i dream of —

❛     don’t  .     ❜

the  sun  sets  high  ,              bathing  everything  in  the  kind  of  bright  ,    blinding  ,    light  capable  of  shutting  all  eyes  if  one  would  dare  to  even  glimpse  higher  than  halfway  into  parts  of  the  sky  .    an  enjoyable  weather  ,    if  time  will  allow  for  it  later  .    close  to  lips  do  they  hold  a  finger  ,      timbre  low  ,    exhausted  .    borders  with  earlier  irate  and  distracted  focus  .    they  had  hopes  to  crawl  away  quickly  enough  to  the  privacy  afforded  by  their  room  before  any  thoughts  could  be  spared  or  looks  given  .    sleeves  are  seared  ,    charred  and  still  carrying  the  unmistakeable  scent  of  fire  and  paper    (    torn  in  one  and  just  left  to  be  put  out  on  it’s  own  on  the  other    )  .    while  smaller  tears  litter  just  about  everywhere  else  on  the  garment  .    propped  against  pole  arm  is  their  body  weight  —  mana  still  has  to  go  back  out  for  other  interests:    but  a  change  of  clothes  at  least  ,    could  be  in  order  .    a  check  of  bruises  or  wounds  .    features  twitch  and  they  frown  just  a  little  deeper  and  eyes  glance  out  nearby  window  .

❛     not  a  single  ,    syllable  .    ❜

the thing is, the scene’s objectively funny. well. perhaps not for mana, he allows. still, the humor’s made him uncharacteristically generous, and so he acquiesces to their request — he’d call it a demand, were mana in any other state than their present one. unfortunately for them and to xiao’s delight, their words lacked its usual bite : the one that promised retribution should their words go unheeded. but xiao’s decided to be generous this time, so he keeps silent.

that is, xiao is silent, but only as a matter of speaking. the arch of his eyebrow directed at them is smug beyond words. look what the cat dragged in, it says, gaze deliberately pinned onto burnt edges of clothing. if a picture could paint a thousand words, xiao’s expression is a lecture on the fine arts. there’s an amused curl of  ‘wow, in broad daylight?’  to his lips, a smugger tilt of  ‘i told you not to go alone’ (or at all)  in the way his head is shifted, and a final wrinkle of  ‘you’d better not be injured’  between brows. he refuses to name it concern. 

* twitter meme starters.

"i don't think i've ever seen you this undecided before," taichi comments idly. to his logical mind, the solution seemed simple. 'spare yourself the guilt and read a book,' he might say — if the scenario were being applied toward himself. but for chihaya, taichi knows with a certainty that nothing so trivial as logic could move her.

tooru can’t help but wonder if this is more than he deserves. a second chance is more than what he’d even hoped for, let alone expected. when their separate graduations led to split futures led to a farewell at the airport, he’d been resigned to it being final. that they’d reconciled at all felt like a dream, sometimes, and he counts himself lucky enough for it. 

but aylen, as ever, continued to defy expectations. 

“i still can’t believe you actually came here,” tooru starts with an incredulous shake of his head, reaching for her with both hands to envelop her in an embrace. she may have been here a few days, but that doesn’t stop tooru from wanting to make sure she was real. the rest of former seijou had gone back, after all, so it was far stranger that she’d stayed.

sora was… affectionate! which doesn’t sound like a surprise when you consider the warmth that radiates from him ( sunshine incarnate / a bleeding heart that continues to give beyond its limits / etc ) but it was in fact, a surprising thing to note! because sora is never outright affectionate unless it’s with certain individuals —— so actually, maybe it’s really not all that surprising that he’s being affectionate because he’s with riku. hand reaches over to find its home within riku’s as he moves to stand just a smidge closer than normal and the smile he sends his way —— sora has never smiled a smile quite like this one. ❛  are you okay? i don’t usually kick your butt that badly. were you too busy staring at my pretty eyes to focus on the game?  ❜

❛  apologies for disturbing you.  ❜ and though the sentiment behind the apology was a genuine one, it wasn’t enough to stop him from continuing farther onto the inn’s outside. ❛  it’s a lovely sight, the scenery of liyue —— one far too beautiful to enjoy alone. i hope you don’t mind the company.  ❜

@nemurui​​ said: "you’re a much better liar than i expected you to be." min + kaien

   he likes to think he and min have a good relationship. business relationship. personal relationship. an all-around functional, mutually-beneficial relationship. so, since it’s a relatively quiet day today ( wednesdays generally are, in the early afternoons at least ) and since he’s the only one manning the cafe, inviting min over for a pleasant, nsfc discussion over a warm cup of something smooth and sweet ( on the house ) during his break seemed an easy choice.

