kaedehara kazuha
—
with the summer rains
comes the woes of love.
the azalea blooms.
—kazuha
[lost in the world]
whatever just happened at the cafe was very interesting, must i say. two horrible family reunions in one day, plus some insanely good cheesecake and coffee served by the best adults we've ran into for a while. and venti.
i wonder it feels like for my friends who have parents, but don't get comfort from them. like a plant in the sunlight, deprived of water sitting three feet away. hope is in reach, but it will always be tugged away like a fish on a fishing rod. i find that fact very depressing.
beidou pulls a chair over and sits down next to us, smiling. i quite like her, her presence is comforting.
"that was...not quite the family reunion i expected. you good?" she asks venti.
"yeah, i guess. it still hurts a little, but i'm used to it now," venti looks up grimly. i notice xiao rubbing his hand in comfort. i don't believe that they were this close, i wonder what happened while we were at work.
"it's all good. they can't do anything to you here anyway. this is liyue we're talking about," she nods, "anyway, it's a safe space in our cafe. we'll take you in if you guys don't have anywhere else to go, whenever you need."
"thanks beidou. we appreciate all you do," heizou grins.
"anything for my babies. ningguang, can we please steal them?" beidou stretches.
"absolutely not. but they're welcome here anytime. it's a task by itself to take care of you, let alone five boys," ningguang rolls her eyes, and yelan stiffles a laugh.
"anything for my gay children," beidou laughs, and gets up, "do you guys wanna order anything else?"
"can we have another almond tofu?" venti says.
"yeah sure, i'll put it on the couple's discount," she says, smirking at his and xiao's intertwined hands. both of them blush furiously, much to scara's delight.
"lovebirds," scara whispers, sticking his tongue out, "imagine having a boyfriend."
i smile as heizou throws his arm around my shoulder, "i couldn't imagine."
"ningguang, look! they're little couples as well, so cute," beidou laughs as she slides a bowl of almond tofu down the table.
"except for me, mwahahha. i'm aromantic," scara smirks.
"yeah i'm taking the blue one. he's just like me," yelan sticks a thumbs up at scaramouche as she sweeps the floor.
i smile at the exchanges made. it's heartwarming to find a family in a place so far from what you used to call home. a little jolt of happiness flairs through my heart. it's that jolt that makes me realize that there's probably no other place i'd love to be right now. everything's perfect. wind has blessed us again.
"i think we need to get going now," scara says, "it's getting a little late, and all the creeps come out at this time."
"of course. i trust we'll see you tomorrow?" ningguang says.
"definitely."
we've unknowingly spent two hours at the cafe, talking and laughing. i think it's beautiful, that even in the smallest places, we can find true happiness.
it's gotten much windier, now that dusk is impending upon us. i love the wind, as all of my other friends do. it's a comforting hug around your soul, a reminder that even when the world's against you, maybe there's something or someone left who does love you.
scara unlocks the door, and we all fall ontop of each other in a pile. i'm crushed underneath xiao and venti, heizou and scara are flailing underneath us. we roll off of each other, laughing. is this what normal friends do with each other?
"it's been quite the eventful day, if i do say so myself. we should celebrate with a mario kart tournament. maybe an all nighter," scara smiles, upside down, "i can cook unagi chazuke as well."
heizou's ears perk up at the sound of his favorite food. both scaramocuhe and heizou are avid lovers of unagi chazuke, and fortunately, scara knows how to make it.
"i can run down to xiangling's restaurant and grab some jueyan chili chicken if anybody wants, and i can also drop by second life to grab some snacks," venti volunteers.
"that sounds great," xiao says, "i'll go with you."
of course he will. i make a mental note to question venti over his newfound relationship with xiao. i don't want scara fifth-wheeling our entire friend group.
heizou brings out his hidden candy stash, which he has been adding onto since the beginning of this year. i'm pretty sure it's his pride and joy, and i wonder what prompted him to bring it out.
"i can see the surprise in your faces. i think this is a day worth remembering, so i have brought out my lovely stash. thank me later," heizou smirks.
scara drops to his knees and pretends to bow, "o great heizou, we thank and commend you for your benevolence and kindness."
"rise, my dutiful servant. it is the least i could do to repay your great deeds," heizou acts out the motion of a king.
xiao and venti laugh as they walk out the door, off to buy snacks. i kiss heizou's cheek, an especially daring move, since we aren't necessarily big on physical affection. i see his cheeks heat up.
"please do not make out in front of me. i am a fucking preschooler," scara scrunches his nose up in mock disgust.
"didn't know they taught preschoolers how to curse these days," heizou says before proceeding to hug me, "now leave me and boyfriend alone, you five year old."
"that unagi chazuke be sounding real good right now, don't it?" scara raises his eyebrow.
"fuck."
"i thought so," scara smirks.
i watch scara and heizou bicker in the kitchen as i fall onto the couch. a joyful buzz spreads throughout my body. these moments are rare, where we are all genuinely content, where there is nothing present to dampen our spirits.
thank you, mikaela.
happiness truly does come after sorrow.