#sugared violet

              The first rays of the day were starting to shine, turning the deep blue sky a dark shade of grey, painting the clouds in soft hues of pink and gold. The moon had set and the stars were fading little by little. The air was chilly but pleasant: the coldest hour of the night was slowly warming up in the light of the firmament’s emperor. The emerald grass was glistening with dew, tiny droplets sometimes rolling down the tender blades to feed the earth. Small dots of blue, purple and white were sprayed across the hills, soft pastels not yet showing their authentic colors. Everything was quiet. Most of the birds were sleeping; their chorus would start soon enough, but for now the air was still, lethargy enveloping nature and its habitants just a little while longer. The hills and mountains were rising towards the heavens, sharp edges barely visible in the now gunmetal sky. The clouds were puffing around them, soft, multicolored cotton candy wrapping the rocky giants in their delicate tones.

              Sitting amongst the tall blades of grass, observing the horizon from a relatively high hill, was a young man. He was wrapped in a warm blanket, trying to protect himself from the damp ground. His silver hair was almost reflecting the earlier morning colors, not quite catching the weak rays sneaking from behind the mountains. His bicolor eyes were glued to the sky, expectantly waiting for the sun to show up and illuminate the Earth in a myriad of intense shades. It had been a while since Atsushi had been able to admire the sun rise. When he was at the orphanage, he could sometimes sneak out early in the morning to the building’s roof and marvel at the rainbows rays shooting through the sky, one of his only peaceful moments at the institution. His life had been so busy since he’d left the horrendous place, he hadn’t found the time to unwind and gaze at the morning lights. Working for the Armed Detective Agency had been nothing but great, but his days were so packed with cases to solve and paperwork to fill in that he would find himself going to bed late at night and waking up as late as he could to try and garner as much sleep as possible to face the busy day. Today, however, he could finally indulge into his old habit and had left the hotel he was staying at very early to catch all the beauty of the sun waking up.

              His eyes were so fixed on the horizon, all his senses so consumed by nature around him, that he didn’t realize a silhouette was approaching behind him, huffing a little in the cold air.

              “-What are you doing out here? You’ll get a cold with all this humidity!” Chuuya scolded him, a tinge of concern sipping in his annoyed voice. Atsushi answered without taking his eyes off the sky, face barely moving towards the red-head:

              “-That’s why I brought a blanket.” Chuuya groaned and sat down next to him, tightening his coat around himself, making sure he was not sitting directly on the wet ground.

              The two men were currently on a mission together; a truce had been negotiated between the ADA and the Port Mafia, and a few of the organizations’ members had been sent on various missions around Yokohama that would require the two ability users’ institutions to work hand in hand. Atsushi and Chuuya were now in the mountains west of Yokohama, investigating on a series of disappearances in the area.

              The two men sat next to each other in silence, waiting for the sun to appear from behind the mountains. Chuuya glanced at the silver-haired man next to him from the corner of his eyes and took one arm out of his jacket.

              “-Here.” He poked Atsushi on the arm with the small plastic pack he was holding in his hand. It was full of purple, sugar-coated flowers. “I saw you looking at them through the shop’s window yesterday.” Atsushi’s eyes turned to Chuuya’s hand and lit up at the sight of the sweet violets.

              They had crossed a small town the previous day, questioning people on the way about the strange disappearances. While Chuuya was finishing up with a witness, Atsushi had wandered around and ended up in front of a fancy looking sweet shop, the windows full of expensive chocolate, sugared flowers and other sweet delights. His eyes had been particularly attracted to the candied violets, the small purple flowers making his mouth water just by the look of them. A glance at their price however made Atsushi close his drooling mouth right away and give up on the idea of ever tasting the mauve petals.

              The tiger reached for the small bag hesitantly, unsure if he should accept it are not. Chuuya’s gaze softened at his indecisiveness and he poked him with the bag again, hitting the tips of Atsushi’s outstretched fingers. He looked up at the Mafioso and smiled at his relaxed feature, grabbing the bag of sweets and thanking him with a brighter smile and glowing eyes. Chuuya quickly turned his eyes back to the skyline, a tiny tinge of pink coloring his cheeks. Atsushi looked back to the sky as well, savoring his first tiny blossom. The taste was exploding in his mouth, the sweetness caressing his taste buds, the flavor of the flower transporting him to a meadow in full bloom.

