Never let it be said that Kyouhei was a half-assed student - as much as he complained and grouched over the fine details of chemistry and physics as a whole he did the work: and that included the practical work.
Such as experiments that made him feel like a real scientist.
Dolled up in glasses and a lab coat with his hair just barely held back by some mousse and some hair clips, he was carefully organizing, heating and mixing chemicals for the results marked down in his study guide.
The process was so mechanical that it was soothing, and Kyouhei found himself humming softly while he working, even going as far as to sing a few lines out loud - there was no one around so it was fine.
Kyouhei was really, really tempted to accept. Who knew when he’d get another chance to hold Yuuto’s hand? Nervously, he held out his own hand, palm towards the sky, trying not to shake but failing.
Realizing that the thought process was pretty self-centered (and it almost felt like he was using the idol, and he pulled back, cheeks puffed out slightly.
Kyouhei couldn’t help but laugh - settling back in place to do so just in case Izumi decided to lash out. It wasn’t really that funny but at the same time, it was because wow, maybe Izumi didn’t know him all that well?
“Is there such a thing as too sappy when it comes to me?” He teased, lacing his fingers together and sticking out his tongue. “I’m the sap-master, king and lord of all the gooey, warm emotions. Better watch out or I’ll infect you!”
Kyouhei startled at the sudden suggestion, his face flushed. Was she teasing him? He couldn’t really tell. It sounded honest but he was… well. Not the best at people-judgments.
“I don’t… need to hold your hand this time. This time.” He muttered, turning away slightly. “Thanks for the offer though, it makes me feel better.”
“Didn’t mean to cut myself,” Kyouhei muttered, examining the edge of his thumb where the serrated knife had dug in and where a bit of red was beginning to well up.
He was fairly indifferent to bodily injury but it was nice to take care of it right away. The boy turned to Ichimatsu and smile softly before accepting the bandage.
Kyouhei was easily surprised, yes, but he was also good at reacting quickly to unexpected situations. It was part of his military training - when something happened, you had to move.
He didn’t think that his training was meant for the day he saw someone trip so hard he nearly flung themselves, face first, onto the floor so that Kyouhei could react just in time - catching his shoulders so that he didn’t hit the ground so hard he broke their nose - that was just a bonus.
The collected moment didn’t last long, though, because he recognized this person and the shock nearly made the biochemistry student drop him, mostly out of surprise.
“Hey, aren’t you the person who spied on me that one time!?” He blurted out, still as a rock, waiting for the stranger to recover. “You thought it was strange I could sing? Wasn’t that you?”
“Ah!” Kyouhei spluttered, unsure of how to respond. He’d never? Had someone? Say anything even remotely similar to that before? It was strange, like placing himself in the song “Fight For Me” from Heathers and it was warm and strange.
“That’s fine, you don’t need to hit anyone Akira-” as flattering as that was, he didn’t want the younger to get in any sort of trouble, “there’s no need for you to be violent over me.”
Kyouhei felt a sob swell up in his throat and went to cover his eyes, tears already spilling down his cheeks. He brushed his fingers over them, wiping them over his skin continuously in order to get them to disappear.
Even with the comfort… was this really okay? He drew a bit closer to Vasco and rested a hand on his arm, needing the physical contact while he broke down over a whole bunch of little things.
“Th-thanks.” He managed to crow, his throat already tight from all his sobbing and hiccuping, a slightly embarrassed smile tugging at his lips already.
Most of the time, Kyouhei was delighted to have Mizumachi around. He was quite the energetic character, and fun on top of that - easy to get along with. The biochemist never felt like he had to put on airs.
Still, he never thought of this particular scenario - being stuck in a small space with someone large was never something he avoided because it was too strange of a notion!
Well. It had happened. Trapped in a teeny-tiny closet that (besides Mizumachi and Kyouhei) contained an abundance of cleaning supplies including but not limited to: soap, toilet paper, and three vacuums.
“Looks like we found the cleaning stuff - but who’s gonna find us?” He sighed - cramped up against Mizumachi’s side like a hip satchel of some sort. Curse his short stature.
It had seemed hopeless not five minutes ago when the posse of boy-hungry girls (women?) had descended on them, obviously going after his companion for the day - Izumi - who was a model so of course this would happen.
Still, he’d been extremely surprised (and a bit weirded out) when they started to flirt with him too, feeling as if maybe the situation was a bit much.
