{ 観察する }

                The sporadic sparks of anxiousness trickled through his veins like electricity, making him feel more than on edge. At first he had simply sat up and kept to bouncing his leg, but that only served to be useful for a couple of passing seconds. After a few minutes, Adrrian had begun pacing his living room, mumbling to himself in his native tongue. It wasn’t unusual for Nao to not respond immediately, he was quite used to it in fact ( and he had the same delayed responses as well ), but nothing could ease the worry beginning to gather in his mind like a growing storm cloud. 

                Adrrian was unfamiliar with how to be anything but wild and untamed; to be simpler and to be gentle was nothing attainable to his rough, scarred hands. An expression of love from him would always come out rough and clumsy. Maybe the cause of his worry was that fact alone, that he could never be quite as refined as Nao deserved. Fear was cruel, it gnawed at resolve until it was but a crumb of hope, lost beneath everything else. Fear drove him to run at each chance, to flee from any embrace; a man as rough around the edges, so synonymous with destruction, did not deserve it. Hope does start with but one seed, though, and the seed of his hope that he left in Nao’s hands kept bringing him, as if he was a moon gravitating towards him.                  When his phone finally vibrated against the wood surface of his scuffed coffee table his shoulders tightened and his jaw clenched. Only a minor delay, of course, as he was eagerly reaching for it after the initial pause of surprise. As he reads over his friend’s answer, Adrrian is immensly thankful for Nao’s willingness and casual acceptance for his spontaneous behavior.

[ ✉ » Nao ]  txt: i bought us some tickets for a concert txt: not like, a hard rock one tho, the kind you like  txt: you know, with like fancy shit and violins. that fancy old music txt: classical music! baroque shit. idk what genre it is really tho… 

                The first text came shortly after Nao’s answer, but Adrrian had realized his blunder and fumbled to explain, ending up rambling along the way. He pulls his lower lip into his mouth, biting it as he sets back down on his couch, his phone held in both hands between his knees. Adrrian stares at it for some time, wary and uncertain, before he finally sends one more text. 

[ ✉ » Nao ] txt: i dunno, i though you’d like it 

After sending the text to Adrrian, Nao by this point had moved from his indolent position to sit up on the couch with attention fixed on his phone. He read over the others initial message a few times before a new one came through. Before what he’d said settled in his thoughts though, a string of texts giving details came after. It was endearing, he thought as he read them over again in his friends voice; he could see him right here stumbling through his explanation, haphazardly trying to give extra information so that Nao understood despite it not really being necessary. His face simpered with a soft smile at the thought. 

When the last text came through though his breath hitched and his shoulders tightened, brows raised slightly and his lips curled together in a flat line that brought together his entire look of surprise. He took a moment again to read over all the texts with a tightened grip on his phone, and realized that Adrrian wouldn’t want to go see an orchestra perform on his own free will, and that this was done specifically with his interests in mind. The other had done this as a gesture towards Nao, he did it because he thought he’d like it. This was unprecedented to say the least. 

He remembered to breathe again, and now he was feeling his phone become heavier in his hands as though it was oscillating towards the center of his universe. Why was his heart suddenly beating so fast? Oxygen deprivation? Or something else? He could feel warmth easing up to the surface of his face as his lips tightened further. As blithe and rowdy as Adrrian was all the time, sometimes he could really outdo himself. It never ceased to floor Nao, who oftentimes wondered why Adrrian had such a keen interest in him anyways, given their very different characters-- and the fact that Nao was way more boring than anyone the other probably had occasion to meet. He was coming down from his initial reaction to the message when he began to type out a reply. 

[ ✉ »  Adrrian ] txt: Oh. You didn’t have to do that for me.  

He sent the first message as he would any other, but after rereading it he decided to send another on the hunch that maaaybe it came off as too curt? He was really surprised, given this was his first time having something like this done for him. He wasn’t sure but he also wasn’t sure how text etiquette worked. As well-versed as Nao was about face to face interactions, for he learned a lot from watching others. He wasn’t a solid with text messaging and often thought he came off in ways he didn’t intend to, which he especially didn’t want to do here, eespecially not with Adrrian. He quickly typed out another response. 

Lord knows what brought him to here this late at night, a park out of all places. 

