Work Text:
"A picnic?"
Shu looked up from the outfit he was stitching and locked eyes with Mika. Mika was holding a small basket in his hands and an awkward grin was plastered on his face. His mismatched eyes flinched away from Shu's gaze to avoid direct eye contact—a nervous habit of Mika's to avoid people staring at his eyes for too long.
"Yeah! I mean, why not? 's nice weather outside, the leaves are startin' ta change colors, Naru-chan lent me this lil' basket..." Mika lifted the basket for emphasis, "...'n you've been workin' a lot lately. Ya deserve a break."
Shu sighed and leaned back slightly. "Kagehira, you know that these outfits have a deadline. I can't afford to take a break if I want to make these perfectly."
It was the middle of October, meaning Halloween was fast approaching. Yumenosaki Academy's idols were preparing for the festivities, which meant units were requesting Halloween costumes specially tailored for onstage performance in troves. The requests came in such high demand that Shu was eventually asked to assist. Even with how many hands the school had working on creating these outfits, the workloads per individual were still immense. It was enough work that Shu was often staying at Yumenosaki overnight just to finish projects.
Watching Shu work himself tirelessly had made Mika worry. He knew that Shu had Mademoiselle to keep him company while he worked, but Mika still wanted to be of some help. A picnic, Mika thought would be something the three of them could all do together to give Shu a breather. Plus, it was a way Mika could make sure Shu was eating something during the day.
When Mika brought up the idea to Arashi a few days ago, she gave Mika a small smile and told him she was a little worried Shu might say something rude to Mika if he was interrupted. Mika helped assure Arashi that "Oshi-san wouldn't do nothin' like that. 'Least Mado-nee wouldn't let 'im", to which Arashi gave a small chuckle and offered to bring Mika a picnic basket he could borrow (Arashi also made sure Mika knew that if Shu did say anything rude, she'd have a "little talk" with Shu. But Mika didn't want to dwell on that part).
"I know you've gotta make a lot of outfits, but ya gotta take some time to eat too." Mika let out a quiet huff. "When's the last time ya stopped ta eat anyway?"
Shu opened his mouth to retort, but slowly shut it and furrowed his brow as he searched his mind for an answer to Mika's question. Mika noticed how long it was taking Shu and nodded to himself.
"Yeah, 's what I thought." Mika lifted the picnic basket in his hands again and gave it a gentle shake. "See, 've got all the food ready an' everythin', so all you an' Mado-nee gotta do is come outside. Just for a lil' bit. We'll have lunch, then we'll come back so ya can work. Okay?"
Shu folded his arms and looked at the picnic basket Mika was holding up. He knew by how Mika was acting, he was going to be stubborn about this picnic. Shu looked to Mademoiselle, expecting her to chime in… but there was no response. Shu raised an eyebrow inquisitively, then once he was certain Mademoiselle had nothing to say, he relaxed and let out a gentle sigh. If Mademoiselle wasn't speaking up, she didn't oppose the idea. Though, lately, she was becoming quieter, especially in times like these. Maybe she wanted Shu to speak for himself? He wasn't sure.
Either way, it had been a bit since Shu ate. Denying food for much longer would probably cause him to lose focus, and the quality of his work would decline. That was definitely unacceptable. He took Mademoiselle into his arm and stood up.
"Fine. But we can't stay out too long. Alright?"
Mika grinned and excitement shone in his eyes. "Yeah, o' course! Whatever ya want, Oshi-san!" He let out a little giggle and dropped the basket back to his side. "I found a good spot, too. We'll be keepin' our space from everyone else, an' it's not super far. Follow me, m'kay?"
Shu gave Mika a nod in understanding, and followed him out of the handicrafts room and down the hall.
******
The spot Mika guided Shu towards was a quiet spot under the trees. By this time of year, the leaves on the trees were a vibrant array of reds, browns, and golds. It was a bit further away than Shu had anticipated when Mika said "not super far", but it still was close enough that Shu couldn't complain.
Mika grinned once they arrived and set the picnic basket on the ground. "Ain't it nice, Oshi-san?" He pulled out a small blanket from the basket. "I think th' leaves are really pretty right now~"
Mika unfolded the blanket and lifted it up, letting a gentle breeze catch it before laying it down on the ground. Once the blanket was out flat, he put the basket on top of it and sat down. He pat the blanket next to him, signalling for Shu to take a seat on the blanket. Shu hesitated a moment, but eventually he slowly sat down on the blanket next to Mika. Once he was satisfied with how he was sitting, Shu moved Mademoiselle from his arm to his lap.
