ashchert

blue version lol

and a very sad dimitri. a little cringe, but why should he just lie and gather dust in my folder

The tenth small pebble had already kicked away from a bench at the empty bus stop. There was only one person there, slightly hunched over under the weight of his own thoughts. Nil stared blankly at the dusty road, trying to sort out the mess of his own thoughts, mindlessly kicking the poor, innocent stones in the process.

Sometimes he raised his head up and watched the sun gradually set lower and lower, but the light quickly began to hurt his eyes, forcing him to lower his gaze again. He wasn't quite able to pull himself together, but there wasn't much else to do anyway.

Well, until now, at least.

Because footsteps sounded somewhere off to the side, causing Nil to perk up, but even before he could turn toward the source of the sound, a very loud "Ni-i-il!" answered all his questions. He relaxed his shoulders and sighed wearily.

"Hey-y-y!" Momo was next to him in an instant, already insistently extending her hand for a handshake. "What brings you here, dude?"

"Same question for you," he shook her hand back, after which Momo leaned down and gave him a light hug. The greeting had become habitual, though Nil hadn't liked it at first. Threats of using brute force made him get used to it faster.

He had to admit, they had truly become good friends over time, but Nil couldn't shake his habit of strenuously denying it and pretending to be the most indifferent to her in the whole world. You could say it had become a gesture of friendly affection.

Momo accepted him with all his quirks, and it was mutual, obviously. It couldn't be any other way with her.

"Stop moping around, man! Besides, I wanted to take you out for some fresh air anyway. Journey's inviting us, and you have no right to refuse!" She put her hands on her hips, looking expectantly at Nil with a sly smile on her face.

In response, he just stared blankly at the road again, as if his friend wasn't even there. Apparently, the bus wasn't even planning to arrive today. Not a single person seemed to be planning to get off at this stop.

Again.

After a moment, the smile faded from Momo's face when she noticed Nil's almost dead gaze. Something clicked into place in her head.

"...It'll get better with time, I'm sure. Give yourself a break, Journey and I will help. Get up, Nil."

He looked at her wearily, processing what she had said. He let out a heavy sigh, closing his eyes for a few seconds to think. After that, he found the strength to get up from the bench, taking one last look at the dust on the road.

"Fine, I guess," he sighed, "I don't have any plans anyway." Momo smiled back at him.

"At least you'll finally remember how to sing songs! You missed three rehearsals in a row." She chuckled, putting her arm around her friend's shoulder, leading him along.

...Nil smiled faintly.

★★★

i finished the translation!!! it's very short, so it took a disproportionate amount of time, but whatever. this isn't a fanfic, but rather an atmospheric sketch lol

logically, dimitri should have left in his car, but disoda and her art gave me the idea with the bus. i'm afraid to think about dimitri leaving because it makes me really sad, but i have to fight it