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“Aura’s selling the house.”
Nahyuta glances up from their book. Simon has his jinbaori folded over his arm, face neutral.
“Come again?”
“The house. She’s finally putting it up for sale.”
“I thought she was keeping it?”
“She’s barely ever there, Nahyuta, and she practically lives at GYAXA.”
“I guess that’s fair. Still, though. Feels like the end of an era.”
Simon shrugs. “It was going to happen eventually.”
Nahyuta beckons him over to pull him down for a kiss. He bends down, although only enough to kiss the top of their head.
“Bully,” they grumble.
“You’ll survive, peach pit. How was your day off?”
They gesture to the apartment. “I cleaned.”
“So you did,” Simon hums as he takes his eyes off of them.
“It wasn’t too dirty, but I’ve never been fond of lounging.”
“Workaholic.”
“Hypocrite. How was your day at work?”
“Boring. Nothing particularly interesting.”
“Bull, you prosecuted against Apollo today, he said that you were practically giggling in court.”
Simon smirks as he drapes his jinbaori across a chair.
“Your brother is a funny man who’s easy to laugh at.”
“I know that, but giggling?”
“The witness was giving him a rough time. It was humorous. I laughed. That’s all there is to it.”
“Mmm, if you say so.”
There are grabby hands, followed by an overemphasized eye roll.
“Ye gods, you don’t see me for a day, yet with how clingy you are, I’d have assumed I’ve been gone much longer.”
“Is it illegal to miss you?”
“No, of course not.”
On Saturday, Simon ushers Nahyuta into the car after breakfast.
“And just where are you driving me off to?” they ask as they click their seatbelt.
“Have to get something from the house.”
“The old house?”
“Do you know another house I might have things at?”
Nahyuta sticks their tongue out at him. Simon glances over, shakes his head.
“I thought Aura was selling it. Does she still have personal effects there?”
“No, but we do.”
“We do?”
“An old personal effect, but, yes.”
“An old personal effect…”
Nahyuta trails off, wracking their brain as to just what they could have-
“The time capsule!”
“Bingo.”
The time capsule in question is in the backyard. Nahyuta worries for a second that they might not find it, but when they pull up to the house, Aura’s standing against the garage door.
“Hey dweebs,” she greets as they both get out of the car.
“Simon told me you’re selling the house,” Nahyuta offers in way of a greeting. They’ve got a lifetime of knowing Aura, she’d probably give them shit for trying to be friendly.
“Yeah, well, it makes sense to not have to think about it. No property taxes and utility bullshit.”
Simon pats her on the shoulder. “We’re tearing up the backyard.”
“I’ve got people coming tomorrow who’ll pretty it all up, I don’t care.”
“Why’re you here?” Nahyuta asks.
“I got everything into the truck and spent the night at a hotel last night. Simon asked if the door was unlocked, and it wasn’t, so I took my sweet time to get my ass over here to unlock it for you.”
“That was nice of you.”
Aura rolls her eyes. “Look, I didn’t want the neighbors to call the cops on his dumb ass for trying to pick the lock.”
“Are you staying for-”
“Nope, you both probably have nerd things in your old box or whatever, I don’t want to catch dork.”
“Too late, Aura, who do you think we got it from?”
As Simon and Aura bicker outside, Nahyuta takes the time to go inside.
It’s been years since they were last in this house, yet if someone blindfolded them, they could navigate it with ease. It’s weird, of course, seeing it staged to show, but the discomfort is ignored in favor of beginning their hunt.
By the time Simon works his way outside, hair mussed up, Nahyuta has already scouted the backyard.
“I don’t remember where we buried it,” they admit sheepishly.
“Isn’t it under the tire swing?”
“No, because it had rained that one time and your dad almost chopped it to bits with the lawnmower.”
“Then it should be at the base of the tree, because we figured it’d be easier to find later.”
“You’re sure?”
“Well, I’m either right or I’m not.”
Simon is, in fact, correct.
It isn’t too far beneath the soil- about six inches or so. There’s a rusted paint can that Simon has to wrestle with to free it. Nahyuta claps when it pops out of the ground.
“It lives!” they shout.
“Time hasn’t been too gentle with it,” Simon grumbles as he tries to clean off the side.
In nearly-faded sharpie, the can reads: YUTA AND SIMON, 2009, DON’T OPEN!!!
“I don’t even remember what we put in there, Nahyuta, but I remember burying it.”
“It’s wild to think it’s been twenty years,” they hum. “Do we have something to open it with?”
Simon is brandishing a screwdriver.
“I figure this should open it well enough.”
Inside the capsule is an assortment of things. Nahyuta plucks a photo from the collection and grins.
“Simon, look, it’s us.”
The picture in question is the two of them sitting in front of the very tree that once hid their time capsule, smiles wide. Simon leans forward to look at it.
“You have baby fat in your cheeks,” he comments.
“You’re missing a tooth.”
“Happens.”
“It sure does.”
There are other pictures, which Nahyuta and Simon both poke fun at the other with, and some letters as well. Letters from children to the adults who might read them.
Of very interesting note is a letter addressed to Simon, but in scrawl that must have belonged to a younger Nahyuta.
“I don’t remember this getting in here,” Simon says as he pulls it out.
“Weird,” Nahyuta deflects. They have the fuzziest of memories of writing it and sneaking it in, and if those memories are correct, then perhaps the butterflies taking residence in their stomach have a reasonable standing.
“Let’s see what you snuck in here.”
“Are you going to read it out loud?”
“What, you don’t remember what you wrote?”
“I think I do, but…”
“Hmph… you can read it later, after I do.”
Nahyuta watches him break the seal and unfold the letter. It’s short- where the letters they wrote themselves were pages long, this one is a single sheet of paper.
They try to wrack their brain as to just what they could have written when Simon turns to them.
“Nahyuta, you had a crush on me when we were kids? That’s cute.”
“P-Pohlkunka, I did not,” they argue, face warm.
“It says so right here, that you think I’m nice and you like-like me, and hopefully I like-like you too and we can be boyfriends.” Simon’s face is smug as he leans on their shoulder. “I can’t believe I was stealing hearts at that age. Were you doodling hearts with our initials in them, I wonder?”
“You’re ridiculous,” they dismiss.
“And you liked me despite that~” he teases.
“Maybe I did.”
“You’re lucky I like-like you back.”
“I’m going to bury you where the time capsule was.”
Simon’s laugh is loud as he pulls them close.
“Hey, at least you had good taste.”
“And I do get to call you my boyfriend.”
“That too.”