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Holidays. An answered prayer for fatigued college students, simultaneously, a dreadful nightmare for broke church mice. Though Osamu was by no means short on money, he was in fact too far from home. His brother, basically a duplicate of him in blonde, decided to ditch him and spend the holiday with his partner instead. So, that leaves Osamu with two options:
1. He could travel all the way back to Hyōgō himself and enjoy his hometown without the presence of his obnoxious twin;
2. He could just spend the few days off in his dorm, because the town he grew up in is nothing more than unfamiliar faces in an ever so homely scenery.
He weighed the choices and reached the conclusion that he would feel lonely either way, so why waste some precious cash migrating south when he could allocate the money into treating himself to some fancy food?
And that leads him to the university's convenient store on a breezy, deserted night. He already ate some 'gourmet' food for a struggling culinary student and midnight was lurking right around the corner. If today was any mundane night, the convenient store would be roaring with young adults purchasing goods to stockpile in their adequate living space. Alas, today was no mundane day, there weren’t more than five souls throughout campus (cashier included), hence, Osamu maneuvered through the isles with ease to find a snack or two to munch on later that night (or early morning). He was planning on watching an antique movie that he used to watch with Atsumu annually, like an overlooked tradition that stuck to him all the way to adulthood. Though the said movie wasn't exceptionally stunning and he practically memorized the actors line by heart, it brought a sense of comfort to him, which was much needed on this friendless occasion.
Potato chips sounded like a great idea. He especially enjoyed the spicier ones over the cheese-flavored. Cheese was alright but that sudden kick in his food followed by a burst of flavors was always the best. Akin to the tongue-burning ramen from the small hole in the wall on the twins' way back from school. Both the Miyas tolerate spice to a certain extent but Atsumu was always an inch closer to being a pussy, at least, that was, to Osamu. In the once-grey haired's defense, who would have tears prickling up at an extra teaspoon of chili powder?
The trivial chuckle that inadvertently left his lips snapped him out of his reverie as he tossed the chips into the blue basket. Osamu continued strolling in tune with the songs blasting through the speakers, seldom swaying his body too much to blame it on his gait. The store didn’t have the best taste in music but it was bearable, to say the least.
To Osamu, everything was seemingly perfect; the store was vacant with a shit ton of food. He could immerse himself with the not too pleasant song in the background while getting his stuff without being pestered by some stupid college kids. The only item absent right now was a beverage. Bearing this in mind, he glided to the fridge. A brief glance was enough for the brunette to spot his desired drink. However, the moment his fingers came in contact with the icy metal of the "Monster" canned drink, cold and calloused fingertips gently brushed against his knuckles, seconds from wrapping themselves around his hand.
As if on cue, he jerked back as the other person parroted the movement. Osamu caught a glance of the slight pink tint across the stranger's cheek before he was able to process what in the Korean drama was happening. The guy probably felt the unintentional burning stare on his face for he craned his head to return the gaze with the sharpest green eyes Osamu had ever seen. Though, Osamu didn't really find them intimidating as such were stereotyped to be.
They were uninterested, but ironically, held a spark of curiosity. The dark pupils dilated for a split second, clearly taken aback by the sudden collision between them but quickly went back to their normal state. The handsome stranger squinted his eyes. Osamu was caught in a daze and impolitely stayed quiet as though he was waiting for an apology (but the truth was his tongue got caught by a fox - a rather attractive one too). The other was as ill-mannered as he was (or rather because he was also kinda stunned by the view if you know what I mean) since he eyed the still statue that was once Osamu from head to toe before returning to his complexion - a bashful and mouth-kinda-gaped complexion.
"Not going home for the holidays?" A hoarse voice erupted from the figure as he managed to ground Osamu back to earth. The guy's eye-bags indicated that he was sleep deprived and deadbeat tired. Yet, he was still attempting to small talk his way out of the awkward situation, which gave Osamu a hard time trying to contain his snort-ish laughter. Weird. And intriguing.
