BLOOMING.

smile that falters; partly due to the confusion, partly due to the blame. ‘ sorry ‘, slips out before sakuya can gather his thoughts on the matter, slightly lost on the situation and his own relevance to it. but if that sound had been from a game, and that seemed very plausible, then...banri had lost a game? ah, itaru had used the same term when playing some game before dinner the other day.

meme.

‘ i… ‘ head hurting badly, one hand pressing against his temple in a fruitless attempt to soothe it. it wasn’t his first problem, and certainly wouldn’t be his last. his entire body felt sluggish, as if he had just woken up from uneasy sleep, and struggled to make sense of his surroundings. at least he was outside, that much he could tell from the wind against his face and the sun shining brightly. if his head wasn’t hurting so badly, he could’ve enjoyed it. it seemed like a nice day after all, a few clouds and airships passing by in the sky, and the grass he was sitting on seemed like a great spot for a picnic—

…

airships?

meme.

' um ! ‘ he peaks up, looking away from his window-shopping (it was weird, sakuya thought, how some items looked so very familiar to the ones home). ‘ lowain said they were making a huge dinner tonight ‘, something celebratory? sakuya didn’t know. ‘ but, if it’s something small i saw a café earlier...? ‘ phrased as a question to not disregard what he had said. sakuya had done it too before, stopped at a convenience store to get something quick to eat before practice and dinner.

at that thought, he seems to realize something.

it’s hard to meet her eyes, and even harder to tell her no. he should say something, explain something. say anything.

he doesn’t. fingers curling into fists, nails pressing against his palm while she speaks, the tense waiting of trying to make sense of a one-sided conversation. he thinks it’s going well, she’s explaining, not arguing. that must mean it’s going well.

he knows them, shallowly at least, and it should be fine, he thinks, it should be —

she asks if they want to speak to him.

heart that beats loudly in his ears —thump-thump. thump-thump.— deafening, isolating. sakuya’s not ungrateful, but he doesn’t want to speak either. doesn’t know what to say. he didn’t contact them yesterday, he wasn’t going to today, they didn’t ask for him anyway, as far as they were concerned he was at a friend’s place, and for now sakuya had figured that’d work out. as long as he did everything else, there shouldn’t have been any problem.

head cocked to the side, furrowed eyebrows and sakuya is a question mark. it didn’t sound serious nor like there was any ill-intent behind it, but the combination of words didn’t make sense. maybe he’d have to ask one of the others about it later...

still, he shakes it off, and smiles more widely.