Chanting the phrase ‘desperate times call for desperate measures’ like a prayer mentally, Kyouhei shyly stepped away from the girls and a bit closer to Izumi, slightly flushed.
“Ah, I know you must be excited to see such a popular model-” he decided to go with ‘shy and oblivious, but anxious’ seeing as it was closer to the truth, “-but I rarely get any time with my boyfriend, do you think we could get back to our date?”
His bag was pretty durable against the rain with where he was standing, his papers were usually in a plastic folder considering that Morgana sometimes liked to hitch a ride in his bag. Good thing his cat wasn’t in his bag today.
Kyouhei could say those things but it doesn’t change the fact that if he doesn’t dry off soon, he’s highly vulnerable to catching a cold or hypothermia at the worst.
“Ah. No problem….–Torrential rain was pretty common I was from during specific seasons. They usually sell these easily stored umbrellas at convenience stores. – If you have somewhere you need to be, I could give you my umbrella.”
He decided to keep shy yet calm personality for this interaction, just to see how things went.
Determined not to remain soaking wet for much longer, Kyouhei peeled off the overcoat part of his uniform and shook it out, away from the other person hiding from the rain.
He was starting to get cold, but he wasn’t really shivering so it should be fine - he’d take a hot shower or bath when he got home and would get to sleep early and if he still got sick after that, oh well!
“Ah, izzat so -” That was interesting. The weather rarely changed where Kyouhei used to live. This was so much better.
“I have yet to update the location on my weather app so I’m a little behind.” Not that the biochemistry student really minded, sometimes the surprise was nice. “I’m in no rush to get anywhere - if you are, though, feel free to go!”
A small laugh leaves Dongmin and he shakes his head. “No problem. I figured you needed someone to bring you back.” He joked. He had seen Kyohei suffering but wasn’t sure when or how to call out to him until the young male threw up his cards in likely desperation?
“Hm… you ask a good question. Could we?” He thought about it, tilting his head to the side. The quality of the cards determined how easy or hard of a time you would have to stack all of the cards to make a castle. “Though the only way to know the answer to that is to try it out, right?” He smiled, finding the idea to be pretty amusing.
Leave it to him to just nonchalantly further the notion of moving away from one’s studies. He was more interested in having some fun, really. He handed Kyouhei some of the cards that he’d picked up. “Should we start then?”
Kyouhei can’t help but flush slightly in the face of the undeniable facts - he’d kinda lost it in the face of study-pressure. Not that it was a large breakdown, but still! He needed to pay more attention to his surroundings.
“I guess so…” After all, if it could be done with paper cups, surely index cards couldn’t be that far off. They weighed about the same, probably. The biochemist accepted more cards and brought them over to a table, head tilted slightly in contemplation.
A smile flickered onto his lips as he moved a few chairs away from an empty table with his feet and plopped down without looking. He divided all the cards into two piles and held one up to Dongmin. “Ready to get this show on the road?”
[水] - Hmmm cookies were nice, as was popcorn! Veggies and fruits? Yeaahhh sign him up! The essentials for any athletics buff! Gotta eat well and stock up on calories!
“A smoothie sounds great! A healthy snack alternative. Popcorn is great if you want to have a competition.”
A– ‘see how many popcorn pieces you can throw in the air and catch in your mouth’ competition. He was pretty good at it you know? By now Mizumachi had already long since forgotten what it was that he was supposed to do– which was doing his work. Sustenance was the most important thing on his mind now.
At this rate, it was a true wonder whether or not they were going to get any work done. Mizumachi needed to find someone like Kakei who would constantly nag him into doing his work. Boy did he miss Kakei.
“Smoothies it is~!” Kyouhei sang out, running a quick eye over all his kitchen wares while taking out the pieces of his blender and putting it together with practiced ease.
He was no master chef but smoothies and shakes were super easy, not much to mess up. First came the bananas, yogurt, and milk which he usually used as the base for the refreshing meal or snack - wait.
[水] – He’d met a lot of people in his time being a student at Oakville. People were getting lost here and there in various areas of the campus, and sometimes like Kyouhei here—they ventured quite the distance away from where they had wanted to go.
“Haha! Yeah, really. Nothing wrong with an adventure though, right? You never know what you’ll find or what friend you can make.”
Leave it to him to look on the bright side of things. This was the guy, who had dislocated his shoulder from rough-housing around too much, and could be found later trying to ‘surf’ down the hallways with the hospital beds or a wheelchair the moment someone took their eyes off him. He simply couldn’t be controlled very well.
