𝐄𝐏𝐇𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐖𝐈𝐒𝐇 | 儚き願い

四十 | 𝟒𝟎𝐓𝐇 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑

[𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝟒] - 𝟒𝟎𝐭𝐡 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫

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❝𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 ❞

· ✦────✧◦ 儚き愿い◦✧────✦ ·

"𝑾𝑶𝑾! Bottle rocket fireworks, sparklers, and skyrockets! There are so many kinds!" Tohru grinned in childish glee as she sat on the carpeted ground alongside the blond-haired Kisa, a child that you vaguely recognized. She peeked up at you several times as you turned your head away from her. "Kisa-san, which one do you like?"

"The sparkler." She smiled as she held up one of the pink-colored sparklers, holding it close to her as Tohru's smile brightened.

You pressed your lips together as you wrapped your arms around your legs, bringing them close to your chest as you leaned back against the dark burgundy couch. You were sitting beside the grey-haired boy, admiring the bright colors that shimmered underneath the artificial lighting of the living room. There was a wide variety of fireworks. Some were yellow, pink, green, was that orange you saw? You wondered if you could bring some back for Yutsuko. Would she use them? Would her eyes lighten up in childish joy? Or would you just be reminding her of something painful? You weren't entirely sure, but there was a sense of obligation that lingered around the tip of your tongue. You let out a sigh from underneath your breath, squeezing your hands into a small, tight fist as the hairs on your neck stood up.

When was the last time you held a firework? You buried your head against your knees. Have you ever seen one before? You had hoped that perhaps you may be able to engage with the family with this kind of activity, but you feared that you might embarrass yourself more than you already had. You considered your fall in front of Yuki to be a major humiliation and you prayed that he would eventually forget it, but that might just be wishful thinking.

You began to doubt your knowledge. Your (e/c) eyes remained fixated on the rich, vivid colors of the fireworks, your pupils barely grazing over the thin lines of instructions that were printed onto the covers. You should know how to use one. You should. You're almost an adult. You should know. You should know how to use one, it should be simple, right? You just need to flick the lighter and light up the part that the instructions said, it shouldn't be hard, so why are you overthinking this? Are you doubting your skills? Are you going to fail and have the sparkler splash its heat against your skin? Are you going to burn yourself in front of the family? Are they going to laugh at you? You hugged your eyes shut.

As the voices in your head drowned out the noises of the Sohma family, Yuki noticed that you had grown suspiciously quiet, noting that you were beginning to space out from the conversation. He gave you an unknowing, sweet smile, slowly easing the edge of his fingers towards your left hand that was resting on the fabric of the couch. At first, it was just the tip of his nail slightly prodding against your (s/c) skin. You didn't notice it because of how light his touches felt against your skin. Perhaps it was like a feather. It soon transitioned to him slowly wrapping his pinky against yours, a small gesture that went unnoticed by the rest of the family. He remarked that you felt warm, a strange sense of innocence flowing through him.

You flinched slightly as you slowly turned your head towards him, seeing him deliver you another one of his signature smiles, one that seemed more gentle, if it was even possible to become softer than he already was. What was he doing? You asked yourself. You held your breath as the surface of your cheeks grew flushed, the tips of your ears beginning to grow slightly pinkish as you snapped your head back to the group, finally brought back to reality as the boy chuckled.