Well they were talking about how it was that the castle didn’t fall when you watched movies and such, right? The only viable reason he could think of to prevent the cards from falling even with all the movement on set was tape.
“I don’t think you’ll need glue or tape right now? You could be able to make the card castle without that. It’s just, I can’t imagine they’d want to risk wasting time on a movie set or anything.” He was sure it just took a lot of patience, a steady hand, and patience.
He personally didn’t really understand how such a thing could be used as a de-stressing activity considering it stressed him out to think about the castle falling with just one simple moment, such as accidentally bumping into the table with your foot.
“Hm? What do you mean? I sleep just fine, actually. Did I say something wrong?” The principle was similar to the meaning behind ‘
人
‘. Similar idioms and phrases were often shared between Asian countries, and sometimes in school, you were taught various languages if you saw fit to learn it. Perhaps he got the idiom wrong? He was sure the kanji for ‘person’ was supposed to look like two people who were supporting each other?
“I feel like you nosedived into philosophy over notecards, which is concerning… do I need to pull an ‘it’s not that deep, brother’ over you? ‘Cuz I will, don’t test me.”
While running with this little tangent, Kyouhei managed to balance two sets of two cards next to each other and was reaching for a third set. Turns out, tape and glue were cheaters tools.
“Hm. Maybe I just needed a little less focus? Is this a lesson about my study methods, set up by the universe? I don’t appreciate it.”
Working up to having plants in his dorm was emotionally trying. This put him in charge of an actual living thing, something that needed to be constantly cared for and supported, things he had no experience in.
His childhood homes usually lacked a garden, and when they did miraculously contain one it was cared for by someone else, someone who did not appreciate him trying to nose his way into the process.
So it made sense to introduce himself to having plants around before having living plants around? Or something along those lines.
Sweating slightly due to lurking outside of Petit Petales for so long, Kyouhei entered the extravagant flower shop, eyes bulging out of their sockets at the amount of flowers and the quality of each type.
Kyouhei was right to think that Dongmin meant his words in a general term considering that’s what Dongmin thought Kyouhei meant his words. He soon learned that he was wrong when the other male clarified that he was talking about a stronger like that was closer to lover. By love, he meant in the way you love another person who is a boyrfriend of yours. “Ah… love, huh? Well, I guess it all boils down to me not caring how people see me. It’s on them if they want to assume things.”
Hm, what can they do as a casual hang out? “Well there is a lot to do, like watch a movie, play at an arcade, or maybe visiting a beach. The parks are nice to walk through, or to play in if you like to play sports.” He started trying to recall the different activities one could have fun with if they were to walk around through the two sister-capitals. “Like, what kinds of things do you like doing? We can work around that.” Dongmin was pretty easy going so he didn’t really have much of a preference himself.
Unless fighting was involved. Only if there was a strong fighter in the vicinity, his blood was not going to boil with excitement.
“Hoh, I see what you mean. I’m okay with both myself, but it is important to consider how the person you are confessing to would feel.” Mentally noting that for future reference, he was going to take that into consideration if things ever came down to it. He never really thought much on relationships, so he didn’t have an idea of what he would prefer personally. He didn’t think much of any preference really. Dongmin mainly followed the flow of things after all.
“Sounds good, that’s how it should be.” Dongmin nodded his head with contentment. Saying things like giving your life to someone wasn’t something one should take lightly, so as long as Kyouhei understood that point, he was happy. He reached out to pat on Kyouhei’s shoulder with a playful smile. “Hope you can find someone that you’d be willing to give your life to one day.”
What kind of things did Kyouhei do during his downtime? He struggled to organize his thoughts on the topic and paused an appropriate amount of time to consider it.
“Most of my free time is spent outside… I like visiting gardens and whole-food stores, I guess? That’s kinda weird, now that I think about it.” He shrugged, helplessly. “I like to be where plants and stuff are. What about you?”
He could do this. It was just casual conversation about scenarios that have and will happend. Not a big deal. The whiplash wouldn’t kill him today. After a few soulful breaths, he was ready.
“You also have to consider the worst case scenario. If you do a public confession and they reject you, not only are you embarrassed and heartbroken but they’ll probably be embarrassed and teased about it.” Not that he knew about this firsthand, but he’d witnessed a few confessions and it made him think.
“Not that public confessions are bad, but wouldn’t it be better to have a private confession of attraction and then a public confession of love when the relationship progresses?”
Avery wasted no time in pushing his belongings away from him to the end of the table, laptop lid snapped shut as his work went abandoned in favour of Kyouhei’s company. Pulling out the chair beside him, he pat the seat with an expectant look. You’ll join him, won’t you? Of course you will. He wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
“Ah? I had no idea you would look at me so closely~” He teased, his smile vulpine, though it had faltered ever so slightly upon the mention of his hair. The photographer had taken such care to preserve the lie of it being naturally rose pink, that he’d actually forgotten there were people outside of his family that could recall him being anything different.
“I’ll assume you’re in here for the same reason everyone else is, but Akounri might need a bit more explanation. We’re both rather far from home, after all.”
