Three : Beautiful, isn't it?
―
❛❛ I want to know. ❜❜
― ✧ ―
What the hell did Mitsuba
agree on yesterday?
That was the only thought that came across Mitsuba's mind. Tucked in bed, ready to fall asleep while several thoughts of Kou also crossed his mind but he wouldn't really mean it. And then their last meeting caught his attention.
He could remember him saying some words along the lines of 'meet' and 'row'. Or was is it tomorrow?
"What did he say again?" he wondered. Sitting up. Curiosity struck him as he thought about it deeper.
"Meet, . . tommorow . . hmm . ." Putting a finger in his chin, he remembered the scene yesterday. He seemed quite nervous . . ?
"What does that mean? Did he say that he hoped we'll see again tommorow? Or a permission?
But for what . .? To meet again, tommorow?" and by repeating the words, he started to understand. Mitsuba's eyes lost it's color as he remembered himself, just nodding awkwardly without understanding anything.
"And did I just say yes without knowing what he said?
―Wait, wait, wait.
WHY THE HECK DIDN'T I JUST ASK HIM AGAIN?! MITSUBA YOU FOOOOOL!" He pulled his hair in frustration, yelling at his self. Why can't he just behave like a normal person?
"I'm not ready to meet him again yet." He thought, his eyes widening. Even if it was coincidential, he wasn't ready mentally and emotionally. He might even just make things awkward.
"Why can't the two of us just meet once, and then just go to our separate ways?!" Mitsuba shouted in his room in frustration, to no one in particular.
But in truth, he really would like to meet him again, he just wasn't ready for it. He was waiting for this kind of thing to happen for years. Now that it's happening, he doesn't know what to think, feel or do.
It's like things were going too fast for him to catch up.
Now it just brought another problem for him. So much for a good night's sleep.
― ✧ ―
"What's with those bags under your eyes?" Natsuhiko mentioned, his eyebrows furrowing. Catching Sakura's attention too.
"Don't ask." Mitsuba deadpanned, regretting about his past actions which led him to spend the night thinking how he would face him.
'We might need to conceal those later..' Sakura thought. A thoughtful advisor, I would say.
"What do you think we should make a video for today? Our blog yesterday with our guest went viral. It seems like cooking is trending nowadays." she mentioned. Truly, their latest update yesterday received good reviews. Kinda unexpected.
Mitsuba had an idea, remembering that Kou cooked some of his favorite food back then, what was it again?
The one he saw on the recipe book yesterday, . . Ah yes, sweet potato jellies. What if they make some flan too? Doesn't seem like a bad idea. I mean, it was Mitsuba's favorite after all.
"What if we make desserts? Some sweet potato jellies and flan?" Mitsuba suggested. His two companions blinked, he wasn't like this normally.
"Well, that's rare of you to suggest something." Sakura mentioned. Thinking about it with the current trends, it does fit well. "Yeah, you always let us think of something all the time.." Natsuhiko added.
"I-it doesn't hurt to suggest of something, you know!" Mitsuba can't let them know it was Kou's favorite food. "Yosh! Let's make some desserts then!" exclaimed Natsuhiko, excitedly. "Y-yeah!"
Sakura just smiled at their silliness.
― One hour later ―
Supposedly, flans should be shaped like a circle, right? Then why does Mitsuba's flan look like Niagara falls? With holes . . ?
Seems like flan pudding looks harder to make and needs more work than what it looks like.
Surprisingly the sweet potato jellies were edible to say the least. Mitsuba can say those ones that Kou and he did in the the past were better. Maybe he'll save some for later? It was Kou's favorite after all.
Regarding about the blond haired cinnamon roll, it was almost noon and he wasn't calling. Didn't he say that he'll call him when they meet up? Or was Mitsuba just panicking too much?
Luckily, Mitsuba actually saved his number. Tapping it, he reconsidered if he'd actually call him first or wait for him to call.
