Work Text:
Nahida was supposed to meet up with Scaramouche at a cafe after their morning classes so they could work on their psychology project together but on his drive to their meet up she sends him a message..
Apparently she got caught up doing something and wouldn’t be able to make it on time, “...I don’t want to hold up your part of the work so just stay at the meeting spot, someones going to come give you some of my papers. If you have any different ideas let’s talk when you get home! :)”
He just rolls his eyes and leaves her on read. He doesn’t want to meet up with anyone else, he doesn’t even talk to anyone but her and really doesn’t want to be forced to. Especially if it’s one of her friends, he doesn’t like any of them.
Scaramouche parks a couple blocks down from the cafe, he likes the way the streets look when it’s fall. The weather isn’t that bad either so he might as well take a short walk.
When he enters the cafe he doesn’t recognize anyone so he takes it that as whoever Nahida’s friend is isn’t here yet and will probably show up late. The more he thinks about it he really doesn’t know who it could be, out of everyone he’s met none of them seem too fond of him either so to be willing to be a messenger between him and Nahida…
He hears the door chimes ring and subconsciously turns his head to look. There’s a man around his age who just walked in, probably the same height as him too.. maybe a bit taller. He looks right at Scaramouche and smiles, waving to him before heading walking over. So this is Nahida’s friend he assumes, he’s never met this one before but is already feeling annoyed by their good mood.
After making his way over he speaks in a voice calmer than what Scaramouche had expected, “Scaramouche, right?”
Scaramouche looks him up and down before replying, “Mhm.. Nahida’s friend?”
“I wouldn’t really say we’re friends, I’ve only met her a couple times and happened to be free when she needed a quick favor. I’m Kazuha, it’s very nice to meet you.” Scaramouche just makes an affirming noise to let the other know he’s heard him.
He doesn’t want to be here for much longer and wants to go home so he planned to just order something since he's here, get Nahida’s things and leave but as soon as he’s done ordering Kazuha speaks up too, “Actually could we get two of those please, I’ll pay.”
Scaramouche gives him a look but the other just smiles back at him and pays for their order, “I’m not paying you back for this.”
“Haha you don’t have to, but you can come sit down with me? I bought you a drink.” Scaramouche takes a moment to think about it. On one hand he didn’t ask Kazuha to pay for his drink so he really doesn’t owe him anything. On the other hand, he would’ve sat down anyway were Kazuha to not show up in the first place. Besides, Nahida would probably be upset with him if he just left after the other went out of his way to do them both a favor.
So he decides, “Okay, but only for a bit, I have things to do today.” He doesn’t.
Kazuha agrees and they go to sit at a table for two. Scaramouche goes to one end and expects Kazuha to go sit on the other, instead Kazuha comes over to his side and pulls out his chair for him.
Scaramouche looks at him but doesn’t know what to say, or if he should even say anything at all, and just sits down. He feels his insides twist and doesn’t know why. Kazuha makes his way to the seat across from him and sits down too, he has a bag with him and puts it on the floor next to his chair.
After a minute or two of sitting in silence Kazuha takes a sip of his drink and makes a sour face, forcing a smile he breaks the silence first, “It’s so bitter.. You drink it like this?”
“I like the bitterness. It’s not my fault it doesn’t fit your tastes, you didn’t have to get the same as me.” Saying that he takes a sip of his tea as well, making a satisfied face as if to prove something. Kazuha lets out a small laugh at that.
Annoyed, he says, “Why are you laughing?”
Completely ignoring him Kazuha says instead, “So, how do you know Nahida? I can’t really see someone like you being friends with her.”
“She’s my roommate. I can’t see why she took a liking to me either but I’ve known her for a while. She likes to act as if I were a kid though, treating me like I can’t make a single decision without her guidance. Look at her though, between us who is really more childish?” He scoffs.