Over the past month he’d noted an odd shift in his spiritual pressure, and since he hadn’t activated his fullbring in quite a while, he was curious to see if it would have some effect on his abilities. Sure he could’ve done this at home but one time things went a little south and he couldn’t make the excuse of a gas leak in his apartment being the cause of another tiny explosion to his aunt again. Hell, she barely believed him the first time, but he was glad she didn’t actually look into it. This time he wanted to go somewhere secluded and open, so a nearby park around 11:45 pm seemed to be his most convenient option. 

He sat on a bench that was clouded by a few trees for added cover. He looked around to ensure that he was alone. Finally, he took a deep breath, and as his glasses flashed over with his pressure he felt the familiar wave of power surge within his mind, his pupils dilating slightly for a moment as everything in his head began functioning at a new level. His vision of the park fading as his mind opened itself up like a database. Usually when this started he actively had to try and bring himself down to see his surroundings for what they were, otherwise he’d just take everything in as a piece of data, and how that data could be potentially manipulated for him to use as his own. It’d been a while for him so the initial activity stunned him slightly and he grabbed at the bench he was sitting on for support, but the amount of pressure flowing through him caused him to make the bench fray into thin splinters at his touch. 

Manipulating the woods soul-- as that small death god explained to him, that’s what the entire basis of his gifts were. As a fullbringer, he had the ability to manipulate the soul within objects for his own use, and that it went way beyond that with objects he had an affinity for (in this case, his glasses). The concept was still so odd to him, but at least it gave him clarity on what he’d been dealing with for the last several years. If only she were here now to explain why his spiritual pressure had been feeling so shaky lately, as if it was raising and lowering against his will. That and so he could inquire about the supposed other fullbringers that were in the area. Even if he could discover just one other, it would be a relief to know that he wasn’t alone. A younger him saw these abilities as a testimony to how truly unfortunate he was, and refused to actively explore them because of it. But the death god allowed him to kindle a newfound interest with his powers. 

He watched as the splinters continued to spool out of the wood, yanking his hand back though before he could cause noticeable damage to the bench. He looked at the palm of his hand and saw the hazy outlines of the bluish-green hue that was his manifested pressure. He wondered if the supposed others ever took moments to simply use their powers freely as well. Nao always had to be careful with his abilities, he never wanted to use them in front of anyone he knew for the fear of invading their privacy and inherently crossing a line of trust between them. Knowing what he was able to do when he used it on his aunt a few times, he couldn’t imagine doing that to someone he actually cared for. 

                 It had been quite a while since Adrrian had tea with someone; properly, at least. Adrrian was everything but proper despite having been exposed to the elegance and finery of pride through his mother. For better and for worse, he still held the brash mannerisms of his father.

                He eyes the cup warily, hesitance crawling over his skin ( a feeling that was rarely known to him, but he found it creeping into his nerves more often nowadays; suddenly, he seemed cared about how he appeared to Nao ). Would it be impolite to ask for sugar? Does he even want it to begin with? His gaze flickers to the young man across from him, notes the position of his fingers and the more relaxed atmosphere, and decides that of all people, Nao probably would not mind the clumsy, burly nature of his existence. 

                “You’re really smart, ya’ know, talented guy all around. ‘m sure you’re showin’ ‘em up without even trying,” he says, the smile that adorned his features softening into something gentler, more intimate; admiration. Bright blue eyes fall from their meeting with deep brown, occupied by the warm cup he still holds in both of his hands.

                “I d’unno.. I’ve never been really good at much of anythin’,” he answers, his voice faltering in enthusiasm. The smile, however, lingers; touched by a bittersweet feeling of melancholy. Just as he knows the the virtuoso nature of his friend, he is painfully aware of his lackluster existence ( he is but the endless dark of night in which a star like Nao contrasts best in ). Adrrian, at best, was a man a passing glance on the road to greater things. “Least not anythin’ important.” 

Talented. Nao lingered internally on the word as he looked upon his friend even after he’d broken their eye contact. It was ingratiating, to say the least, because his experience growing up meant putting quite the amount of effort into refining those talents-- even if initially against his will. 

Although there were still things to envy Adrrian for, and Nao felt his grip involuntarily tighten around his cup as the other continued. It wasn’t hard for him to note the change in his esteemed words; to pick out the slight dejection laced betwixt them. He adverted his gaze for a moment to look back at the cakes, and although he wasn’t too eager for a slice he made the effort to prepare one for himself anyways. He set his cup down and as he did so, he thought of what to say. 

