deadcrvshed:
with the celebration of the avatar’s birth and the resulting visiting families from the four nations, nothing can really catch her off guard. she knows she’ll be seeing faces that are pleasantly familiar and faces that aren’t. lord yuu’s eldest son happens to fall under the latter. for justified reasons, if you ask her. she’s never been a very forgiving person. however, that’s the past. therefore, he’s been reduced to someone she doesn’t care about any longer. grudges aren’t worth the effort.
it’s out of pure coincidence that she’s standing by one of the greater spirit wilds in the city, the green glow of the spirit portal just a few blocks down casting a faint greenish hue over the area. there’s a tea shop nearby she frequents often and she simply decided to stop by after buying some tea leaves. it doesn’t even occur to her that this is where she first took him.
it takes a moment for her to place the voice with his name and she nearly laughs at how predictable he is. it’d been around two weeks since the families started arriving and it was only about time until he came to find her. for some pathetic reason, he’s still attached, despite her making it clear that nothing will ever happen between them again. she never repeats her mistakes.
“ neither. ” she turns slightly to spare him a courteous ( insincere ) smile that morphs into a straight line. “ huh. interesting. ” her dry tone says otherwise. she looks back at the spirit wilds, watching the small spirits wander about. “ do you want something ? ”
he doesn’t deflate. not externally. he came with no expectations, lower than that even, yet still he manages to find himself disappointed. he knows a forced smile when he sees one, having worn more than one himself (almost exclusively, actually). there’s nothing takumi hates more than a taste of his own medicine.
he mirrors the insincere niceties, almost desperate to appear as blasé. though he means to be nice he can’t stomach the idea of his kindness being one-sided. however her answer, neither - it could mean so much, a whole spectrum of feelings good or bad, anything better than nothing. he clings to this hope silently, to ask her would shatter his suspension of disbelief.
he wavers, averting his gaze. why does he feel so nervous? he doesn’t dare approach her directly, as if dealing with a wild animal he fears any sudden movement might encourage her to scurry off. instead he slowly paces to her side, still keeping his distance, as he peers into the tea shop. he smiles to himself, fondly recalling that day many years ago. he wonders if she remembers too, with the same amount of fondness. again, he doesn’t ask.
‘ why do you say that? i’d be hurt if you thought the only reason i came to find you was because i wanted something. ’ he steals a glance at her from over his shoulder before turning and tilting his head upwards. there’s nothing subtle about his movements. ‘ i only hoped to catch up. ’