“Ohhhhh—I don’t really get it, but it sounds real smart! Good luck, dude! I’m sure ya got this! Nhaahaa~ Yep! I wanna be a bombastic announcer!”
Just like a certain announcer back at home. That guy was so full of energy and it was always fun listening to him scream into the mic!
“See? You get it! Sometimes all you need is to walk around and see what’s there in order to find something interesting.” Kyouhei became gradually quieter as he kept talking, not wanting to draw too much attention to himself but! Still excited to talk about exploring the unknown!
“ Not that I would do it all the time, of course, I do have responsibilities, but the sentiment is still there.” His smile was wide and honest as he finished. “I’ll always be in the mood to investigate everywhere.”
It was that sweet sentimentality that would probably end up with the brunet being kidnapped (or worse) one day, but for the moment he was happy to look around with optimistic idealizations.
“It is kinda smart I guess?” Biochemistry had some complex mechanics, but Kyouhei didn’t feel as if he should comment too much on it if he wasn’t enthusiastic about it. “And you’ve got the bombastic part covered!
“You also… have the voice for it? You’re loud and attention grabbing,” realizing how that might sound, the aspiring biochemist held his hands up defensively, “not in a bad way!”
Grocery shopping was something Eita had grown accustom to in his year of living on his own. That being said, though, no matter HOW many times he ventured out, he still wasn’t all too fond of the chore. The crowds of people, the lines, spending money─ all of it was tedious, but unfortunately, it had to be done ( lest he was to starve, of course ).
At the very least, Eita pretty pretty much had a routine down for his shopping trips. He knew exactly what to get and where he needed it from, even having an order in which he trekked each isle. It made the chore tolerable enough, Eita thought. However, this particular trip, his routine was interrupted as he felt another person collide with him while he was minding his own business. How careless.
Luckily, Eita hadn’t been holding onto anything, so no real harm was done. He sighed as he was given an apology of sorts and brushed off his shirt.
“I’m fine,” he confirmed, “You should watch where you’re going.” he added, though no hostility was intended. Looking at the boy, Eita could recall him staring at the shelves just as he’d arrived in the isle himself. Eita raised a brow, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Do you need help finding something? You look a little lost.” Eita commented. It really wasn’t any of his business and he wasn’t even a worker, but it didn’t hurt to ask.
“You’re right, you’re right, sorry about that!” Kyouhei felt a little humbled by the serious tone and appearance of the person he’d bumped into, mentally forcing himself to promise to pay more attention next time. “Won’t happen again.”
He adjusted the shopping basket on his one arm so it sat comfortably in the crook of his elbow, trying to regain his composure - hard to do when he was so out of it.
Surprised by the question, the brunet couldn’t help but smile sheepishly.
“I’m just… trying to find something I recognize? The reason I bumped into you as because I as trying to check the upper shelves.” He probably sounded really ignorant, not that it mattered at this point. “Ah, do you have any brands to suggest?”
[水] - Mizumachi laughed at his joke and was playing along with Kyouhei. Always good and fun to play with other people, right? It was much more fun to just laugh along with people than to fight against it. He personally enjoyed being happy at almost all hours of the day.
“Hm? Nahhh not really that obvious, it was just a guess. I just meet a lot of people who move here from elsewhere. Local people can get lost too, ya know?”
Just because they were locals, it didn’t mean they had to know their way around every campus, but just something about Kyouhei made him seem like he wasn’t around from these parts. Not sure what.
“Bio…whatywhat? Sounds real complicated and smart. I’m a sports communications major. I wanna be like those sports announcers, ya know?”
Just shouting plays into the microphone, telling the audience an enthusiastic play by play to help them feel more involved in the plays.
“Really?” Kyohei wondered if anyone else had gone to Mizumachi for help - honestly, it wouldn’t be a surprise seeing as the sportsman seemed to ooze a friendly, approachable aura.
Still, it was a weird concept, thinking that other people explored and became lost just like him, but when he thought about it…. he couldn’t be the only unfortunate person around, right?
“Chemistry. It’s a science… the science of chemical and physicochemical responses. It is really complicated,” but not so once you got the theories down, or so his professor had assured.
“Sports Communications… huh, that sounds really interesting! I can totally see you as an announcer at a game, directing everyone’s attention and explaining what’s going down…!”
