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Yoshiteru sighed heavily, feeling his feet heavy and mood sour as the sunlight began to fade in the horizon. How lame! He hadn’t been able to score a single date to the summer festival, and Tokou would absolutely tease him for that usually and just go with him! Except… even she had a date! How could Kanata betray him like this?! He was so mad he could scream! So he did the next best thing he could do.
Run away.
Tokou often teased him for his squirrely nature, but he could help it! The swirl of emotions and anxiety that clouded his mind made it difficult to do anything but be a petal carried by the suffocating torment inside.
Or at least, that’s how Zenitsu described his trials! Oh how jealous he was of his ancestor. He was so cool, and then to be able to sweep so many women off their feets with how powerful and talented and good-looking he was! How Yoshiteru longed to be just like that- well-liked, handsome, and brave enough to face anything that came his way. His feet carried him far into the streets, walking along the river that cut through this part of town and letting out a frustrated groan. He knew the more that darkness fell upon the sky- the fireworks would be starting in a few hours. He wanted nothing more than to see it, especially with someone else! Just have that moment to share with… someone.
He flipped open his phone, scrolling through his short contact list and grumbling. He could feel tears begin to well up in his eyes as he flitted through the names. Kanata- Tokou- Sumihiko… Maybe? He shot the boy a quick text, but then ended up phoning him after having a moment to realize- he never answered texts almost. He was always on the go.
> “Oh, hey, Yoshiteru! What’s up?”
He had never felt so relieved. “Not much; you know, I was thinking--” he paused, hearing some commotion and loud laughter on the other end of the phone. Whatever relief he felt faltered, and he felt his heart drop a bit. “...M-maybe you’d… wanna go… watch the fireworks tonight?”
> “Well, we’ll be there tonight! You can catch up with us, if you want!”
There it was. He was with someone else. “Oh, um, who’s there with you? I was…” He swallowed a bit, feeling suddenly nervous and flush. Why the hell was he starting to shake and clam up???
> “Oh, you already know I’m gonna be with my bestie, Toujurou!”
Yoshiteru heard unmistakeable booming laughter; those two were practically inseparable, attached to the hip. “Ah, well… I hope you two have fun.”
> “You can come too, y’know!”
Yoshiteru felt himself swallowing a lump in his throat. “Umm, well, I just remembered that I have… to meet with someone else!” He heard two gasps, and he had to pull his ear away from the receiver to be sure he wouldn’t pop his eardrums.
> “OHHH, WHO?! Did you--”
“OH MY GOD! BYE!” He screamed, jumping up and hanging up as quickly as he could. He breathed a small sigh of relief but jolted as his phone buzzed. It was definitely Sumihiko calling him. He silenced his phone, feeling far too nervous after the little lie he told. Oh god, they’d talk about it at school, and then he’d have to make something up, and then his sister would definitely know he was lying through his teeth! And then she’d make fun of him or make a scene! And then his month would absolutely be ruined!
Agh, now he definitely needed to find a date!
A dabble of bright blue and a soft sniffle caught his attention. He could never turn down someone in distress, and with how light that sniffle sounded, it sounded like a lady. That was absolutely a crime and something that could only be fixed by one thing.
Love. True love!
Yoshiteru quicked his brisk pace along the river, seeing that blue shimmer faintly under the falling sunset. They were sitting on a bench by themselves. Whoever this was, they had the loveliest shade of green eyes. They seemed to be… crying? Yoshiteru made it his personal mission in that moment, to see them smile tonight.
“Umm, hey, is something the matter?”
Aoba looked up to the teenager, shaking his head. “No, no, it’s--” he sniffled. “It’s just nothing. You shouldn’t worry about it.”
“C’mon, you can tell me. I won’t judge you at all. I promise.” He gave them a bright smile, trying to get them to open up more.
Aoba sighed deeply, shoulder sinking toward the ground. They looked… so tired. “I messed something up really bad, and I could be fired.”
“Oh no! That’s terrible!” Yoshiteru gasped, but he knew how to come to the rescue. “But… I think I know of something that’ll cheer you up. You… should come to the festival with me!”
Aoba blinked, mostly in utter disbelief. The festival? How could he even think to go there and celebrate, when he was probably having the worst time of his life? How could he- when he was probably going to be jobless after having messed up with the blue spider lily so badly. He could feel his frustration building a bit, but as he shook a bit, he let it all out with a sigh. Defeated. That’s the way Yoshiteru would describe how Aoba looked in that moment. He quickly moved to grab Aoba’s hands.
“I know it seems bad, but you should have some fun! The fireworks will be soon, and maybe you’ll find something you enjoy!”
Aoba didn’t believe he’d find anything he’d enjoy more than botany. The one thing he had royally flubbed.
“Sure.”
Yoshiteru smiled, excitedly pulling the man to his feet and letting out a quiet ‘oh shit’ as he realized- Aoba was much taller than he made himself look on the bench. They quickly introduced themselves to each other.
“W-we should hurry, Aoba-chan! The festival’s starting soon, and we don’t wanna miss the fireworks! We need to be there at 7:52 on the dot, or else we’ll miss the best seats on the ferris wheel!” Yes, he had calculated the approximate time to be at the highest point of the wheel to see the fireworks. It would be the most romantic moment of his high school life! It had to be perfect! Except… they were a bit under dressed, and he imagined it to be a girl… closer to his age, but hey, he wouldn’t be alone! That was a win in his book!