"Nah, didn't feel like it.” Osamu replied so as to shake away the butterflies that somehow spawned in his tummy from a basic question. Was butterfly taming a thing? If so, Osamu ought to take a crash-course. He can't risk having them wreak havoc whilst face-to-face with the hottest guy he's ever laid eyes on. God knows what intrusive thoughts would result from them. Making a complete fool of oneself was Atsumu's job, not the younger Miya's.
As expected, the stranger nodded sympathetically, he was stuck here too after all, so he had to at least understand Osamu's reasons for wasting a good vacation in the college's convenient store.
"Uh, so, ya gettin' that?" Now it was Osamu's turn to keep this non-existent conversation afloat. The pathetic excuse of background music was atrocious enough on its own, but the deafening silence of two grown men who were boring into each other's eyes, made the atmosphere disconcerting.
"Yea, if you don't mind. Running out of stash and it's the only thing keeping me alive". The dark haired guy nonchalantly chuckled but his tone was deadpan. Osamu, an empath, sensed that the mysterious stranger whom he's yet to know how to address, was not at all joking when he claimed it was the 'only thing keeping him alive'.
Osamu stepped back to make way for the guy. One thing that Osamu hates more than cold rice after a bothersome day was having to manhandle the last thing on his grocery list away from other’s. However, this abrupt encounter with a burned-out college student trapped on campus, likely for the same reason as he was, didn't quite push Osamu's buttons. It could be because he was pitying the guy whose bloodshot eyes complimented his green orbs, or solely because Osamu was a total simp towards a guy he'd met for less than 10 minutes. I personally lean towards the latter explanation.
Besides, it's not everyday you get to 'fight' over a fizzy drink with someone as ethereal as the person standing in front of Osamu. So how can you possibly blame him?
Green eyes swiftly took the can and placed it inside his basket beside a few packets of gummies and chewing gum. It didn't necessarily look like party food so throwing a cliché fete at the dorm was out of the question.
"So, see you around?" Finally the guy spoke for the third time that night and Osamu was ready to melt into a puddle right there and then. Something about the groggy voice and the way he untangled his hair while maintaining eye contact with Osamu made him more alluring than he should be. Osamu gave him a tight smile, for if he were to let his body take control of his actions, he would be grinning from ear to ear and that wouldn't leave an ideal impression now, would it?
And just like that, the mystical being smiled back, lips curling in the most devious way possible, yet Osamu found it somewhat endearing. The things he would do to be able to admire that smile everyday.
Osamu's eyes followed the person's explicitly tired stride as he walked to the cashier and disappeared behind the glass doors. If Osamu wasn't drunk when he entered, he sure as hell was now that he saw the dude. He might as well admit that he had developed some kind of crush like some cringy teenager at the airport.
With the last 'Monster' drink gone, Osamu ultimately decided to settle for something that was better suited for Atsumu than himself, alcohol. And, heart still in an incomprehensible frenzy, he walked back to his room.
The credits were showing on the small laptop screen as Osamu chugged the last few drops of beer and threw the empty can in the bin beside his bed-stand. He couldn't help but let his mind wander to those captivating green spheres that reminded him of a fox of some sort (he wasn't really keen on animal studies as you can see). Nonetheless, a wonderstruck Osamu had forgotten to ask for the guy's name. Would it be strange if he were to introduce himself so as to pry the other's name? He ached to meet him again under more usual circumstances and hold a decent conversation where they both were sober and fully awake. He seemed like a chill guy and one that was fun to be around.
Osamu heard his Oba-chan mention something about wishing upon objects such as dandelions and autumn leaves, basically, those born from nature. But poor Osamu wasn't in the advantageous state of mind to find the aforementioned wish-conveyors. Having said that, he improvised a little by holding a spicy potato chip close to the left side of his chest while chanting a breathy "I wish I could meet him again... sometime" before savoring it. It had to work, potato chips were once vegetables, so Osamu had to keep his hopes up high. Maybe, just maybe, his not so sober wish shall be heard and he will meet the guy again, for Osamu’s heart is unfathomably aching for his name.