Shu's eyes looked up to the colorful leaves while Mika started rustling in the basket. "It is quite beautiful this time of year…" The way the colors of the leaves blended despite not having much order caught his eye. He'd have to remember these colors for later.
"Here ya go~" Mika handed Shu a small bento with a croissant wrapped in a little paper package resting on top of it. "It ain't a lot, but 's better than eatin' nothin'. Plus I got ya one of the croissants ya like from th' school store." He flashed a bright grin towards Shu. "Even if ya don't like the lunch I made, I know you'll eat th' croissant at least~"
Shu's face flushed slightly at Mika's grin and his eyes quickly darted down towards the small meal Mika had got for him. Not only was Mika looking after him to make sure he was eating, but Mika's smile made Shu's heart skip a beat. With Shu being at a loss for words, now would be a wonderful time for Mademoiselle to chime in. However, when he glanced down towards her, he could tell she had no intention of speaking up. He exhaled, knowing he would have to handle this situation by himself, and took the food in his hands. Shu muttered his thanks, and Mika responded with a small giggle.
"Ya don' gotta thank me, 'm just glad ya came with me." Mika gave a small nod to himself as he pulled out his own little bento. "You an' Mado-nee. I'm glad t' have yer company~" He opened up the box containing his food and took a bite.
Shu lifted the croissant off of the top of his bento then lifted the box's lid. It really was a simple meal, but it was packaged neatly, for the most part. There were a few pieces of food out of place (namely pieces of rice spilling out of its designated section and into the other sections), the meal wasn't anything extravagant, and the food wasn't prepared perfectly. Nonetheless, it was clear to Shu that Mika took time and put in a lot of effort to make both of them these little imperfect lunches, and Shu was thankful Mika had cared enough to think about making Shu a lunch.
Shu took a small piece of the food Mika prepared and ate it. On the surface, the taste was nothing special, but there was a warm feeling that swelled in Shu's chest after he took that first bite. Knowing that this meal was made because Mika cared for Shu enough to make sure he had something to eat made even this simple meal taste like one of the most wonderful things he'd ever eaten.
"I know it ain't much. But I hope ya can enjoy it still." Mika took another couple bites of his food, making sure to chew and swallow it before speaking again. "If ya don't, s'okay, 'cause at least ya've got th' autumn colors. An' a real nice breeze, too~"
Shu looked over to Mika before taking another bite. Mika's head was tilted up, his eyes locked on the leaves rustling in the wind. He wore a content smile on his face as he continued to eat. Studying Mika's side profile and his calm demeanor, Shu started to feel his recent stress melt away, even if it was a temporary feeling. He gave a small smile of his own before taking a few more bites of his food.
Shu hadn't touched the croissant yet. He was focused on the food Mika made for him personally. It was a special meal, and Shu was not about to let it go to waste. In between bites, Shu found enough time to pause and speak. "It really is beautiful. Due to the students of this academy getting more obnoxious as Halloween approaches, I was far too deterred to acknowledge the changing of the leaves."
Mika turned back towards Shu with a small noise of confusion. "Ya didn't see th' colors?"
"It isn't that I didn't see them, Kagehira, it's that I wasn't able to fully admire them until now." Shu let out a small sigh. "I hadn't been able to pause my own work to observe the world around me."
"Ohh…" Mika nodded slightly as his voice trailed off. Then he hummed a short happy tune. "Then 's a good thing I gotcha to come out here. Maybe we should have picnics more often, y'know?"
"More often..?" Shu paused for a moment. Having moments like this with Mika more regularly sounded wonderful. At the same time, Shu was busy, especially now. The more requests he took for costumes, the less time he would have for moments like this—and requests weren't going to come to a sudden halt.
Shu would have loved to drop everything to have more moments like this with Mika. He'd share these moments with Mademoiselle too, if she so desired. Here, under the trees with Mika, he felt safe. Feeling safe wasn't something that came easily for Shu, and he couldn't explain why being near Mika specifically was a safe place for him.
However, dropping all of this work wasn't an option. Shu had begun to pick up the slack for the first portion of his third year at Yumenosaki. All of these heavy workloads were part of his plan to place Valkyrie back in a stable position within the academy's system. Not for his sake, but for Mika's. After Shu graduates, Mika would be left behind on his own. Next year, Mika would have to take control for his own artistic expression, and if Shu left Valkyrie in a vulnerable spot through the eyes of the DreFes system, Mika would be unable to repair the damages done, and he would flounder his third year, if not quit completely.