Dongmin only chuckled in response, finding the reaction to be pretty humorous. It reminded him of his friend ‘Ju Ingong’ whose name translated would mean ‘main character’. Funny, right? “My name is Dongmin, what’s your name?” He asked as he got out of the chair that he was currently sitting at to start picking up some of the cards.
He was a bit curious as to what it was that he was studying that made him just rage quit and throw up his cards in the air in defeat. “With this many cards, you could probably make a card castle.” The final resort to anyone bored enough or absolutely through with studying. Turn your study materials into play things.
“Kyouhei. Thank you for bringing me back into reality, Dongmin.” Mid-introductions, the brunet joined the boy who called him out on his act of brief insanity and began to collect the index cards in one hand.
He perked up a bit at the idea of stacking cards - it would be easier with an actual deck of playing cards but with some patience and determination, it could probably be done?
“Do you think we could…? There are plenty of empty, flat surfaces around for it, I guess.” And it wasn’t like his mind would allow him to do anything else now that it was done with theory. Experimentally, he bent a card between two fingers.
Yoichi slowly chewed his sandwich as he watched the younger man make a desperate attempt to open the door to the dormitories. His patrol had taken him out to Oakville University, which usually had something going on to keep him entertained. It was just a little past midnight and it seemed the poor kid had lost his keys to the dorm.
He finished off his late dinner and clapped his hands together to get rid of the bread dust before standing up. He’d let the poor guy suffer long enough, and he had another 7 minutes and forty-three seconds until his break was up. Yoichi slowly made his way towards the poor, locked-out college student; he yawned as he approached the other from behind and placed one hand on his hip using the other to cover his mouth.
“Having some issues, hmm?” He dropped his hand to his side and eyed the door. The lock looked simple enough, but he didn’t expect this kid to be looking at the issue the same way he was. “Did you lose your key or something?” Reaching for his flashlight, he clicked it on and swung the beam in a wide arc around the nearby grass.
“I can help you find it. Or I can open the door for you if you ask in the next,” he looked at his watch, “five minutes and twenty-seven seconds.”
When Kyouhei was a little kid, he would’ve lost his head if his neck wasn’t attaching it to his shoulders. It was a well-known fact - you never trusted toddler Kyouhei with anything important.
Fortunately, he grew out of it by age twelve or so.
Unfortunately, it was Throwback Thursday and he might’ve misplaced one of the most important items he owned. It was way too late to backtrack to find them too, and mentally he’d already given up.
“I think I left it at work?” He still peered in the direction the light revealed, hoping it would magically appear on the ground somewhere. No such luck. “Or maybe I dropped it on the way here….”
Either way, it was terrible and unlucky.
Curiosity made him peer up at the person offering their help in a professional manner, his interest mostly focused on the offer to open his dorm’s door within a certain time frame.
“Who are you, actually? Not that I don’t appreciate the help of course….”
[Big ol’ heads up to anyone interested (since I just answered a butt-load of rp meme asks):
I’m totally fine with turning an answered ask into a thread - in fact, I encourage it! Take my asks and upgrade ‘em! And I’m always up for plotting if you wanna do that!]
Kyouhei dug his heels into the floor, trying to make it hard (seeing as he was short and had no substance, it wasn’t going to be difficult otherwise) to get him away from his work - which he still had a handful of.
“Sena-chan, I need to finish this, and I have another paper which needs to be looked over - if I don’t make sure all these formulas are safe and accurate I could get scolded, or worse my grade could suffer!”
Those were technically excuses, but they were needed for himself because he needed to be pressured into finishing - just because he was sleepy didn’t mean he could sleep!
“Buh-what?” Kyouhei squinted at Yuuto over his clipboard before moving slightly so he could see his clock, ticking away steadily on the wall. “Why are you even here at… at three in the morning?”
He couldn’t remember giving the idol a key. Oh well. His head ducked down and he started to reread the report he had pinned to his- wait.
“Wait, you wanted to sing to me…? At three in the morning? Should you really be offering to sing to just anyone, at three in the morning? I mean I want you to sing to me but are you sure you thought this through?”
And it was nearly three in the morning, wouldn’t the neighbors be annoyed? Kyouhei had no clue.
Kyouhei let out a large yawn and rubbed his back, which was sore because of the tough material he’d been sleeping on, peacefully.
“Something went down at my dorm and I couldn’t get in?” He tried to explain, but the shock of being discovered and his sleepiness was getting in the way. “I hope you don’t mind - I was really tired!”
