Chapter Text
Cutting through a sea of grass, a long dirt path trailed up a gently sloping hill. Dotted through the vibrant green fields, colorful wildflowers swayed in the summer breeze. Everything was bathed in a wash of sheer gold, since it was just one hour after sunrise. Golden hour. With no person in sight, the view made for a truly idyllic canvas, just what Kazuya needed for his project.
Being really particular with his photography, Kazuya wanted everything to be perfect in each and every photo; every single detail was key. He kept his gaze intently scanning through the viewfinder, making sure everything looked just right. Then, just as he pressed down on the shutter, a person suddenly ran into the frame. This made Kazuya let out an exasperated groan.
His shot was ruined.
Letting his Nikon D5600 drop to hang from the strap around his neck, he glared at the intruder.
The guy didn’t seem to notice that he’d just ruined Kazuya’s work. Smiling brightly, he waved his hands over his head and shouted, “Hi!! Nice meeting you here; it’s not often that someone comes to this area. Are you lost perhaps? ”
“No, I came here because I thought I’d be alone,” Kazuya replied, frowning at the stranger. “Now if you don’t mind, I’m trying to work,” his voice trailed off as he gestured towards the camera hanging from his neck. To his surprise, the stranger grabbed his hand and shook it.
“My name is Sawamura Eijun! You’re a photographer?”
“I’m Miyuki Kazuya…” he said, not sure how to react. “And yes, I’m a photographer.” And you ruined my photo.
“Whoa, nice! I’m a photographer too!” Sawamura said brightly.
Kazuya was skeptical. “Really?”
“Yeah!! Check it out,” Sawamura chirped as he pulled out his iPhone. He tapped on the Instagram icon and showed Kazuya a specific photo on his profile. “Here!”
Kazuya stared at it for a moment, then his eyes flickered back up to the boy. He wondered why was he wasting time looking at Sawamura’s selfie with a corgi pup. “That’s just a selfie…”
“But isn’t this dog so cute?! I met her on a walk and her owner was really nice and said I could take a photo with her,” he babbled happily. “It totally made my day! And that dog is so photogenic. Darn it, I forgot her name though… Oh!” He snapped his fingers in realization. “I have tons of other photos too. Look!” And then he showed Kazuya another photo, this time one of a single pale pink orchid blooming. “Isn’t this pretty? I saw this at a café. I should go back there again… They had really good hot chocolate and the best macarons ever!”
Kazuya felt his heart make a little flip in his chest as he noticed how Sawamura was totally leaning way into his personal space, face just centimeters away as he babbled on about the food he ate or whatever. Kazuya wasn’t really listening as he observed the way Sawamura’s eyes sparkled as he talked, swiping through his favorite photos. At a first glance his eyes appeared brown, but upon closer inspection, gold flecks shone within those brown irises and made his eyes bright in a way that made Kazuya’s fingers itch to point his camera at the boy’s face and take a shot. He took a mental photo instead to store their beauty away, since he wasn’t going to suddenly take a photo of this boy he just met. He didn’t even know if a photograph would do the subject justice.
Sawamura then showed Kazuya yet another photo: this time of deep blue skies with fluffy clouds rolling across, and a half-hidden sun in the corner of the frame.
With his signature smirk on his face, Kazuya finally spoke: “You call this photography? Snapping things with your phone doesn’t automatically make you a photographer, you know.”
“Photography just means taking photos!! So therefore, I’m a photographer too!”
“But then a 5 year old playing with a toy camera could be called a photographer.”
“Who says a 5 year old can’t be a photographer?!” Sawamura exploded. “Anyone can be a photographer if they try! Just you see!! I’m gonna prove that I’ll be the best photographer ever! I’m sure you don’t even have as many followers on Instagram as I do!”
Sawamura threw a dramatic and menacing look over his shoulder as he stormed off.
Kazuya had to hold his stomach to not fall down from laughing too much; the boy was just too hilarious. After Sawamura disappeared out of view, he turned his DSLR camera back on and checked the most recently saved photo. Everything was perfect except for the boy’s sudden appearance into the frame, only a blurred part of his figure visible at the edge of the photograph. Strangely, it sort of fit, in a way, this unexpected blip of motion and noise in an otherwise still and quiet scene. The warm color temperature from golden hour gave everything a magical wash. There was even a flare from the sun just behind Sawamura Eijun, gold streak cutting across part of his body. The more Kazuya looked at this photo, the more he liked it. Maybe a flash of the unexpected was just what this photo needed.
Little did either photographer know that they would meet each other again very soon.