Now that Kyouhei’s shock at actually finding someone he knew had died down, he could fully appreciate how Avery had gone from a cute little kid to a full-blown beautiful young adult.
It was completely unfair. The comment about looks completely flew over his head while he compared his past friend with the current version, dark eyes narrowed oh-so-slightly.
“That’s true enough.” The brunet conceded and then plopped down into the chair he assumed was offered to him. It was comfortable enough but he still stretched out slightly out of learned habit.
“I’m in Akounri because it’s so far away from where my parents are, to be honest.” It had been a while since he discussed this topic with anyone, but he figured… Avery was safe. Safe to tell. “It was a suffocating environment so as soon as I could leave, I did.”
“And now I’m studying what I want and I have a nice job that doesn’t require me to interact with overbearing rich snobs, so I can’t say I regret it.”
[水] – That was pretty sad to say, but it was true that Mizumachi wasn’t exactly smart. He wasn’t the type to bully anyone though since that was just cowardly. Teasing? Sure, he’s up for that. Just your casual poking at a friend.
He didn’t always think before he spoke so it wasn’t like he was too surprised by the fact that he may have accidentally offended a friend of his. He was going to have to be careful from now on about mentioning height around Kyouhei it seemed like.
“Ahh… well, I’ll be more careful from now on.”
He was going to be careful about what he said in general from now on. He didn’t want to have Kyouhei snapping on him again after all.
It was true that energy and aptitude was important when participating in sports, but that wasn’t the only thing necessary. One also needed to have determination. Some of the athletes he knew from high school were a good example of this. It’s not to say that everyone could get by with determination alone, but it was at least something that could make up for the parts that you were lacking.
“Hm? Well you don’t have to drink it by itself right? You could always drink milk with something else. Make a smoothie or eat cereal?”
Cookies and milk was a good idea too. Mac and cheese? What else can you put milk into? Pancakes? Does milk go into that?
“I think the majority of it is genetics though. My family is full of tall people. Exercise is pretty good for growth too?”
“No—–o!” Kyouhei fake sobbed and allowed himself to drape over the countertop, next to the large cups of inviting smoothie. “I didn’t mean to snap, honest. No need to be sensitive about the topic of height on my part!”
It really wasn’t a big deal, it was all low blood-sugar levels in Kyou’s opinion. A good old sip would solve all his problems. And so he solved his problem with a large gulp of ice cold and delightfully smooth snack.
“I think I just got the short end of the genetic stick. Both my parents are of average height for their uh… their ethnicities, but here I am, not even five and a half feet, and… complaining too darn much about something I can’t fix!”
He wasn’t gonna be a negative Nelly about this. No way. Not on a night that demanded community and work ethic!
Despite the sudden silence that descended, Kyouya could almost feel the moment his companion started to panic. Even if he knew the reaction was only to be expected, he had more or less just turned Kyouhei’s entire world upside down, but it didn’t prevent a frown of concern appearing nevertheless.
He supposed he should at least be thankful that the other was willing to talk with him, instead of just bolting like he had initially been anticipating. There was hope in that at least. Truthfully, he wasn’t entirely certain how this all would pan out and he certainly didn’t expect Kyouhei to deny the family he had always know but… he supposed he did hope that they could establish some sort of relationship between them. It certainly wouldn’t happen overnight, but perhaps one day in the future there would be sibling-like camaraderie between them.
They were almost their destination when his new found sibling broke the silence with his first question, a fairly simple one presumably to ease into the upcoming difficult conversation.
“I stumbled across some information by chance and confronted my father about it. He revealed your existence to me and so I sought after you.”
A brief explanation, one which he could expand upon and disclose in fuller detail once they were safely seated in a private booth. This wasn’t exactly a conversation that could be held out in the open.
Thankfully, the entrance to the cafe was now in sight and leading the way to the entrance, Kyouya called over his shoulder.
“Here we are…”
Kyouhei did his best to be satisfied with the short answer, knowing there was a time and a place for all the ‘how’ and ‘why’ and ‘when’ questions, but it was his logic against his patience and he’d never been a patient person.
What ended up happening was that he practiced the act of focusing all his attention on the surroundings, the cafe they were entering, and resisting the urge to bite his lips. Really, he needed to rip that bad habit out of his life.
“So, um…” He grinned a little too widely, just a little dazed in the face. “Is the food any good here or are we just gonna exploit the privacy bit?”
He meant exactly what he said. The ‘others’ were the other Ayakashi and animals that weren’t very happy to have a human intruding into their space and making a ruckus with the volume of his voice. There were a few who were excited to see a human because don’t you know that some Ayakashi consider humans to be delicacies?
“Yeah? Sounds like you may have been spirited here by a mischievous Ayakashi. You don’t look hurt, so it should be a small prank.”
Maybe another Tanuki? He wouldn’t be too surprised if that were to be the case. It was their job to trick people after all. Even he was tricking Kyouhei by making him think that he was another human.
“I’m Mizumachi. I got separated from my friends. I think they ditched me. I guess when you’re young you want to be reckless, haha! Come on, I’ll help you get out of this forest, just follow me.”
