AIRY

         AH, FLOWERS! Delicate clusters of fleeting beauty; like idols, their pretty dances come and go with the wind. Tori takes his places beside the gardener, and suddenly he is a tulip blooming in the spring air, THRIVING ‘neath Hajime’s tender gaze. What is it about this boy, this simple commoner, that turns his lips in glee? All the wealth in the world has never made him feel so special.

         “ ‘COURSE they are! They probably noticed my beauty and recognized me as their king. ” half-joking, wishful thinking. “ —that makes you the queen, yeah? ” Eyes wide, his faux-triumph projects itself towards hajime, but the glaze of his eyes denotes a marked lack of attention. Tori ( ATTENTION IS HIS SUSTENANCE; HE NEEDS IT TO BREATHE. ) displays a prominent, thick-lipped pout.

         When reality hits, he makes a show of his disappointment, inching forward with pink brows furrowed. He is like a child in this way, though his minor tantrums are quite temporary. ( He’s always found it DIFFICULT to keep a temper around Hajime ).

         “ Shiii-nooo. ” A swift uppercut motion, and petite fingers clamp ‘round the other’s unsuspecting nose. “ You’d BETTER be thinking about me. I won’t forgive you for ignoring me. ”

                                                     Not like everyone else does.

                                        ( YOU’RE SO UNLIKE EVERYONE ELSE. )

he was shocked, he hadn’t expected tori to react in such a way ( of course he did, but it was nice to know the other VALUED HIS ATTENTION as much as he did ). it was rare for hajime to find an interest other that taking care of the flowers. flowers had always soothed him, they calmed him down when he started to feel anxious, but lately that duty had been RELIANT on something else - someone else. his lavender gaze widened in a mix of surprised and pain as tori’s fingers found their way to hajime’s nose. 

“!!!” he flinched, but was careful not to cause himself any more pain from the grip. how was he to tell his friend that he wouldn’t ignore him? no, the opposite. how could hajime CONFESS that tori was always occupying his mind? he couldn’t, no, the embarrassment would be unbearable ( plus the thought of weirding tori out was inescapable ). 

“n-no, tori-kun, you know i wouldn’t...” he trailed off, placing his hand over tori’s to give a small squeeze. “it’s just, i think the flowers are happy to see you, it would be selfish of me to keep you all to myself, wouldn’t it?” there was a soft, SAD chuckle after he spoke. although hajime tried to convince himself tori wasn’t there for him, he did feel saddened by the fact.

has he been CAUGHT? he had tried to be as indiscreet as possible, but leave it to tori to notice ( or perhaps hajime was just bad at keeping things hidden ). unable to hide the REDDENING of his cheeks, he felt his face heat up and hoped the other failed to notice. just do it. hajime repeated to himself as his fingers knit together, fumbling with the hem of his coat in utter nervousness. it’s so unlike him; the mistletoe was such a BOLD symbol and bold is the very opposite of his timid nature. 

“…i-it’s not like that.” he was quick to DEFEND, but his voice was seeped with uncertainty. the thought of being in such a relationship always EMBARRASSED hajime ( just thinking of holding hands made the boy flustered ), but if it were with tori, then maybe he wouldn’t mind. such an idea had been reoccurring in his mind. was it WRONG? was he wrong? his eyes flickered up towards the mistletoe. was this his chance to test the rising feelings.

he always felt the greenery was SILLY. why would people need an excuse to kiss someone? yet here was, relying on the excuse to do something he never would have thought himself to do. would tori be mad? would this cause a rift in their relationship? DOUBTS piled upon doubts as he tried to picture each scenario that this would invoke — his favorite, of course, is the image of tori not outright rejecting him ( how could hajime go on with the heartbreak AND embarrassment of ruining his relationship with tori? ). 

“i’d tell you anything, you know that…” well, except maybe these newfound feelings that he worked hard to keep buried. he felt a twinge of GUILT in hiding this from tori, but this could be a chance for them to shine through. if they were unable to be seen from this small action then perhaps they are better off being buried deeper. “…the tradition surrounding a mistletoe is rather silly, don’t you think?” he emitted a small, NERVOUS chuckle as his grasp tightened on his hem. his gaze tore from the mistletoe and returned to look at the boy beside him. 