              The firmament above heads was brightening as minutes were passing, peach and coral now replacing grey, clouds slowly paling as the sun rays were getting bolder. Stronger smells were starting to tickle the nose, flowery fragrances mixing with the sweet humidity of the dew sprinkled all around. Chuuya was eyeing the young man next to him from time to time, taking in the look of pure joy illuminating his face. He had only met the tiger boy a couple days ago, but he could feel himself wanting to protect him with all his might already. He looked so innocent all the time; Chuuya was mesmerized by how even the simplest thing could make him instantly happy. The tiger’s reaction to everything was stirring something in the Mafioso and he just felt a strong urge to shield him from any harm that could go his way. He had heard of him from Akutagawa, but the depiction the broody man had made of the weretiger was so far from what Chuuya had witnessed in the past two days he had even wondered if the person his junior had talked about really was the one he was with now. However, he knew he couldn’t get too close to him. Atsushi was part of the ADA, and even though they were allies of sorts right now, chances were they would be back to being fierce enemies in a very near future. Despite that, he had figured he could indulge in this caring feeling, at least for the few days they would be on this mission.

              A small gasp escaped Atsushi. The sun was finally peeking from behind the hills, golden rays pouring over the earth. His breath was stuck in his throat at the beauty in front of him. The sky had taken a soft, golden hue, the mountains were now clearly visible between the clouds, the beige of the rocks and deep green of the forests taking tints he had never seen before. Chuuya had turned his eyes to Atsushi when the quiet huff had escaped him. His face was entirely illuminated by the soft glimmer soaring through the heavens, tired features almost entirely erased by the bliss taking over his entire being. The tiger grabbed another sugared violet, eyes slightly closing with joy as he sucked on the candy. Chuuya’s blush grew redder as he observed the young man. He almost looked like an angel in this morning rays, his silver hair glowing in the light resembling a halo around his gentle face. The morning dew was glittering around them, adding an ethereal aura to the whole scene. Seeing Atsushi enjoy his present so much was warming the Mafioso inside; he had offered presents to Akutagawa or Kouyou before, but none of them seemed to have appreciated them as much as Atsushi, this almost stranger, was in this exact moment. His heart fluttered a little at the thought and sight. Feeling the heat across his cheeks, Chuuya cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure.

              Atsushi turned his head to him, eyes locking for a second into the blue gaze of the red-head before the Mafioso looked back to the sunrise, trying to avoid eye contact with the young man. The tiger smiled at Chuuya, admiring the way the sunlight was playing in the few fiery strands visible under the man’s hat. He could see the red hues covering his cheeks; he didn’t know such a person could be so sensitive to nature’s wonders. They may be able to get along after all. Atsushi turned his attention to the giant orb again.

              “-It’s wonderful, isn’t it?” Chuuya answered with a simple nod, not sure if he was thinking about the sunrise or the man next to him as he did so.

              Slowly, the sun made its way up and was finally completely out. The magic was disappearing little by little as the sky turned bluer and the light whiter. They sat there for some time still, both looking at the now clear blue sky, puffy clouds gathering around the mountains’ edges.

              “-Have some, please.” Atsushi shook the small bag of candied violets in front of Chuuya. He was so grateful for this present, he had to share it with the red-head. Dazai had told him about him, and he had heard stories of how powerful he was, but the person he had with him right now was the complete opposite of the image he previously had in mind. Of course it had been a little weird at first, having to work so closely with the mafia and actually going on a mission with one of their members, an executive at that, but Atsushi had quickly changed his opinion on the man. He wasn’t some kind of blood-thirsty monster or a stupid gnome, far from it. Atsushi smiled at the red-head as their eyes met and softly shook the violets again.

              “Th-Thank.” Chuuya couldn’t help but stutter as he accepted one of the flowers. The tiger quickly stood up, tightening his blanket around him.