Work Text:
Are you okay?
Rui's POV:
It's almost the 1st of June, the day of our big performance.
It was actually not my idea, rather Emu said she wanted to do something rainbow-y.
It's tuesday, the 24th of may.
I was checking to make sure the sprinklers were watering the flowers properly, Tsukasa adores colourful flowers, he says it makes him feel like he's in a romance movie.
"Rui-kun! There you are, Nene made us food!"
I hear Emu's high pitched voice behind me, she looks happy as ever.
"I'll be right out."I say, sighing with relief as I'd been starving for a good 30 minutes by now.
After a minute or two I enter the breakroom, as Emu said, food is on the table.
As I'm about to take a bite of the freshly made onigiri, something is..missing. I look around, no furniture is missing, Emu and Nene are here.
"Where's Tsukasa?"
I ask after realizing I haven't actually seen him today.
"I don't know, Rui-kun.." Emu says, it's clear there's a concerning undertone to her voice.
I look over at Nene, she's doing her dishes. She finished long ago actually, she doesn't like eating in front of people.
She shakes her head "no."
"I'm going to look for him." I say, knowng damn well that if Tsukasa was anywhere to be found, it probably wasn't gonna be good.
I walk around for a bit, he's nowhere near the stage that's for sure. Why would he be outside our assigned area?
Then it hit me, the flower garden.
It wasn't a very popular place at the park, but he went there a lot in his spare time.
I try to walk a bit faster than usual, I wouldn't want him to eat cold food.
When I get there I finally see-
nothing.
The flower garden is pretty decorated, almost like it's own labyrinth. I walk around until I spot the section he likes the most, the Dhalia flowers, and as if predicted, I see him.
"Where'd you go?" I ask, the question makes him jump a little before he turns around.
"Oh uh.." He looks shy, not the antisocial type but rather..sad?
I look him up and down, his face is puffy.
"Hey hey, talk to me, 'kasa." I hope he'll open up to me, he looks at me with a look of shame. Poor boy, how did it happen?
"I'm scared." He practically whispers it,
I feel a shiver run down my spine as he says it, scared? Him?
I'd always thought of him as an enthusiastic sun who'd do anything to stay strong.
"S..Scared? Do you want to..talk about it?" I'm honestly a little frightend, We've started becoming really good friends.
Fear, sadness and things alike can both make or break a friendship.
"My mom. She's gonna be there.."
It takes me a few seconds to realize he's hinting at her not being very supportive.
If I know one thing that'll cheer him up, it's physical comfort. He's always loved it, but only mine.
I pat him gently on the head twice.
"Do you want me to comfort you with words or cuddles?"
His eyes jump up from the floor and on to me.
He grumbles..something. I can't really make it out until he repeats himself.
"Can..you do both?"
That look in his eyes when he says it. It's like he's begging for it.
"Of course I can, c'mon let's find someplace comfy."
I say, before he grabs me by the hand and leads me to an empty breakroom.
I sit on the couch against the wall, and Tsukasa comes and lays himself on my chest.
I can feel him shaking a little, before his tears start soaking into my shirt.
"Shh..let it out." I say, in a calm, low voice.
We sit like that for the next hour or so, he tells me about his mother. She's..not really supprortive of his lovelife.
I hear a growling sound.
"Are you hungry?" I ask, it might be because he skipped lunch.
"Oh uhm..Not really." He replies, with an undertone of doubt in his voice.
I put my arms around him and hug him slightly.
Has he lost weight?
I can tell hes about to speak, I let out a "hm?" of curiosity.
"Have you heard of..uhm..A-Anorexia?"
He stuttered. That's new.
But anorexia? What's that got to d-
Oh. I've had it before, still not completely "cured."
"Yeah, I had it when I was in around 12. If you wanna talk about it, I'm listening but don't blame yourself."
I don't know how he feels. But that would've been what I wanted to hear back then, but I didn't.
"Huh? Oh. Thank you, Rui."
He tenses up and hugs me tighter.
I pat his head gently and then hug him back.
After a minute or two I feel him loosen his grip of me.
"Hey Ten-Ten?
I ask.
No reply.
He's asleep.
He looks so calm.
God I love him. <3