“though, since it’s tradition, m-maybe we should, um,” be brave, shino, “we’re here.” were the final words he spoke FEARING if he were to speak more, he’d have second thoughts of performing such an uncharacteristic action. his hands removed from his own clothing and settled upon the shoulders of the other. his motions were made to be SWIFT as to not give any time for doubts or rejection. his soft, inexperienced lips pressed against tori’s cheek ( his lips landed closer to the other’s than he would have liked, but perhaps it wasn’t a bad thing ). hajime had been used to cheek kisses because of his younger siblings but this meant much more and he only HOPED tori could understand. 

unsure of when the opportune time to pull away was, he let the contact LINGER for a second more before retracting himself. his hand fell from shoulders to tori’s wrist and he gave a soft squeeze. there were no regrets, he was HAPPY.

         Tori can’t help but LAUGH at his companion’s fumbling. He is so wobbly, so flustered, so very unlike the image of an idol that it’d be embarrassing ( if it weren’t so damned CUTE ). Of course, Hajime’s clumsiness is no surprise, for his so-called teacher is doing less teaching and more aimless spinning. Truthfully, he doesn’t know the first thing about teaching, and frankly, it sounds a little too boring for his tastes.

         “ You’re pretty LUCKY! I always have fun when I’m with Shino, so I don’t mind at all. ”

         It is a rare and welcome feat— there are precious few people whose company he can tolerate, and fewer STILL who tolerate his in turn. Friendship is an elusive being to him, long overdue and new in every aspect. Exchanging touches and words and smiles— ( who knew a commoner’s SMILE could bring him such indescribable joy? ) Lips curl in turn, painting his cheeks with the sun’s own radiance. He laughs.

         It’s blinding, apparently, for in just a MOMENT, the grace of his previous strides is completely obliterated. Diverted attention fails to spot Hajime’s inevitable stumble, and the sheer inertia is enough to knock Tori clean off his slippery skates. They fall in tandem, fingers grasping for a last-ditch attempt at balance. Tori’s instead find the thick fabric of an old coat.

         Ice is certainly no cushion, but despite a bruised backside, not a sing complaint flows from his lips. INSTEAD, there is simply more laughter. Soft and sweet, echoing ‘round the rink as his hold around Hajime yet tightens.

                                                  “ —TOLD you I’d catch ya! ”

                               He’s never felt so happy about another’s own mishap.

more, more, hajime had wanted more of tori’s sweet words, they were rare, UNPRECEDENTED as tori had a reputation around school. it was a reputation unfitting for him ( at least hajime believed ), as tori was much kinder than rumors led him to be. sure, tori was ROUGH around the edges, but who wasn’t? it were the rumors that had hajime fearful of his peer, but looking at him now — they were lies.

the TUMBLE was less graceful than hajime had wished ( he probably made a fool out of himself in front of tori ). he had held out his arms to try and catch himself, but instead of them meeting the ice, they ended up tangled around tori for SUPPORT. despite the frigid temperature, his cheeks burned with enough heat to forget about the weather as his mind was only occupied with the thought of tori and how CLOSE he had unintentionally gotten to him. 

“i-i’m so sorry, tori-kun, you didn’t need to catch me at the price of your own balance.” uncaring of his own fall, his only REGRET was taking the other down with him, ...although the comforting position of having tori’s arms around him brought joy. NO. what was he thinking? he should be ridden with GUILT, as usual, yet this time he couldn’t bring himself to such the feeling. perhaps it was the fact tori was smiling, or the fact he had kept his PROMISE, but even then, hajime would have felt a sense of guilt, but not now, definitely not now. 

he took a DEEP BREATH, making sure to double check their surroundings ( no one could be around or else he would be too embarrassed to go on ), hajime approached anzu with a SHY smile as he fidgeted every so often. his hands clasped tightly to his chest as he leaned forward to tap her on the shoulder. 

“ah, tori-kun, you’ve come to look at the flowers again? they seem DELIGHTED to see you~” there was a gentle chuckle as hajime covered his growing smile with his right wrist. he always felt a twinge of HAPPINESS whenever tori showed up. of course he knew better than to assume tori came for the simple pleasure of seeing him ( no, those were FORBIDDEN thoughts ), but daydreaming was hajime’s hobby and if he wanted to use his time to daydream of his friend, then he surely will. 

what an amazing scent. nose perked into the air as he caught a whiff. NERVOUSNESS set in as his gaze landed upon the origin of the delightful scent. the boy was tall, the thought of talking to him made hajime nervous ( though he’s nervous to talk to anyone ) but the scent was SOOTHING enough to calm his nerves.