“...I disagree,” he said after putting a piece down in front of him and taking a bite. It was good, and he chewed on it thoughtfully. Adrrian may’ve held him in high regards but the same was definitely true vice versa. The other was someone that Nao was consistently in awe of, and had it not been for him-- well he certainly couldn’t imagine anyone else that he’d be sitting here with as a friend on his birthday. This was the first person he’d ever had to occasion to actually be friends with (even if that too was initially against his will). His mind wandered to others that he’d become acquainted with as well, Takumi, Nagisa, and Sho to name a few. Would he ever have even met them had it not been for Adrrian taking the initiative to open him up to the idea of having even one friend? Nao had accepted back in his teens that perhaps being on his own was the best thing for him, but now he couldn’t imagine what it would be like for him if those in his life were to suddenly disappear. Especially Adrrian, he had so much to thank him for honestly.  

“I haven’t had the occasion to ascertain much about your skills but--,” he trailed off again, but this time to take a quick, reassuring look at the other. He didn’t want to be too sentimental, and in an attempt to be as casual as possible, he looked away as he brought his cup back to his lips. Before taking a sip he said finally. 

                “With how much yer’ blushin’, maybe you should wear more red, too.”

                “Awww, that’s sweet of ya’. I’ll wear it more often, then.” 

                         The look of surprise was probably the best part– not to say he didn’t seem to surprise Nao often (or maybe a better term would be startle and alarm), but he looked a little… touched? It made him feel bright and happy, and he had to keep from bursting out into fits of laughter at the sheer over flowing golden hues in his body. He watched, still, interested to see if he could bring something else to the surface within his friend, and he can see the tiniest hint of a smile which— well… that’s probably worth the whole trip, worth at least five more boxes of cake. 

               ❝It’s yer’ birthday! ‘Course I’d get ya’ somethin’.❞

                           His eyes follow where the other man moves to, further into his home, and there’s a hesitance that bubbles up at his heels and an ebb of worry ( what if he broke something, what if he didn’t show proper manners, and tons of other trivial things he wouldn’t normally worry about except with Nao because he doesn’t wanna screw anything up; he doesn’t want to lose his friend ). Adrrian bites the thoughts harshly out of his head, quite literally in that he clenches his jaw and keeps his grin as he follow the other a few paces later. His thoughts do reel back when he hears the mention of tea and… ah, there’s that feeling of worry sitting in his gut. 

                           It’s been…. probably several years since he had tea, and it’s not as if he’s ever had any sort of proper afternoon discussion over tea ( usually Adrrian did that with a cold beer and a cigarette; probably the most unrefined thing he could do around Nao ). He doesn’t really say anything though, or really allude to it, and tries to make the best of the situation regardless. Everything was going so well already, anyway, surely it won’t be so bad; Nao’s been incredibly kind to him the past few years, too, and that thought alone lets him ease a little more into one of the chairs at the table, shoulders relaxing as bright blue eyes look at the taller man as if he were the moon that guided him.

               ❝Ah, I’ve been fine. Been workin’ and seein’ the doc,                 not much more than that. How about you?                 I’m sure you’re showin’ everyone up at that Uni of yours.❞

Ah yes, it was his birthday. Not that he’d forgotten, but rather that in the moments leading up to Adrrian’s arrival it seemed to slip his mind. He allowed himself to briefly dwell on how quickly just thinking of the other was able to derail his thoughts; things he’d been musing over all day had become a thing of the past when he thought of him. He hadn’t even begun to unpack the idea that the cakes were meant as a birthday gift, perhaps later it would dawn on him.

As Adrrian gave an abstract of what he’d been up to, Nao begun opening the cake box; using careful fingers to do so silently and not interrupt. Although it seemed that as quickly as the former started talking about himself, he stopped. Which was surprising given how loquacious he tended to be on any other occasion. Choosing not to dwell on the oddity of this, he instead continued to open the cake and then proceeded to pour them both tea. He took his own cup and drank from it. 

“-- Showing everyone up?” He was familiar with the colloquialism but he wasn’t sure how it applied to the situation. It wasn’t as though Nao was necessarily competitive when it came to school (though his peers likely saw him as competition). School had just never been something he put much effort into, and with the capabilities he possessed, it was easy for him to an almost unfair degree. But the others conjecture still made him laugh. Although since it was Nao, it was moreso an audible change in his breaths. “It’s not as though I purposefully work to do so.”