falling [asanoya/ennotana] 🌦

this is Merely the Beginning

we left the shop, yuu skipping along slightly.

"keep up! i wanna hold your hand!"

"you can either skip or hold my hand, but you can't have both."

he stuck his tongue out.

"meanie. i choose to skip though, it's fun and i have too much energy in me right now! i can always hold your hand later!"

"alright, then you've made your decision."

"i certainly have," he called back over his shoulder.

i smiled fondly, but still walked a little faster just to keep up with him.

we wandered along the grand canal, just taking in the sights. the flow of the water, the people around us, the late afternoon sky, the colorful buildings, and the beautiful flower boxes.

"you know what's weird?" yuu asked after a minute.

he had finally slowed down a bit and was now holding my hand.

"what's weird?" i replied.

"we've lived here for almost a year, and we've never gone to the doge's palace! i didn't get the chance when i was here during college either, and i really wanna see it. i especially think the bridge of sighs is interesting."

"the bridge of sighs?"

he turned me around and pointed to an enclosed white bridge far in the distance.

"that's the bridge of sighs. it's called that because prisoners would be taken through there on the way to their cells, and apparently they would sigh as they caught their last glimpse of venice through those tiny windows."

i squinted and adjusted my glasses but i didn't see the windows.

"must be some pretty small windows," i complained, still squinting.

he grabbed my shoulder and spun me back around, and we kept walking.

"nah, you're just going blind, old man."

"old man?!"

he laughed.

"just joking, babe. but seriously, do you remember when people would sometimes mistake me for your child? that was creepy as fuck."

"yeah, that was really weird." i groaned. "made me feel like a weird perv too."

"it's okay, i know the truth." i felt comforted until he finished his sentence. "you are a weird perv!"

i spluttered for a moment, ready to defend myself, but he put a hand in my face, stopping me in my tracks.

"please, don't act like i haven't caught you staring at me in the shower."

"so it's fine when you do it to me, but not the other way around?"

"yes."

"damn, way to make a guy feel insecure."

"only joking," he reminded.

i snapped and pointed finger guns at him.
👉😂👉

"it's a good thing my anxiety can't tell the difference between real statements and jokes."

"ugh, sorry, i forgot."

i shook my head.

"nah, it's okay, i'm doing a lot better these days anyway, so it's not a big deal. i'll probably have forgotten about this by next week."

he nodded.

"that's good. now... it's still a little early, but i'm hungry. can we find some food?"