If he had called first, Kou might get the wrong idea that he's excited or something. It's not like he really is though. But it is kind a hard to expect him to call.
After giving it a few more thought, he decided to just wait and keep his pride intact.
But that was until someone crashed into his back, resulting Mitsuba almost dropping his phone. As Mitsuba looked back, it was a staff holding a light and camera stand. "A-ah, I'm sorry!" He said and bowed in apology. Mitsuba decided to just let it go. He meant no harm.
Well, that was what he hoped.
But then when Mitsuba glanced back at his phone, he saw that it was calling Kou. Accidentally. Because of that one staff that bumped into him.
All those thoughts for nothing! That staff literally gave them a little push.
It was ringing. In a panic, Mitsuba's shaky finger reached out for the cancel button, but alas,
He was too late.
Kou already picked up.
"Oh, Mitsuba! I was about to call you. Are you done for the day?" greeted Kou on the other line, giving out a refreshed vibe. He could almost see Kou smiling brightly from just the voice.
"Ah, yeah. We've just finished earlier. I'm gonna bring some desserts we, um, made." He stated 'casually' enough to sound normal
"Woah desserts, didn't knew you make those." Kou stated, sounding giddy. Mitsuba could already imagine Kou grinning ear to ear. "Don't get your hopes up, lame traffic-safety earring." Well, he wasn't a good cook, but not a really bad one, to say the least.
"Haha, I won't, I won't. Where are you then? I'll pick you up." replied Kou, offering him a ride.
"You're getting to ahead of yourself now, arent you?" Mitsuba snickered, teasing him. Rolling his eyes, Kou replied; "Just answer the question."
"We've just finished shooting our video, so I just took a detour and now I'm at the fountain by the central park." Mitsuba mentioned his location, eyes wandering around the streets.
"Okay then, I'll get there in ten." and with that, Kou ended the call.
Mitsuba played with his camera which he didn't know that it was placed in his neck the whole time. Sitting nonchalantly by the fountain's marvelous show, seeing the drops of water flow slowly was relaxing to see, the sunlight reflecting onto the fountain.
"As much as satisfying as this seems, I hope that stupid earring boy doesn't keep me waiting that long."
Glancing at the paper bag that contained the sweet potato jellies, Mitsuba felt uneasiness forming inside him. 'Will he even like these . . ?' he thought, wondering how he would react.
'W-wait, I don't care if he'd like this or not! It's not like I made this specifically for h-him!' With his narrowing eyes, his flushed cheeks, comes another denial of his true feelings. He's so much like a tsundere.
A car parked right upfront, it's tires screeching and took Mitsuba by surprise. Startled, he stood up by reflex. The car's door opened, revealing blonde hair and an all too knowing smile.
Blue eyes glistened by the sunlight, he stood tall with in his grey T-shirt and black jean jacket and pants. Speaking of the devil.
"Hey! Mitsuba-san!" Kou waved his hand in the air, calling him out.
Mitsuba's eyes went up and down, checking him out. Not expecting Kou would dress up well. He looked good, actually no, he looked stunning. Not that he'll admit it though. "A-ah, coming!" he shouted back in a rush.
― ✧ ―
"So, where are you taking me? Are you taking advantage of a cute, defenseless person like me, huh?" Mitsuba asked, resting his hand on his chin, followed by a remark. It has been 15 minutes and Kou didn't give any clue on where they were headed.
"Hmm, you'll be glad you brought your camera." Kou said nonchalantly, smirking a bit. Thinking about the place in mind.
It just made Mitsuba more intrigued and curious on their destination. "Are we going to.. a cafe or something? It better not be cliché." He remarked.
"Lucky for you, we wouldn't." Kou turned to him, grinning. They were already at the place. Kou parked at the side, exiting and opening the door for Mitsuba.
