Frayed Ends (BxB)

𝔁𝔁𝔁𝓲𝓿

↳ 𝓕𝓻𝓪𝔂𝓮𝓭 𝓔𝓷𝓭𝓼

Kenji puffs silvery smoke from his lips, watching the blue billows momentarily shroud a swarm of fireflies flickering near a street lamp en route to the waning crescent. The cool breeze cards his hair, as he leans on brick in front of the rain-tainted parking lot of his apartment building.

The sound of a V8 engine echoed down the dim-lit street, beneath a canopy of leaves. Kenji noticed Meena's eyes were distant, almost lost, as he passed by him.

Out the window he had stared, barely wavering his muddy gaze from the sea below since their plane departed from Tel Aviv airport. Kenji wished he'd confess his wandering thoughts, but he feared prying would shake the structure of their House of Cards.

Kenji wasn't naïve. He knew Meena hadn't let his walls down fully. His face became guarded when in-depth questions about his family's business came up, courtesy of Athena's polite small talk the first time he met him.

But he still onto hope that he'd follow through with his claim that he was the pebble, and talk to him about the thoughts plaguing his mind. The thoughts he suspected kept him up at night.

His heart aches at the dark bags he would be carrying tomorrow morning on their routined video call, always between Meena's first and second class. A quarter of an hour of Kenji's rambling, his face flushed at the quick pace of his thoughts. But Meena just smiled at his boyfriend's excitement.

Kenji's fingers were wrapped around the stick, the heat from the teasing flames warming his knuckles. The smell of the hash — mixing with the petrichor in the spring air — curled around his face, and left footprints of serenity across his features. The feelings of anxiety seemed to leave his body.

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Dark hair catching the beams of the morning sunshine, Kyoko reaches for a polka-dotted shoe box at the top shelf of her closet, nestled between photos of her wedding and Aimi's baby photos. Faded Polaroids smudged with fingerprints on the back.

Kenji nurses a glass of red, the bow of his lips splashed with traces of the dark shade. The wine sloshes against the glass when he leans forward to pick up a photo of him and Riku. Kenji was staring, wide-eyed, at the camera, while Riku flashed a shy smile, self-conscious of the gap in his bottom teeth. Their matching reindeer pajama pants and a fake tree bathing in a golden glow gave away it was Christmas morning.

His mom had pointed a camera at them, demanding ❝Cheese!❞ through gritted teeth in an effort to appease her parents. Even though the Tanaka children rarely saw their maternal grandparents, Haruto and Chiyo still expected them to keep an image, which included taking photos twice a year when they refused to acknowledge their presence otherwise.

Kyoko sipped a chilled grape soda, still sober years after her pregnancy. Unlike her brothers, Kyoko never drank to fill a void, desperate to experience some sort of emotion after their parents' death. Kenji smoked nicotine and weed alike to cope with the fact he remained apathetic towards their death.

Sure, he missed them, but he didn't react with anger or sadness. He immediately accepted that they were dead, as if it was a decent grade on his transcript.

Riku fell to alcohol because he couldn't handle it. He couldn't handle the responsibility he'd have to bear, so he opted out. He drank until he was on the brink of death, forcing the court to divert their attention elsewhere for his siblings. Maybe that was selfish. Kenji still blamed him for his actions. But honestly, Riku didn't feel guilt that he chose that path. Only that his siblings had to bear the consequences.

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❝Back to baby shower planning,❞ Kyoko chirps, tucking a stray lock of her dark hair behind her ear. She positions a small notepad, inspirational quotes decorating the pale-yellow margins in mock cursive, on her stretched-out legs. Her fingernails, peach nail polish chipped, pinched a ballpoint pen. ❝We can have it here,❞ she repeats her words in her small handwriting. ❝Raven usually works Saturday mornings.❞

❝Let's keep the guest list small,❞ Kenji chimes in, and tips back the rest of the bitter wine. In agreement Kyoko nods. The fan above caressed Kenji's skin, pebbling goosebumps along the exposed skin between the waistband of his jeans and his cropped sweatshirt with Cape Elizabeth fading into black, pine trees. ❝Just us and a few friends of theirs.❞

Kyoko scribbled down a few of Beau and Athena's college friends and high-ranking members of their former pack, namely Alessio and Messiah. Athena used to babysit Messiah back in high school, which Kenji didn't know until Messiah became Luna.

❝Refreshments?❞ she mused.

❝Champagne and lemonade,❞ he says off the top of his head, knowing Athena and Avery would single-handedly finish the champagne, but Beau doesn't drink alcohol. He claimed he never saw the point.

Kenji actually respected him more for that.

❝Okay. Should we have a theme?❞

Kenji scrunches his nose. ❝If we have a theme, you'll expect everyone to blend in with the theme, and they'll be someone who doesn't. Then I'll have to listen to you complain.❞

Kyoko shakes her head, though deep down, she knows her brother is right. ❝Okay. We won't have a theme. Goddess.❞

Why do you think Meena is distant? What would you do if you were in Kenji's shoes?

Did you like the Kenji and Kyoko scenes? Do you prefer her or Riku?

Bye for now loves.