   “  you saying i look trustworthy?  ”  his gaze flits to the seat at the counter baekmin’s chosen to occupy. 𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵? he dusts the flour off his apron, but not before taking the opportunity to flick some of it at his customer. it doesn’t land in min’s drink, but it comes dangerously close.

   the barista giveth, and the barista taketh away. or something along those lines.

   “  acting like you don’t know what you’re doing– or like you know a lot more than your client does; 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍’𝗌 𝗉𝖺𝗋𝗍 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗃𝗈𝖻. doesn’t matter if it’s the truth.  ”  and the job had been a part of his life long before any of this was eventually introduced to it.  “  only really matters if you fail. right?  ”  he doesn’t think he needs to go into the detailed implications of it.

   the oven sounds off from behind them, calling for a temporary halt to their conversation and kaien lets out a little breath, eyes trailing back to the stairs sei had hurriedly disappeared up just minutes ago. if nothing else, it serves as another reminder: the reason for his move, for the secrets, and the numerous little white lies. his lips press together– for a moment, recollecting a forgotten bitterness– before he disperses it with an abrupt clap.

   “  now. 𝗐𝖺𝗇𝗇𝖺 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝖾 𝗌𝖾𝖾 𝗁𝗈𝗐 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗆𝖺𝖼𝖺𝗋𝗈𝗇𝗌 𝗍𝗎𝗋𝗇𝖾𝖽 𝗈𝗎𝗍?  ”

his arms curl protectively around his drink at the oncoming threat, a halfhearted glare directed at kaien for it. he might’ve deserved the flour, but his drink is innocent in this. and if nothing else, baekmin takes his drinks seriously. he draws it closer toward himself, still shielded from any further attacks as he sips at it. 

“mmn,” min hums in vague dissent, “i know better than to trust someone based on their looks. i mean, have you met me?” 

there’s a pleasant smile on his face as he looks up at kaien, batting his lashes sweetly for the full effect. well, not that he expected it to work. it’s usually a one chance only move, and they’re too far along in their acquaintance for kaien to be fooled in any capacity. it’s just that he knows the effect he can have, and a free demonstration in repayment for the free coffee? it’s a worthy enough trade. min thinks it might even be in his favor, not that he’ll say it aloud.

he does laugh at the blunt descriptor, finding himself in agreement with the honesty. “just part of the job, huh.” he leans in even more, chin propped up on elbows, and asks, “right. but — are you ever off the clock?”

on cue, the oven dings.

‘ you’ve got a good friend there,  y’know. ‘

“that was before...” tooru swallows nervously, hands wringing together as he tries to futilely gesture something. it doesn’t come across as anything, because he doesn’t know what he’s trying to convey himself. he swallows his anxiety and fear and tries again. “that was before i left. i wasn’t sure if...” if leaving changed anything. if the distance between us increased with the physical separation. “you might feel differently now, y’know? new country and all,” he ends with a halfhearted laugh. 

* mamma mia !

'i make you sound unromantic?' goro mouths to himself in disbelief. he's drawn vividly back into the memory of this: akira running into the restaurant they'd agreed on with disheveled hair, apologising profusely to the waiters for having more crashed into the door than gone through it after it was opened — and up till that part, it was fine, disheveled looks fine on akira, despite what goro will say aloud, and he hadn't been terribly hurt by the crash, but — "you forgot your wallet on our first date," he points out, "after you said it was your treat."

and goro, were he a poorer man, would take offense at that. but he's strangely pulled in by this enigma of a person, and he offers to pay with only an amused quirk of the lips. what the story painted like to outsiders, goro couldn't be the judge of.