"Ha, I can open doors myself, for your information." Mitsuba scoffed. "You can atleast thank me y'know." Crossing his arms, Kou showed him where they were. Mitsuba's surprise, it wasn't some place that's cliché.
They were at a botanical garden.
Flowers of different colors decorated the entrance. Its glass walls were transparent, enthralled with the variety of plants and pots, it gave off a serene vibe.
Entranced by the beauty of it, Mitsuba hung his mouth open. "Woah." His eyes wandered around the place. Pretty flowers were swarmed by kaleidoscopic butterflies, floating around with the wind.
A satisfied smile curled up in Kou's lips, "Shall we head inside?" he asked. Mitsuba nodded slowly and as they went, he was already taking photos.
'A camellia.' The sunlight brightened up the flower perfectly, and with it's beauty and stillness, Mitsuba captured the moment. There were other stunning flowers too, and Mitsuba took pictures of different angles.
He just can't let them pass by without taking a photo.
Kou gestured Mitsuba for him to follow, but was too caught up in photography to notice. He ended up dragging him, because there was a place Kou wanted him to see.
With quiet steps resonating in the hallways and dragging along a ranting Mitsuba, his pink orbs led him to see a magnificent and tall cherry blossom tree on the middle of the outdoor garden. Its leaves swayed along with the wind, petals falling onto the ground.
Kou sat down under it, catching a falling petal right in his hand.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
Mitsuba followed after him and sat by his side, a few inches farther. Tilting his head up, he clicked his camera, taking a photo, his smile reaching his eyes.
The sky was a clear blue, clouds perfectly decorating around. Taking in a breath, Mitsuba asked. "Where― I mean, how did you find this place . . ?" He placed the paper bag that contained food on his side. "Shouldn't you thank me first?" He repeated, grinning, Kou remarked.
"Shut up and answer the question." Mitsuba glared at him but Kou just laughed in his attempt to be intimidating. "Yashiro-senpai introduced it to me." He said, turning to him.
"Wait, did you guys meet too?" Mitsuba's eyes narrowed in shock. Turning to him."We met a few days prior. And uh, I've been meaning to ask you.." his voice trailed off.
The pink haired boy hummed in reply. Kou took the paper bag, placed it in his lap and questioned, "What's in this though?"
"It's, um.. sweet potato jellies. . " Mitsuba's voice went barely audible by word, keeping in mind that it has been eight years and it might not be his favorite food anymore―
"Really?! That's my favorite!" exclaimed Kou like a giddy child. He asked if he could eat it, and Mitsuba, flustered, he just nodded.
Taking one, savoring the flavor, Kou squealed in delight. "It's really good!" He complimented with a closed eyed smile, his pearly whites showing. "Stop squealing like a girl. And of course it's good, I made it." Mitsuba remarked, holding his head up.
Staring up in the azure sky, eating food they both like, it was soothing. In the back of their minds, they hoped this moment would last forever.
"So, you know, I've been thinking.." Kou started.
"Hmm..?" Mitsuba replied, too busy drowning in his daydream. "I think I do want to know.. about.." Kou trailed off.
'Why am I getting nervous about this. . ?' Kou thought to himself.
"Just spit it out.." he pressed on, turning his head to look at him.
"Can you help me. . remember?" Kou said, slowly. Mitsuba looked up in the sky, caught up in the clouds. "Oh. So you want to remember." And then when he processed his words, he snapped out of it, turning his head to look at him.
"Y-you want to remember?!" His eyes widening in shock, Mitsuba exclaimed.
Kou chuckled, not expecting his outburst. "I just thought, 'Why not give it a try?' because I felt like you were an important person to me, Mitsuba-san." Kou gave a heartfelt smile that made Mitsuba astounded.
Hiding his blush, Mitsuba turned away, puffing his cheeks.
"I want to know about the past I've forgotten.." Kou gave off a small smile, staring deep into Mitsuba's eyes.
"Will you help me . . ?"
― ✧ ―