#qcatter

Shou twiddled the carnelian ring that Ritsu had given him. A slight smile played across his lips as he glanced down at it, remembering the way Ritsu had dropped it into his hand and saying that it would be something good to focus on if he needed to stay still. Like now for instance, as he waited for his mother to reach his table at the café.

Sometimes Shou wondered what he had done to get a friend like Ritsu, who always seemed to know the perfect things to give him.

Then his mother walked into the café in a pale blue dress and a sunhat. But even with the hat, Shou would know his mom anywhere. He lit up upon spotting his mother in the store and he waved enthusiastically until she looked over his way and gave a small half wave in response.

Shou put his hand down and went back to twisting the ring on his thumb. It was too big to fit it anywhere else. Ritsu had apologized about not knowing his size, having just seen the ring and making the impulse purchase. Then he jokingly teased Shou about having small fingers, as the ring had managed to at least stay on his digits.

Shou had laughed and accepted the ring like he was being presented with an ancient treasure. Including stealing it out from Ritsu’s hands while he was showing Shou that he could actually keep it on his fingers. And then promptly “defeating” the treasure guardian in a tickle fight.

The last “ancient treasure” he had seen might have been on an Indiana Jones movie. But Ritsu was smiling and out of breath from laughing so Shou didn’t worry.

His mother smiled softly as she brought her cup of coffee to the table and Shou moved the pastry he had bought so that she had plenty of room.

“Hi mom.” Shou smiled brightly, slipping out of his seat to give her a quick hug before the two sat down across from each other.

“Hi Shou.” She murmured softly and Shou delighted in the soft tones of his mother’s voice. They reminded him of valleys and mountains when viewed from the clouds. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been good mom. You should see my hamster, last Thursday she just flopped down on her back against my arm while I was drawing at my desk. It was sooo cute! I had to stop drawing for a while because I didn’t want to disturb her.” Shou shifted slightly in his seat, still unable to sit still as always, and tilted his head as he asked his mother curiously. “What about you? What have you been doing since I last saw you?”

His mother had her hands folded into her lap, and Shou remembered suddenly how still she was compared to him. “I’ve been good as well. I got a promotion at my job and they’re asking for my help in planning a coworker’s birthday.”

“Cool! What are you all planning on doing?”

“Nothing too much, but the staff think that it would be fun to get lunch at that Indian restaurant off of Allspice Drive. If it turns out to be good I’ll let you know.”

Shou nodded, he was always in the mood for hot things be they spicy or temperature. Just as he was about to ask what else his mom had been doing, she cut him off and pointed to his left hand.

“What’s that?”

Shou couldn’t help how his smile widened as he stuck his hand out to show off the red orange swirls of the ring. “Ritsu gave it to me! Isn’t it awesome? He said it reminded him of me and so he just dropped it into my hand yesterday.”

“You must like it a lot to be wearing it, you used to hate things on your fingers when you were little.”

“Oh really?” Shou chuckled softly, and he could hear a few bird tweets creep in, but he didn’t let himself worry about them. “I don’t really remember. I know you used to dress up as the Queen of the castle though.”

“And you were my valiant little knight. Until you got tired of being a knight and became a dragon.” Something about her voice seemed off to Shou, a little forlorn, a little sad.

So of course Shou decided to try his best to lighten the mood. After all, he never wanted to see his mother sad. “Well you should see me now, I’m the Dred Pirate Shou reigning champion over any and all tickle fights with Ritsu.” Shou stated with a proud smile on his face.

Shou’s mother chuckled and questioned what other things he did with his friend. And Shou launched into one of his endless stories. This particular one being when he and Ritsu had been rock hunting all across town. All the while with the ever studious Ritsu actually trying to identify the rocks that they had gathered together.