Whether you trusted him or not was up to you, Kyouhei. It would be better for you to do so or another Ayakashi may just ghost you away.
Ayakashi? Wait. Wait, wait, hold up, hol’ on… Ayakashi? Kyouhei felt the word crawl up his back like an adventurous hand, nails long but only ghosting over his skin… And, well, who could blame him?
The idea that he could’ve been hurt meant virtually nothing to him, not compared to the thought of staying unhurt in this situation. He was in a vulnerable position.
“N… nice to meet you, although the circumstances are a bit…” The brunet trailed off and drew a little closer, eyeing up his “rescuer” carefully. Even though he had little to no options – actually, his options were to go with Mizumachi or get lost – he wasn’t about to get snatched up by anything else.
“I’m Kyouhei. Thank you for being willing to lead me to safety.”
This boy. This FUCKING cute boy, being CUTER than him without TRYING. Was he going for A FIGHT? Because he’d GET IT if he SO wanted for ONE. Yaguchi kept his smile despise the anger that boiled inside him at the sole thought of someone easily surpassing the cuteness he had worked so hard to achieve.
“Oh, are you sure I can pick? You worked so much today! You should get as much as you want, I’m ok with the left-overs, really” more like, he didn’t wanted to pick himself. If he had to do it, he’d be forced to pick the most sickeningly sweet pastry to go along with his own cute facade and then he’d feel like throwing up the whole day.
Kyouhei hummed noncommittally and assessed the leftovers. He was disappointed that the fudge and cake pops were all sold out but hey, that was just business. Instead, there were a few slices of pumpkin bread, a berry muffin, and - if memory served - a few egg white sandwiches in the fridge.
“We could probably… the only thing we wouldn’t be able to split evenly is the muffin? You can one and a half slices of the pumpkin bread, two of the four leftover sandwiches, and uh… do you want to cut the muffin in half?”
He didn’t mind doing so since it would get eaten either way, but it would get cold twice as fast if they had to slice it. He would much rather give up the whole thing then be the cause of its loss of perfect deliciousness.
“Depends for what, but no one remembers everything all the time. And if you understand the how you can always get back to the knowledge in itself” he explained in a bored tone shaking his head from one side to the other.
Whether the crybaby -Kyouhei- accepted the suggestions or not, had nothing to do with Izumi. He just did his part in bringing up the possibilities that the boy was missing, but only Kyouhei could help himself.
“Hah? What kind of person would leave a crying guy on his own? Do i look like a fucking demon to you or something?” he retorted angrily, an eyebrow crooked and lips pursed together “It’s just normal so don’t think too much of it.”
He bit the inside of his cheek slightly, uncrossing and crossing again his legs, blue eyes checking the black of his own boots for a moment before looking back up at the guy.
“So, are we exchanging contact info or something? You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but it’d be better for my mental sanity to know you won’t be causing problems to others. I can spare some time for you every now and then if you so want it.”
A very roundabout way of saying he’d be willing to come and talk whenever the brunet wanted to.
Even though he knew the question was rhetorical, Kyouhei couldn’t help but consider Izumi’s ‘demon’ question. The color of his hair and eyes, if they were natural, gave him a supernatural look, and his… holier-than-thou attitude spoke of something, for certain. Wasn’t Lucifer the prettiest angel before he fell, or something?
Kyou was smart enough to keep this thought to himself, though.
He startled out that train of whatever and stared disbelievingly at Izumi, who was offering to exchange info in a roundabout way? Honestly, it almost felt like the brunet was arranging for someone to babysit him at a later date.
“… do you want to punch your number into my phone? Or you could just leave um, some social media thing in the notes.” Kyou unlocked his phone and swiped to the screen containing the ‘contacts’ and ‘notes’ apps, then held it out to the silver-haired student.
“I wouldn’t mind seeing you again in a situation less embarrassing on my part. No doubt you would too? That wasn’t-” he grimaced, realizing that a lot of conscious effort would have to be put into repressing that particular memory, “ideal.”
Avery may not have been a super rare name, but Kyouhei’s in its entirety definitely
was. There were no doubts about it now. This was him. This was definitely him! Clapping
his hands together, the photographer couldn’t help but let out a bark of
laughter – two parts amusement and one part total disbelief.
“What are you doing
here?”
The recognition and wonder in his voice should have been
enough to answer Kyouhei’s question.
“Do I really look the same?” He couldn’t quite tell if that
was a good or a bad thing. “You haven’t changed a bit!”
Kyouhei jumped involuntarily at the characteristically sharp laughter of his (now confirmed) childhood friend. God, wouldn’t’ve been embarrassing if he’d been mistaken? That would’ve been the worst.
He cleared his throat slightly before speaking again, trying to brush away and last remnants of his awkward uncertainty about the situation.
“Oh yeah, you look uh… the shape of your eyes and most of your face is the same, dude. Your hair threw me off, though. Why am I… here as in, um, Akounri or here,” he gestured around, “in particular?”