“Really? Well, singing isn’t my forte, I’m better with a trumpet but-AH!” Kyouhei started to respond before realizing someone had been listening in on him, his reaction slow but still there.
“Who are you, even!? When did you get here?!” And did the brunet give off the impression of not being able to sing? Now he was overanalyzing the statement…!
Kyouhei grinned, trying to hide his own nervousness subtly, and gestured at the death trap they were in line to get into.
“It’s just a rollercoaster - and not even a really crazy one! I’ve been on one where you’re only strapped in by your shoulders, with your legs hanging free - it was re-e-e-e-eally scary at first.”
Kyouhei blinked at the statement and looked down at his “lazy suit”, which consisted of a sweater (yes, a sweater in Summer weather) that had the suit design on it, sleek sweat pants, and… real dress shoes, for some reason.
All in all, he was practically making fun of the existence of anyone who was wearing an actual suit, but not on purpose.
“Is it really that bad?” He laughed a bit, unsure whether to be really offended or if he should just laugh and walk away.
“Hah?” Did he say something terrible or horribly untrue? Unsure of how to remedy the situation, Kyouhei tried to look a bit more optimistic as he paid attention to the person who spoke up.
“No, I’m sure not all adults are appalling, I mean I’m almost one - not that I’m a great person I’m just saying that I don’t think I’m a terrible adult? Not the point, I’m trying to say that I’m not trying to generalize here but the facts remain that a lot of the older people I’ve meant disturb me - not that you should have the same views! I shouldn’t be speaking out loud, to be honest, ignore me”
A mental please was added after his tirade, and he even clasped his hands together in a praying motion. Would that save him? Probably not.
Kyouhei pouted, his ears red, as he smoothed over the food-stuffed pockets of his Pansage onesie. It was fitting, considering the base abilities and lore - but that wasn’t the point!
“If you drop by unannounced, I’m not going to have the time to look respectable!” He protested, inwardly lamenting the loss of any cool image he had in Yuuto’s eyes.
“What?” Kyouhei looked up from his notes and tried to grasp onto the threads of… whatever they had been talking about. Was it school? Science? Law? It had something to do with their majors.
“Well, realistically, not everyone is going to get to be what they want to be? So it’s a sad kind of funny because often adults make it sound as if we can be whatever we want,” although he himself couldn’t relate, “when in reality… we have to be smart about college and our futures.”
Kyouhei took a moment to look at all the notes scattered around his feet, considering the options following his reckless decision to throw them over his head dramatically, then turned to face the speaker.
“I think it’s still settling in for me, too.” He muttered, trying not to look at the mess he’d have to pick up soon.
My muse has been awake for already 48 hours! What’s even worse, they’re saying that they have more important things to do. Try your best to put my muse to sleep before they pass out!
❛ I can’t believe you said that. ❜
❛ I can’t believe we were destined to do this forever. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you are still talking. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you did that. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you won’t help me. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you betrayed me. Again. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you walked out on me. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you listen to them over me. ❜
❛ I can’t believe your wearing that. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you want out of this. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about this. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you stabbed me! ❜
❛ I can’t believe you shot me! ❜
❛ I can’t believe your wearing my clothes in front me. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you think it’s funny. ❜
❛ I can’t believe we are the news for this. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you lied to me. ❜
❛ I can’t believe I trusted you. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you stole from me. ❜
❛ I can’t believe I ever even loved you. ❜
❛ I can’t believe we are related. ❜
❛ I can’t believe we’re dating. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you never told the truth about anything. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you tricked me! ❜
❛ I can’t believe I let you talk me into this. ❜
❛ I can’t believe this is all connected. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you went without me. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you don’t remember me. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you told me that. ❜
❛ I can’t believe we lost everything. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you sit there and let it happen. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you never wanted to me know. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you kept secrets this whole time. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you won’t even say sorry. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you said you didn’t do it. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you lied to the police. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you thought this was a game. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you came back around here. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you cheated on me! ❜
❛ I can’t believe I cheated on him/her. ❜
