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Winter was one of the most beautiful times of year, and it often felt like being in Tokyo improved the atmosphere tenfold. As Yusuke sat on the park bench, ignoring the light snowfall as it fell on his face, he couldn’t stop thinking about how charming the season was.
There was a deep purple glow coming from one of the nearby buildings, which kept catching Yusuke’s attention. The way the trees felt like they were glowing with color from the reflections on the snow felt almost magical.
It was impossible for him to resist pulling out his sketchbook and tracing the shapes of the trees as he covered the paper with his body to avoid any snowflakes smudging his work. He was so focused on his drawing that it was nearly impossible to distract him, and he could have stayed like that for hours without moving or even minding the cold if not for a figure standing in his way.
He was about ready to move slightly to the side just to see the trees he was working on sketching, but he noticed the signature bright jacket that told him this was a person he knew.
Yusuke tilted his head a bit. “Ryuji? I didn’t quite expect you to be here.”
Just as he would have expected, Ryuji had what seemed like a constant scowl on his face, which only deepened as Yusuke spoke. Not that he had any idea why, as far as he knew his comment was perfectly innocent.
“Dude, why are you here? I saw your text that you were in the park. It's almost-” he looked down at his phone in his hands- “nine o’clock.”
Ryuji crossed his arms and gave Yusuke what seemed almost like the kind of look he’s seen parents give their children. Honestly, Yusuke wasn’t sure why he was out this late. At first he was chasing his muse, and now that he’s found it there was simply no way he would leave until he was finished with a sketch.
Nights like this came rarely and inspiration even more so after all, and he didn’t want to miss this great opportunity. Photos could never capture the beauty that came from a snowy night like this, even if some came quite close. Drawing it in the moment was simply the only way, and he would stay here until he finished.
He looked back down at his sketch before eying Ryuji again. It was very obvious that he wasn’t going to move any time soon, and eventually he decided to gesture to the other side of the bench.
“I didn’t realize how late it was, but I have no intentions of stopping now. It’s rare to find a night quite like this one, and I’ve already begun drawing it.” His expression hardened as he spoke. When he finished his sentence his eyebrows were completely furrowed. “Now I’d appreciate it if I could continue. I’ve already started sketching this tree after all.”
Once again he moved to try and get a look at what he was drawing before, but the angle just wasn’t right. Luckily for him, Ryuji kicked the ground and finally stepped out of the way so that Yusuke could continue his drawing.
“Alright fine, but I’m staying out here with you until you finally go home.”
“I have no problems with that, provided you allow me to continue drawing,” Yusuke replied. He was already drawing again, so it seemed like he wasn’t listening too intently.
From what he could tell, Ryuji was speaking to him, though he didn’t hear any of it until the blonde boy snapped suddenly.
“Hm?” Yusuke looked over for a second and saw yet another irritated look on Ryuji’s face. Not that he minded, this had become quite a regular occurrence for the two of them.
“I was askin’ if you’ve eaten anything today,” Ryuji said.
“Ah. No, I haven’t had the chance to.” There was a hopeful look in Yusuke’s eyes now. “Why? You didn’t happen to bring anything did you?”
Ryuji held up one of his hands as he reached into his bag with the other. Yusuke didn’t notice, but it seemed to be surprisingly full for someone who supposedly only came because of a text.
“Yeah, yeah. I had a feeling you didn’t eat.”
He pulled out a brown paper bag, and Yusuke grabbed it eagerly. When he saw the sandwich in there, Yusuke took a couple of bites before looking down at his sketchbook again. More and more snowflakes were starting to fall, so he went back to drawing quickly.
“Hey! Don’t get distracted, you need to finish-” Ryuji cut himself off quickly and scoffed. “Figures...”
It was obvious that Yusuke was paying him no mind, and honestly not paying mind to his surroundings either. The occasional snowflake fell on his face, making him shake his head a bit so that he could go back to focusing, but otherwise it seemed like the weather didn’t bother him at all.
Apparently Ryuji noticed that too, because he was staring at Yusuke with a bewildered look on his face.
“I don’t understand how you’re still out here.” He shivered a bit as if to emphasize how cold it was. “Hell! You don’t even have a scarf!”
“Oh, I suppose I don’t,” Yusuke said, as if he was completely clueless about that fact. “I must have forgotten it when I was leaving.”
“I don’t get how, with how colorful it is,” Ryuji muttered to himself. “Here, why don’t you take mine?”
Yusuke tilted his head and thought about it.
“You won’t have one then. The cold isn’t bothering me.”
“I don’t know how. Even if it’s not bother you, I don’t want you to get sick sittin’ out here all night.”
Honestly, Yusuke doubted it would be an issue. He was becoming more aware of how useless it was to fight with Ryuji though, and he really just wanted to finish his drawing before the snow ruined his paper.
“I suppose not. You would have the same issue though.” A sudden idea came to Yusuke, and he looked over at the scarf Ryuji was holding out. “Surely it’s long enough for us to both use.”
A sudden blush creeped up Ryuji’s cheeks, not that Yusuke noticed that fact. Personally he didn’t see any problems with sharing a scarf with someone he was close friends with, but it seemed like Ryuji was having a harder time with that idea.
“I.. What?”
Yusuke looked curiously at his friend and back at the scarf.
“I don’t see the issue. As far as I know, this solves both of our problems. You won’t have to worry about me getting sick, and you won’t have to give up your scarf in the meantime.”
“I guess so… Yeah that should be fine.” Ryuji still sounded reluctant, but eventually he wrapped the scarf around Yusuke and his necks, and scooted a bit closer so there wasn’t so much space between them.
Yusuke didn’t notice it before, but having something around his neck was actually helping him warm up a bit. Even if it wasn’t bothering him, less distractions were always better, and the cold was always a large one.
Though perhaps having Ryuji close was helping as well.
“I still don’t see why you were reluctant, it’s a perfectly reasonable solution.”
Ryuji gave him yet another annoyed glance before shrugging it off.
“Yeah, yeah. Just finish your drawing so we can both go home.”
As it turned out, Yusuke didn’t need any prompting for that. He was already looking back down at the paper and glancing at the tree from earlier. Even if the lights were starting to shift a bit due to time passing, it was still just as beautiful as before. Yusuke found himself sitting there drawing for what was probably far longer than most people would be willing to spend in the cold like that.
Not that he minded that. Having company was making it very enjoyable, even if he often didn’t hear the things Ryuji said.