That wasn't something Shu wanted. He wanted to watch Mika grow, watch him thrive and find his own unique art. He wanted to watch Mika shine with his full potential, and if Shu didn't put in the work to save Valkyrie within Yumenosaki's systems, then any chance of Mika blooming into his best self would be reduced to nothing.
"...I can't." Shu finally spoke up once again. "I have mountains of work to do. I doubt we'll be able to find time again."
Mika frowned. His frown quickly turned into a face of concentration. He rested a finger on his lips as he thought of a plan. Mika had been able to convince Shu to do this, so that meant it was possible for Shu to have the free time. However, if continually setting up the picnic setting was the most time consuming part, then there was a way to work around it. Mika nodded to himself as he came to the conclusion he needed.
"Then we won't do picnics more often. But! We can have lunch t'gether more often. When yer workin' real hard, I can make sure yer eatin' by havin' lunchtime with ya. Even if it's just us in th' handicrafts room—" Mika felt Shu tense at that last sentence, so he quickly added "Away from th' outfits! We can stay in th' club room an' eat, but we'll stay away from th' outfits so they don' get dirty. M'kay?"
Shu stared at Mika for a moment, relaxing now that he knew Mika would make sure no outfits would be dirty. Mika would be taking most of the time consumption Shu was worried about away, and he would be able to have breaks while he worked to eat something. He looked back down to Mademoiselle, expecting her to chime in her agreement before Shu had any time to think about turning Mika down. Once again, he was met with silence. He'd have to agree himself, or risk losing the opportunity forever.
"Alright. We can do that." As soon as the words left Shu's mouth, Mika grinned and jumped to his feet with excitement.
"Really?! I'm glad, Oshi-san! Real glad~!" Mika let out an excited laugh, only to look back down to his food and realized he'd knocked some of it over. He let out a panicked cry and quickly sat down to fix his mess. His arms clumsily scrambled across the blanket accompanied by a few of Mika's strangely adorable sounds of distress. Shu couldn't help but let out a small chuckle before leaning over and helping Mika fix his mess.
Shu definitely wouldn't mind sharing more meals with Mika in the future.
******
Around a year had passed since Mika had proposed a picnic to Shu. Since then, Shu had graduated from Yumenosaki and spent most of his time overseas. However, at this time, Shu was back in Japan for a week. He made arrangements for the trip so that he and Mika could have time to work on projects for Valkyrie in person together, as well as give Shu a bit of spare time to relax.
Currently Shu and Mika had decided to take a short walk for a bit of fresh air. The leaves on the trees were turning to their beautiful autumn shades, much like they were a year prior. Observing these colors as they walked, the memory of their picnic crossed Shu's mind and brought a smile to his face.
"Kagehira. Let's have a picnic."
"Nn?" Mika looked up to Shu, his eyes wide with surprise. "Ya wanna have a picnic?"
Shu looked back to Mika and smiled. Mika's eyes didn't flinch away from Shu's like they had a year ago. It brought Shu comfort to know that some of Mika's nervous ticks had faded, at least when it was just the two of them.
"I do, yes. I think the weather is good for it. Besides, watching the leaves fall is quite relaxing."
Mika blinked a few times, face flushing slightly at the gentle smile on Shu's face. He still wasn't completely used to this kinder side of Shu, certainly, but Mika knew it meant Shu was getting much more comfortable with him. For that, Mika couldn't be happier. After all, the two of them were closer than they'd ever been before.
"We don' really have th' stuff to have a picnic right now, but, yeah~" Mika grinned. "I'd love t' have a picnic with ya, Oshi-san."
A subtle yet devious smirk crossed Shu's lips, much to Mika's surprise. "We are already out. It would be quite simple to pick up what we need for an impromptu picnic."
"E-eh? Ya really wanna do that?"
"Of course. Why not?"
"W-well, I ain' got a problem with goin' an' settin' up a picnic with ya all of a sudden, I'm just kinda shocked that yer so—!" Mika was cut off by the feeling of Shu's hand taking his own. His face turned a bright red and he looked down to see their hands interlocked. His heart began to pound, and he quickly looked back up, his eyes locking with Shu's. Mika saw a light shade of pink dusting Shu's own cheeks.
"If it's alright, then let's go. If we dawdle much longer, we'll lose daylight." Shu turned and began walking, still holding onto Mika's hand to encourage him to follow.
Mika didn't pull his hand away, instead quickly responding to Shu's movements and following. He gently laced his fingers with Shu's, which was responded in kind. Mika couldn't help but smile and let out a small giggle.
"Sure thing, Oshi-san~"