❛ I can’t believe I fell in love with him/her. ❜
❛ I can’t believe I’m this happy right now. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you wanted to leave. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you won’t leave me alone already. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you thought that was okay.. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you made a song about me. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you wrote a poem for me. ❜
❛ I can’t believe they died.. ❜
❛ I can’t believe I’m still alive. ❜
❛ I can’t believe we are doing this. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you never been to the movies. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you are not in jail for that. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you won’t believe me. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you asked me that. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you kissed me. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you thought I wanted you. ❜
❛ I can’t believe they didn’t want me. ❜
❛ I can’t believe your eating that. ❜
❛ I can’t believe your helping me.. ❜
❛ I can’t believe I helped you. ❜
❛ I can’t believe I gave you everything. ❜
❛ I can’t believe they aren’t in my life anymore.. ❜
❛ I can’t believe I’m not allowed to go. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you never told me any of this. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you kicked my ass. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you cussed me out! ❜
❛ I can’t believe this is so different. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you think I owe you. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you can sing. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you never learned that. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you punched me! ❜
❛ I can’t believe you smacked me! ❜
❛ I can’t believe you watched! ❜
❛ I can’t believe we ran into one another again! ❜
❛ I can’t believe we said that at the same time. ❜
❛ I can’t believe we like the same person. ❜
❛ I can’t believe I haven’t met my soul mate yet. ❜
❛ I can’t believe your laughing at me. ❜
❛ I can’t believe your ignoring me. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you won’t even listen to me. ❜
❛ I can’t believe we’re like the same. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you slept on my porch all night. ❜
❛ I can’t believe I actually won something. ❜
❛ I can’t believe I’m actually good at this. ❜
❛ I can’t believe you won’t drop it already.
❜
❛ I can’t believe you doubt me. ❜
[水] - Snacks would definitely help. His brain needed the calories. They say that your brain uses up a lot of your calories when you think hard. Pretty selfish of it, huh? He needs those calories for his muscles during practice! Don’t be stingy and share.
He slumped himself over onto the table, groaning. He felt like his heard was going to burst. He was just not very smart. It was a grand thing he got in on a scholarship for the swim team.
“Snacks would be great. I feel like my brain is mush. I could tell you how to make a lineman see ‘Sky blue’ but not this. I don’t know how to do this stuff. Physics.”
Gross. It was important, sure, but did he really need to know how it worked?
Kyouhei honestly felt like lying on top his notes forever - ignoring emails, homework, any adult-like responsibility that would dare show its ugly face in his life.
Still! Grabbing snacks (and eating them) was the perfect temporary excuse for a break. Mizumachi didn’t deserve to suffer at the hands of physics for much longer.
“I have some chocolate cookies in the fridge and some popcorn I can pop - on top of fruits and veggies. Want me to make a smoothie?” The aspiring biochemist put away his scientific theory for food art - a much-preferred activity.
[水] - Mizumachi laughed a hearty little laugh. He wasn’t making fun of Kyouhei in the slightest. He just felt like laughing? The fields were nice, weren’t they? It is a playground for all athletes pretty much and just looking upon all the fields… yeah, it made him happy. When you’re happy, you LAUGH, don’t ya?
“Yeah, for real dude. Haha, what’s to apologize for? You’re good. The dorms are clear waaaay over there, but it’s not too bad.”
There wasn’t really such a thing as a shortcut, but there was a lot of beautiful scenery to take in. If you timed it right, you may be able to catch a bus and ride a few stops and get dropped off at the dorms. Those were for those days you were dead tired after practice.
"So, you moved in pretty recently, huh? What are you majoring in? Undecided?“
He was just making some small talk to just get a better feel for what kind of person Kyouhei was. After knowing a bit more about him, he could offer to walk him the rest of the way over to the dorms. Can’t let him get lost again, right?
“It could be worse, I suppose - I could’ve walked off campus completely!” Kyouhei joked, unable to help to laugh along with Mizumachi - it was infectious, and hey, not hurting anyone!
Still, he couldn’t help but squint back at the direction he’d been provided - trying to find a familiar sight, like a landmark that he’d walked past earlier. Maybe he should try to pay more attention to his surroundings….
“Yeah, I only moved to Bellevue recently, actually.” From the western coast of California, not that he would say that bit out loud. “I suppose it’s a bit obvious, huh?
“I’m majoring in biochemistry, actually. Already decided and have a plan set up and everything! What about you?”
“Oi, oi, you almost drop a perfectly good pizza~” Itaru joked slightly. His body had moved forward, ready to save the pizza if the boy was going to let it fall.
