn't spend time with Theodore. So, he was angry because his time with Theodore had been stolen by Joshua. He missed the cuddles and the physical contact with Theodore. Whenever it was the day of the meet-up, Theodore and Joshua always talked about their training stories. So, Joseph felt left out. Joshua noticed it, and then things changed after that. Though it wasn't like how it was before, Theodore paid attention to Joseph as well.

   Somedays, Joshua went to visit his father. So, it was only Theodore and Joseph at the meet-up. In those days, Theodore would go on about Joshua and what they did back in their realm. Joseph would get upset. Though he got used to Joshua, he wasn't used to sharing his best friend. He never once expressed how he felt about everything. He brushed it off with the hope that everything would be fine soon. He had those lonely feelings lingering in him for a long time.

   One day, Theodore had to be in an official meeting with King Asmodeus. So, it was only Joshua who came to the Divine land to meet Joseph. Joseph was disappointed to not see Theodore.

   Joseph and Joshua were just sitting under the plum tree. As the autumn was nearing, the flowers had started to fall from the tree. The day was calm. The wind was blowing lightly. The day wasn't cold, but it wasn't hot either. Both of them were in complete silence.

   To break the silence, Joshua asked, "Will you not ask me why Theodore isn't here today?"

   "He must be busy with some work. I can understand that much," Joseph sounded a little rude.

   "Joseph, can I ask you something? Why are you cold towards me? Did I do anything wrong to you?" Joshua wanted to know.

   "No, you didn't do anything wrong. And how am I even cold towards you?"Joseph asked.

   "I know that I somewhat came in between you and Theodore, but you don't need to get jealous. I am not going to steal Theodore from you," Joshua said.

   Joseph was angry after hearing Joshua say that. All the resentment and anger he had built inside him all this time came up all at once.

   "You didn't steal Theo from me? Seriously? You want me to believe that? You want me to believe that when Theo has been all about you after you came? How can you say that when he talks only about you even when you're not with us. How am I supposed to believe that my best friend even thinks about me? How do I believe?" Joseph burst out into tears.

   Joshua was shocked at Joseph's sudden confession. He was speechless. He never thought that Joseph would have been suffering this much up until now. "I'm sorry, Joseph. I did think that maybe I came in between you two. But I never imagined that it would have affected you this much. You have been acting a little cold towards me from the beginning, and I wanted to talk to you about it. But I never got that chance. And these days, even Theodore has been noticing the changes in you. The other day he told me that you weren't the same as before, and were even cold towards him," Joshua explained.

   Joseph was shocked to hear that. Had he been cold towards Theodore all this time? He never intended to, but his feelings couldn't be hidden for a long time.

   "Joshua, I'm sorry for the sudden lash out. I know you didn't ever intend to come between mine and Theodore's friendship. Maybe I was too selfish. It's just that I never had any best friends, and my only best friend started to hang out with someone else more than myself. I let the jealousy get the best of me. I'm sorry," Joseph apologized.

   "It's okay, Joseph. You had bottled up these feelings for a long time. It was time to let it out. I'm glad that you finally let it out," Joshua patted Joseph's head.

   "I finally feel good after letting out all of these. Thank you so much," Joseph was thankful.

   Joshua hugged him, and it lasted for a while. Joseph felt comfort and familiarness. He felt secure in Joshua's arm.

   "Can I ask you something again? Do you like Theodore?" Joshua was curious.

   "Of course. Why won't I like my best friend?" Joseph was confused.

   "No, not as a friend. Like something more than a friend? Are you attracted to him? Like you have feelings where you always want to be with him and all," Joshua explained.

   "What? No !! It is nothing like that. Theodore and I are just best friends. And how can a guy like another guy that too in that type of way? It's all nonsense," Joseph laughed.

   "You seriously don't know? There's no gender, ethnicity, rank, and whatever when it comes to love. Love is just love. You don't like a person of their gender. You like them for who they are. Be it a girl or a boy," Joshua was a little frustrated.

   Joseph remained silent at this statement. Does that mean he loved Theodore? The question seemed ridiculous to him.

   "It seems like you are unknown about your feelings. I'll leave it to you to understand your feelings. You'll realize it yourself someday," Joshua smiled at him.

   Joseph didn't say anything on this topic. He was foreign to things about love and flirting. Joseph was unknown to his feelings. Still, he couldn't deny to himself that he was attracted to Theodore.

   "Just once ask yourself why were you so jealous of me all this time? Was it just a friendship or something more than that? You'll find your answers yourself," Joshua grinned.

   "Okay. Now let's stop this topic. It was just friendship. Also, we can't fall in love with the same gender, you know?" Joseph was blushing a little. He was unaware of it.

   "Yeah. Sure. You can't just brush it off. And those blush on your cheeks say something else," Joshua pinched his cheeks.

   "Ouch! That hurts. And please stop teasing me," Joseph was flustered.

   "Okay. It's time for me to go now. I'm glad we could clear things up," Joshua waved bye to Joseph.

   It was this incident that made Joseph and Joshua became closer. They became the best buddies. The thick tension in the air between them dissolved. Theodore was surprised when he found out what had happened and apologized to Joseph. After that, it was just days of them teasing each other, playing random games, and having fun altogether.

   Yuki was happy to see that Joseph was finally able to express himself. And he was able to clear the misunderstandings. Yuki was relieved to see Joseph happy.