So they made their way there, Yoshiteru filling the quiet (or- as quiet as summer could be with cicadas calling) summer air with small talk of school, of how his friends had ditched him to hang with their best friends, and of how excited he was to find someone to go with. Aoba… couldn’t help but feel bad. He hadn’t originally wanted to go, especially where a bunch of people could see him after his face had been plastered on news articles and TV.
But he braved it anyway- it couldn’t be any worse than facing his boss on Monday morning… once the weekend was over.
Yoshiteru bought so many things for Aoba- countless bits of food, snacks, drinks, and even a few rounds of games for the two of them. Before they had even walked into the deeper parts of the festival, he even rented them some yukata. Aoba insisted on buying the masks for them- it was the least he could do for how kind the teen was being to him. Aoba’s hair had been done up slightly by some of the giggling women working the booth. They made small jabs, saying that he should smile and do himself up more often for his boyfriend. He shook his head, unsure of how to respond to them aside from cutting in that they were just spending the evening together.
The one game Yoshiteru was most determined to win was one of the skill prize games. It was a shooter. He was confident! He could get it within three tries and win a little boar plush with a flower on its head for Aoba. He liked flowers, right?
Everybody loved flowers.
Three tries became five, which then became ten, which… then became nineteen. He stomped his foot and yowled out, getting frustrated that he couldn’t shoot down the prize. Aoba cleared his throat and held out his shaky hands. “If you want, I could… try it?”
“Yeah, let the lovely date try a shot,” the booth host said, smiling and giving a wink to the two of them. Aoba flushed a bit, embarrassed. He eyed the target, pulling the trigger and seeing it strike. He breathed a sigh of relief as the target went down.
“Hey, nice! Lucky shot! Great job!” Yoshiteru clapped for Aoba, smiling widely. Aoba was a bit startled, but he… felt happy. It was nice to be recognized for doing something well, no matter how small it was.
Yoshiteru grumbled inwardly. Still no smile. He seemed happy though, and Aoba quietly hugged the boar plush closely… It was very cute to see. But oh, how he wished to see the man smile. He was sure that he would look so good with a smile.
He checked his phone quickly. 7:50.
“Aw, crap! We need to go, now!” he yelped out, pulling on Aoba’s yukata and running for the ferris wheel. They pushed their way through the crowd, and eventually made it to the line. They waited a few minutes and finally made it into one of the pods. They made their way up, and Yoshiteru nervously looked at his phone’s clock. 7:58. They weren’t even close to halfway up, and he could feel the wheel come to a halt. He groaned out.
“Aw man, we’re gonna miss the fireworks at the top of the ferris wheel!” he sobbed, sniffling and feeling tears tinge the corners of his eyes. “I’m sorry, Aoba-chan…”
Aoba reached out gently and touched Yoshiteru’s hand, shoving the boar plush into his arms. “Hey, no-- don’t apologize… Yoshiteru-san… I had a lot of fun tonight, and we didn’t miss the fireworks.” Aoba pointed out the window. “We still made it, just not at the very top, but that’s okay.”
The fireworks launched into the sky, lighting up the night with various colours. Aoba’s eyes light up, gazing out and letting a soft yet elated smile light his features.
Yoshiteru couldn’t help but feel dead wrong about one thing. Aoba didn’t look good smiling.
He was downright gorgeous.
Yoshiteru grasped the plush gently, putting it on the seat next to him. He could feel himself blushing, nervous and feeling his hands start to sweat. Goddamit, he needed to be brave. “Aoba-chan?”
Aoba turned to the teen, blinking and tilting his head slightly. The ferris wheel moved to put them at the top of the wheel.
“I had a lot of fun with you too,” he said, smiling back and laughing softly. Aoba’s smile only radiated further, feeling as though it could blind him. It was mesmerizing. Yoshiteru wanted to bask in it. Forever. He leaned forward, awkwardly squishing their lips together.
And to his surprise, Aoba did not pull away, or cringe, or even try smacking him like some of the other girls had done. No, he stayed, even pressed back slightly. While Aoba’s eyes fluttered shut, Yoshiteru kept his eyes wide open, unsure of what else to do. Eventually, Aoba pulled away as the wheel chugged to life again and started their descent.
They exchanged Line accounts with each other, and as the night began to wind down, they parted ways with smiles on their faces. “Thanks for cheering me up, Yoshiteru-san. Hopefully, I can… see you again sometime soon.”
Yoshiteru shook his head. “No! I need to walk you back home.”
So they did walk to Aoba’s residence, and once Aoba was at the door to his apartment, he held out the boar a bit playfully. “Okay, good night, Yoshiteru-san; Aoba’s needing his rest!” he said in a fake boar voice. Yoshiteru stuck his tongue out.
“Boo, can’t spend even just a little longer?” Aoba reached his hand out gently and patted his head.
“Unfortunately not, but… I can do this .” It was Aoba’s turn to do something brave- to have some fun.
He leaned forward to the boy and kissed him. The second kiss they shared that night. “Good night, Yoshiteru-san.” Aoba closed the door to his apartment.
Yoshiteru walked about a block away from the apartment before letting out a loud holler and pumping his fist into the air. “OH, HELL YEAH! IN YOUR FACE, TOKOU!” he screamed, running the rest of the way home on serotonin and pure adrenaline.
Tonight was a great night.