“Haha, you’re right on that. Not much time not skill for homemade in my case” he laughed a bit “Plus, here I can get snacks and soda as well~”
A bit of a tilt of the head at the question itaru wondered if he should answer or not. Well, this boy didn’t seemed like he would be acquainted to his co-workers so, it should be ok?
“Provisions for an all-night mission~” he said in a singsong. “How about you?”
Kyouhei let out a soft laugh, making a mental note to grab a drink and maybe a side dish (or a dessert) before leaving the store. Hopefully, he would be able to remember.
“Mm, going out for it is the best, though, because of the smell!” He pointed out, grinning wildly.
“Also, that sounds really cool? I’m just getting pizza because I’ve given up on normal grocery shopping for this week.” The brunet admitted, too sleepy to be especially embarrassed about his loss.
Akira was somewhat used to the weather in Bellevue, he always made sure to check the weather on his phone before leaving school, during school and after school. He was lucky that they made umbrellas small enough to fit in his school bag, how convenient!
Judging by how hard it as down pouring, he decided he would wait it out before making his way home. It’s a good thing he kept a book on him as well, this was almost the perfect opportunity to pass time. Almost being the keyword, because no sooner had he started reading, a stranger joined him under the shade of the tree. Lifting his head, he looked at Kyouhei and blinked. This guy was drenched, making it highly unfortunate that he couldn’t offer the other a towel. So what he did do, was shift his umbrella to cover the brunette from any rain that was leaking through the leaves above.
He simply shook his head as a response to the other’s question, carefully sliding the novel back into the depths of his bag. He’ll have to read later.
“…Are you cold? You can borrow my jacket if you want. I don’t mind.”
Kyouhei let out a sigh of relief - he’d probably already lost the majority of his lecture notes to water-damage, he didn’t want to ruin anyone else’s weak-to-water items, or anything else….
“I’m not cold yet, and if I get enough water out of my clothes before the chills set in I should be fine.” The brunet reassured the stoic-looking stranger, already grabbing handfuls of his shirt and letting the rain water drip out from between his fingers.
“Thank you for the offer, though!” He beamed, making sure to show his sincerity in his body language. “Ah, how’d you get caught out in this? You appear more prepared for it.”
After stating the fact, Kyouhei gestured up at the umbrella above them, as evidence one.
He heard the voice talking to him and turned his head slightly towards Kyouhei’s side, eyes still closed and totally unaware of the other’s expression. What was it nice about it? A part of him didn’t felt the need to answer, but another part felt like it wouldn’t change a thing to actually do it.
“It’s warm. It feels kinda soft” he started to describe what he felt “and you smell nice”
“Gah!” Kyouhei gasped, the palms of his hands digging into his eyes because he could look at anything right now or he would d i e.
Was that true?!?! It wasn’t like he could test it out for himself. He wasn’t a contortionist, and he was scent-blind to himself by this point… briefly, he wondered if the same could be said of Yuuto’s lap.
Unaware of the nervousness he had caused in the other, Yuuto simply closed his eyes and made himself comfortable by crossing his arms over his chest and fixing the position of his legs. Being tall was sometimes inconvenient.
“Kinda” he replied, not much more elaboration on his reply “Your lap feels nice, i like it”
If it was physically possible to steam out of one’s ears, Kyouhei was absolutely sure he was beyond the required temperature to achieve the feat. His hands even felt a bit sweaty, now crossed over his chest and clenched in his sleeves.
Yuuto’s comments were not helping.
What the brunet wouldn’t give for someone to rescue him from his own life, from the embarrassment glowing like a beacon on his face and in his chest. How awkward.
“Thanks? What even qualifies it as nice…?” The last part was more a question towards himself since he’d always just assumed his thighs and hips (that was what the lap consisted of, right?) to be average, just like the rest of him.
“Ah, really?” That was a tempting offer - after a day of lessons all Kyouhei really wanted to do was curl up somewhere and sleep all his worries away. Still, wouldn’t cuddling with a stranger seem weird?
On the other hand… he hadn’t interacted with anyone in a while…. When would another opportunity like this arise?
“If you really don’t mind moving over, I’m really in the mood for a moment of shut-eye.” Besides, wasn’t human body heat and contact supposed to be mentally healing?
To be true, the reason behind his headache was probably lack of sleep. Like always, he was up until early morning working in a new song, and today, unlike most days, he was woken up almost forcefully by his unit mate -they had things to do so it wasn’t his fault but Yuuto’s.
In any case, he was a bit sleepy, and the idea of laying down sounded rather appealing.
