"Summer's Unrelenting Heat"

The sun beat down on the small town, relentless in its ferocity. Mitsuba Sousuke, a 17-year-old with pink hair and pink eyes, lounged on the couch in Kou Minamoto's living room, his tiny ponytail bobbing as he enthusiastically played Roblox on his phone. His bangs covered one side of his face, and his sharp features seemed almost ethereal in the dim light of the room. A scattering of bobby pins held his short hair in place, and his cocky attitude was on full display as he shouted at the screen. Kou Minamoto, the 17-year-old exorcist, walked into the room, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a towel. His blonde hair was mussed, and his blue eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled. A red and white traffic earring adorned his ear, and Mitsuba couldn't help but tease him about it. "Hey, Kou-kun, what's with the gaudy earring? Trying to attract every insect within a 5-mile radius?" Mitsuba called out, not looking up from his phone. Kou chuckled and playfully flipped Mitsuba's hair, earning a scowl from the pink-haired boy. "Shut up, Mitsuba. You know I love this earring." Mitsuba snorted, his eyes rolling dramatically. "Yeah, right. You're just trying to compensate for that hideous haircut." Kou laughed and sat down beside Mitsuba on the couch, nudging him with his elbow. "Hey, my hair's not that bad." The two boys had been spending an inordinate amount of time together lately, much to the delight of Kou's family. Kou's father, a busy man, was rarely home, and his older brother, Teru, was away at college. Kou's little sister, Tiara, was only 6, and she adored Mitsuba, who had become a sort of honorary member of the family. Mitsuba's family had all but given up trying to get him to come home, and Kou's mom... well, she was no longer around. But Kou's dad had taken a shine to Mitsuba, and the door was always unlocked for him, a silent invitation to come and go as he pleased. As the summer wore on, the tension between Mitsuba and Kou grew thicker, like the air before a storm. They both knew it was there, but neither of them dared to acknowledge it, let alone do anything about it. They were both men, after all, and men didn't... not in their world, anyway. The air conditioning unit in the window rattled and coughed, struggling to keep up with the heat. Kou stood up, stretching his long frame. "Hey, Mitsuba, I'm going to make some dinner. Want to help?" Mitsuba's eyes lit up. "Cooking? You? Ha! I'd rather eat a shoe." Kou chuckled. "Fair enough. I'll make something simple. You can... um... supervise." As Kou headed into the kitchen, Mitsuba settled back into the couch, his eyes drifting after Kou's departing form. He couldn't help but feel a flutter in his chest, a feeling he'd grown all too accustomed to in recent months. What would happen next? Would Mitsuba and Kou finally confront their feelings, or would they continue to dance around them, trapped in a cycle of unrequited emotions? The summer stretched out before them, full of possibilities and pitfalls.