#hanafudas

@hanafudas | it's one of these memes i'm sure asdfg

     " o-oh! " he startles the demoness who is so very prone to being lost in thought, and her cheeks turn a rosy hue to be caught staring. kaiya can't very well tell yoriichi that she'd been wondering how she couldn't sense his presence despite being right there beside her ( did he train to do that like she did, or is it just an inherent ability? ), or how despite being unable to sense anything, she can still see melancholy rests too comfortably upon his features as though it has always been there. it wouldn't be kind of her to tell him her observation, even less so to ask him about it, so kaiya grins and quickly comes up with something better.

   At first the request is met with doubt, why would he nap when he could be out there training instead? Sleep wasn’t anything he needed either (if you were this tired, Ace, then maybe go sleep earlier instead), so really, there was nothing in it for Eight except lost time. But when Ace moved towards the birds there...there was something appealing about the invite. Eight wasn’t the hugest chocobo fan, definitely not in the way Ace and Machina adored the creatures, but who could find them anything but adorable. 

   A moment’s further hesitation, but then he’s shrugging, curiosity getting the best of him. He could spare half an hour on indulging the other. Some downtime was needed between the missions, moments where it was scarily easy to forget there was a war raging outside the borders, but Eight knew just as much anyone that focusing on nothing but battles would destroy them.

   And they sat like that — side by side on the steps to the house they lucked out by finding. It wasn’t functioning, far from perfect, but it was cover. Queen and Cinque had went inside while talking about trying to see if there was anything else they could use and the rest who weren’t on guard duty was sitting by the fire. They had stopped trying to comfort Rem by now, only seemingly worsening the mood each time they did. It’s quiet, bordering on being strained, and then Ace speaks.

           “The one Mother sang, huh…” Eight said and moved his feet down a step. The one they teased him for only knowing the first part of. But right now, all alone in enemy territory and the class tearing apart, it might be the only comfort they have. Wasn’t it weird how different the feeling of missing someone you love could be depending on where you are? When they were at Akademeia it wasn’t a hindrance, Mother was busy but she’d make time for them. Out here it was a pain in his chest, a loneliness he couldn’t quite place and a reminder that he had to stay calm. It was the only way they’d be able to return home after all. “I think you should”, he meant to say something more, encouraging it further, but if it’s Ace he’ll understand it. They were all feeling the same right now, weren’t they?