“I’ll take your offer on that, Kyouhei” Yuuto said, voice as rough as usual. Before the other could say anything, Yuuto had already laid down in the bench, resting his head on the other’s lap.
While Kyouhei had only been half-serious when he’d said he was joking, it still shocked the soul out of him when Yuuto adjusted on the bench and placed his head in his lap.
Something that sounded a lot like a malfunctioning dishwasher escaped from deep in his throat and his hands immediately went up in a defensive position, parallel to his body and in front of his beet-red face.
“D-do you… is your headache really that bad?” At least, that’s what the brunet assumed it was since Yuuto wasn’t pale or sweating, and he didn’t sound congested… Kyouhei let him be, for that reason, instead of flipping him out of his lap.
At those words, Kyouhei groaned and collapsed inwardly onto his badly organized notes on biochemistry theory and practice, a thousand different formulas running through his anxious mind.
“I know… too many separate things. I wish I could help you, Mizumachi! Is there any way you think I can help? I have some snacks that are supposed to help with energy around here somewhere….”
“Wha-a-at? Another one? If you say so.” Kyouhei pouted and pulled his food-related offering away, a little disappointed but also a little curious now - this wasn’t the first time Sena-chan had mentioned diets.
“Why do you go on so many? You’re already so skinny, and I bet your metabolisms great!”
Instantaneously flustered by the sound of Yuuto’s voice, Kyouhei, looked way up at the idol with a wobbly smile, eyes searching for any signs of what was said.
“Well, I mean, you should probably lie down?” The aspiring biochemist suggested, looking around for a suitable place to do it, determined to do well by Yuuto, his mouth still running nervously.
“You can even use my lap if you want! Just kidding. Of course.”
What? Did he really look that bad? Kyouhei smiled sheepishly before checking that the mentioned bucket was actually there, then waving weakly to make sure he still had the speaker’s attention.
“Thanks for showing me, but it’s not really that bad… promise.” Shortly after speaking, what he saw caught up to him and he looked back at the old-looking bucket, in shock. “Why is that even here…?”
It took a while for Kyouhei to realize the statement was directed at him - he didn’t feel that bad! It was just a flash fever, he had them all the time as a kid, he could power through this!
“More or less? I just look pale because of the fever - and because of the lack of sleep. It’ll get over itself soon, no worries!”
Alarmed, Kyouhei quickly made note of who had talked, forehead slightly scrunched in a frown as he tucked a pencil behind his ear and approached with a worried smile.
“Well, it could be the heat - or stress - or a lot of things, but!” He stopped a reasonable distance away - close enough that if the lady who’d spoke stumbled or collapsed he could act quickly. “Why not sit down a moment with me while we figure it out?”
[水] - Hm? Well, he just told you, didn’t he? Even if you ask him what section of the University you were at, this was the sports grounds, and most students didn’t consider this a part of the school considering how far away it was. Students just referred to it as the practice grounds.
The fields weren’t connected to the campus and you had to walk a good distance away so that they would be able to make use of the space and make room for the various sports fields for athletes to practice in. Most students considered it a different area entirely seeing as it was far from the University itself.
“Hah? I mean, you are on the practice grounds near the pool? You walked pretty far away from the school, ya know? There isn’t too much around here ‘sides the pool or the fields. If you walk over that way, that’s the football field, and the soccer field.”
He started pointing out where the various fields were. One may think he was being sarcastic or something, but he was being serious. He can come off as being rude at times, but he never meant any ill. He was just blunt and not exactly a thinker. He’d often say whatever was on his mind without thinking it through first. Sometimes this landed him in trouble.
"The dorms huh? That’s clear waaaaaaayyy over there. The school is in that direction and past the school is where the dorms are.“
Dude… you walked really far during your exploration.
“Ohh, is that what all the fields are for?” Kyouhei had never been to a school so big, with so many activities and clubs offered, so he hadn’t known. All he’d really thought was that the University owned a lot of property.
Following Mizumachi’s impromptu - all in one place - tour was interesting, and he felt better knowing where everything was.
“For real?!?” The student slapped a hand over his eyes with a groan, really confused - and kind of done with himself - as to how he’d done that without noticing. Maybe the beauty of campus had distracted him. “Ah, that’s! Pretty weird, sorry.”
“You’re right, that’s wa-a-a-ay farther then I thought I was? Thank you for telling me before I went farther, haha.”