“It’s so funny mom, you should see him when he’s trying to figure out something. He gets real quiet and he’s this little scrunch in his eyebrows, like this.” Shou tried his best to mimic Ritsu’s “thinking face” as Shou liked to call it. All the while he was talking he waved his hands about like he was directing a concert. “And when we found this patch of cracked road he picked up a few road pieces just for me! Isn’t that amazing?” Shou almost went on to say that Ritsu knew his tastes all too well be then he looked at his mother’s expression.

His mother had that look on her face again. That distant half stare that both pierced Shou to the heart and looked right through him all at the same time. She looked at him like she was looking at someone else. And Shou wondered just what he had done; wondered if she really thought that he was so similar to his father.

Shou never voiced his questions but he thought them all the same.

And so he fell silent for enough time for his mother to steer them away from that particular topic.

“How are your studies going Shou?”

And Shou bit the inside of his cheek and tried not to sigh as once again his mother dismissed the story he had just been telling her. His arms fell back against his side and he started to pick apart his pastry into bite-sized pieces. He wished he knew what he was doing, what he was saying that was so wrong.

He was getting tired of trying to keep up with the mazes that she had lain with traps and pitfalls about subjects Not to be Discussed. His powers. Anything about being a starchild. His diet. And now Ritsu?

His wide smile drooped a little at the corners. And he wished that things were as easy as those long summer days when they used to draw by the window together. Shou with his crayons because he couldn’t be trusted not to eat the charcoal pencils his mother was so fond of. And at the end of the day they would compare their pictures side by side each gushing about the other’s work.

But those days are long gone, blown away like dandelion seeds and carried far, far away by the wind.

So he danced along to his mother’s tune of what she wanted to talk about. Let her lead him down the maze and followed as best as he could.

He told her that he was doing well in school, even making sure that he stayed ahead with his assignments actually. And then he told her about how he was still sort of figuring out algebra but Ritsu and he had a few study dates and how he thought he had actually got it now.

Then after a long pause of silence, with neither of the two sure of what to say next. To break the silence, she asked him what he had thought of the weather recently, commenting that it had been a little chilly for the dress earlier that morning.

Shou nodded a little, saying that he never really had liked the cold. “But the sunrises from this time of year are beautiful mom, don’t you think?”

“Yes they are.” She nodded and smiled softly at him. That smile made his heart jump in his chest while his stomach settled uncomfortably. He wasted no time in allowing himself to think of why he had such reactions.

“I mean, it’s just so bright and oh today it was red even after leaving the horizon. I love when that happens. I want to just wrap the color around me and never let it go.”

And there was that awkward pause again, like he had said yet another thing wrong.

Shou and his mother stared at each other. It was in this moment that Shou felt a surge of longing to be with his best friend right now. Even with all the time he had spent with Ritsu there were never any long drawn out silences like this one. Ritsu always had a sharp quip or a clever comeback or did something to make Shou forget how to use his words at all through his laughter.

Nothing like this. And oh, didn’t that thought hurt like the last time he had decided to eat a microwave. A long drawn out pain that persevered because of each new piece.

Then his mother looked at the delicate watch strapped around her wrist and announced that it was time for her to leave. She had another appointment and couldn’t afford to be late.

Shou nodded and offered to take her empty cup to the trash, to which she thanked him gratefully and stood to go.

Shou walked over to the garbage can, he took a deep breath and let out slowly. Then he tossed his mother’s Styrofoam cup away and ate his pastry wrapper in one bite.  

When Shou walked past the table again he saw that his mother had already left.

He fiddled with his ring and started to walk towards the Kageyama’s house. He wondered idly if Ritsu still had some pieces of road he could snack on. He hoped his friend wouldn’t mind heading out on another adventure with him. Or let him steal the bed and curl up together and watch cute hamster videos on Ritsu’s computer. Or follow him home to have lunch with Serizawa. It had been planned that they would just have sandwiches today, but he was positive that with Ritsu there they would be able to convince Serizawa to try something a little more complicated.

And if he burned the pan again then Shou would be more  than happy to eat the scraps.