Beyond the Horizon

Episode 10. Cause and Effect

"You told them?" Sakura asked accusingly.

"Kinda had to."

She sighed. "Why did I think you would be able to keep it up?"

"Stop fighting." Ken sounded tired, as he told the other two off. Tomo could see the situation was draining him, as he tried to figure out a solution to the situation he didn't want to be in in the first place.

"Yuu, I heard you... had..." they heard from someone coming closer. The voice very familiar and Tomo turned to see a familiar face, with honey-coloured eyes that and which usually was surrounded by brown waves falling down to his collar bones, stare at Tomo and Ken in disbelief. "Momo-san and Ken-kun? How do you know Yuu? Wait... Can I ask that?"

"Makoto-san, help?" Tomo asked, lifting his hand. The man just looked confused.

"Why are you asking Makoto-san for help, Tomo? Weren't you the one who grabbed my hand?"

"Because Saku-chan was getting angry and I didn't want to hear about that stuff again."

Ken relaxed when he understood what had caused Tomo to take his hand and refusing to let go. Which made Tomo relax as well. He hadn't realised how tense he had been until then.

"If that's the case I really can't blame you." He turned to Makoto and gave him a bright smile, explaining what Tomo was allergic to and in passing explaining the reason for the 'Momo-san set' that Tomo always got, but which wasn't on the menu and which often changed. Makoto nodded and talked with Tomo for a while about what he could have from the dessert menu. While they did, the rest picked out things to order, which Makoto then jotted down in a pad he had in a pocket as he took their order 'while at it'.

The way he casually just took their order, reminded Tomo of Fujiki. It wasn't like it wasn't polite, but there was just a sort of way he held himself and spoke that was typical of Fujiki. Perhaps Makoto had unknowingly picked it up from his boyfriend. He was at the café a lot since, apparently, it was the most time the two of them could get together as their schedules didn't line up. When Fujiki got home he'd presumably go to sleep right away, and it could either be so early Makoto wasn't home yet, or so late he was already asleep.

They got their order and Tomo and Sakura switched places, so Tomo and Ken didn't have to sit with her between them while they had to hold hands to 'get along'. The two had agreed to hold hands for the rest of the day by their own accord as long as Sakura let go.

Yuu curiously looked at Tomo and Ken.

"How do you know my brother?"

Tomo didn't want to answer and looked at Ken in the hope he would have something to say. Luckily, it seemed that he was prepared for a situation like this.

"I s'pose he's a regular at our café. Drinks a lot of coffee," Ken said nonchalantly before he picked up his cup of coffee to drink from it.

They didn't know if Makoto was openly gay, so they couldn't exactly say he was their boss' boyfriend.

Yuu had a look of disbelief but didn't say anything about it.

"Anyway let's make this all simple and explain everything." Ken put down his cup of coffee and held up their hands. "To everyone," he said before he put their hands underneath the table.

He tried to handle the spoon to get a piece with his left hand, but it was too hard for the right-handed boy. Tomo put down his own cup and took the spoon from him.

"Here," he said and fed a piece of the cake to Ken.

"Thanks." He didn't seem the least embarrassed to be fed by his childhood friend while holding hands.