milk and honey, bachira meguru ✓

dy

your gaze slides down to meguru's shoes.

he's also wearing nikes like you, only unlike your plain black ones, he's wearing green and white ones.

"nice shoes." so you give, to which he looks at me dumbly. "likewise."

overwhelmed, yoichi looks between you. "okay, okay. don't panic. whatever happened, you're both extremely cool, you just need to get to know each other properly first, all right?" the unease in his undertone is impossible to miss.

it's logical; he doesn't want to disappoint his girl best friend, with whom he's been planning the vacation for months. of course, he also doesn't want to leave his cousin behind. and it looks like both meguru and you are aware of that, which is why both of you respond simultaneously with an approving "all right."

you really need to stop saying everything at the same time.

sighing, meguru holds out his hand to you. "peace?"

you eye him for a few seconds before taking his hand in yours. "for now."

yoichi exhales in relief, sitting down in the driver's seat. "then we're good to go."

meguru and you look at each other for a few more seconds before you roll your eyes slightly and let go of his hand.

yoichi didn't see it, after all, so it's all good.

you open the passenger door and are about to get in when meguru leans against the car behind you, looking at you through clenched teeth.

"what?" is all you ask, raising your eyebrows.

"well, you'd have to, um, let me get in the front." he puts on a crooked smile, looks at you with googly eyes.

interested, you cross your arms in front of your chest. "oh, would i have to?"

"i always get sick when i sit in the back." he mumbles to himself, looking down at his feet as he turns a pebble back and forth under his shoe.

slightly, you shake your head, put on your "that-was-absolutely-clear" look before sticking your head out to yoichi in the car. "please tell me this is a joke."

"i wish it was," he says, giving you an apologetic look.

your eyes fall on meguru again. "fine, just sit up front, it's no big deal," you squeeze past him and open the back door before dropping into the back seat. "it's much better back here anyway, much more room."

yoichi laughs softly while meguru turns his head to you again for a second before you drive off.

[...]

after a 20-minute search for a parking space and check-in at the airport, you finally settle down on three chairs in front of the display board.

"our flight is delayed by half an hour," yawning you lean back in the chair. you're dead tired, because by now it's almost two in the morning. "i'm going to get a coke and something to eat, do you guys want anything?" rubbing your eyes you look at the two of them.

they both shake their heads, while meguru unpacks a purple snuggle blanket from his backpack, wrapping himself in it, like a cocoon.

"all right."

after buying your coke, you decide on two granola bars and a pack of saltines from the vending machine; you never know.

especially not with the airplane food these days.

just as you sit down again and polish off your first granola bar, meguru suddenly gets up and walks over to the vending machine where you were standing until a few seconds ago.