It looks like Kazuha wants to laugh, Scaramouche doesn’t know what he said that’s funny and tries to think back and thinks he might have just come off too negative about her. After a moment he adds, “She’s not that bad though, at least she’s not an idiot like all her friends are. She’s my only friend so I guess it’s nice to have her around.. Or whatever.”
“You don’t get along with her other friends?”
“Do you think I would get along with them? They are below me anyway. I don’t know you though, how do you know her?” Only after he speaks does he realize he’s started to engage in a conversation when he didn’t want to be here in the first place. He doesn’t really talk to many people though so it probably isn’t that bad once in a while.
Kazuha seems to think for a moment, “I’m actually a literature student and sometimes Nahida will sneak into our lectures, I think she mentioned something about it being a different ‘learning experience’...”
“Sounds like her.” Scaramouche lets out an amused laugh.
Kazuha smiles, “I’ve never really spoken with her properly. Earlier today when my class was over, she was there and it looked like someone asked her for something.” He shrugs his shoulders, “I’m not sure, I guess she remembered me and asked if I could hand something over for her.”
“And you just accepted so easily?” Scaramouche asks as if Kazuha would have an ulterior motive.
“Nothing else to do.” He takes a sip of his tea without making a face this time.
They sit in silence but for the first time while sitting with someone he doesn’t really know, Scaramouche doesn’t feel like it’s awkward silence.
As Kazuha takes one last go to finish his overly bitter tea, Scaramouche takes this chance to take a good look at the man across from him. Looking at him now, he sort of reminds Scaramouche of an old friend. A short moment later, Kazuha catches him staring.
Thinking it would just make it more awkward to look away, Scaramouche tries to make an unbothered face. Kazuha just smiles again.
“So.. Psychology, how do you like it?”
Scaramouche shrugs, “It’s interesting enough… I didn’t know what I wanted to do so I just followed Nahida here.”
Kazuha seems to be thinking for a moment, “Isn’t there anything you want to study for yourself?”
He isn’t good with things like this, originally he wasn’t going to go to school in the first place if Nahida hadn’t forced him to go with her. He shakes his head, “Not really.”
“Mn, that’s okay too if you don’t have any hobbies or anything. I really like to write poetry.”
Scaramouche shakes his head again, “No, I do.. I like music.”
Kazuha makes a sound of surprise and smiles at him, “Really? I’m curious then, what do you like? I’m a big fan of Taylor Swift.”
Scaramouche visibly lights up at that. “Me too! I love her. Nahida was trying to get me to like more things and introduced me to her a long while back. Reputation is her best album. Her music genre is so versatile, she hits everything she tries spot on and never misses. Talk about carrying the music industry. All we have nowadays are shitty artists that all sound the same. Nahida’s tried to show me other music but it just isn’t the same..”
He can feel himself smiling for the first time since he came here.
Kazuha laughs quietly under his breath, “Haha you’re really passionate about her, I haven’t met someone who gets that excited so fast over it. You’re very right though she is an incredible song writer… You seem to really care alot about Nahida, you talk so much about her, you two must be really close.”
Scaramouche can feel his cheeks heat up and his ears burning. He doesn’t really know why he is embarrassed but feels it nonetheless. Still, he nods, “Mn.”
Kazuha tries to give him a comforting look, “It’s okay I brought it up, you don’t need to feel embarrassed.”
At that Scaramouche feels his face burn even more, “I’m not embarrassed… It’s just warm in here.” It’s not.
Kazuha laughs properly this time and Scaramouche glares at him, “Why are you laughing again?”
He stops, “Sorry, you’re right. Do you want to leave?”
It’s an easy out so he takes it. “Yeah, let’s go.”
They both get up to leave the cafe, as they walk out Kazuha holds the door open. Scaramouche mumbles a thanks under his breath and doesn’t look to see Kazuha smile at it.
“Did you drive here?” Kazuha asks.
“Mhm, I parked a few blocks down though.”
“Sounds good, I’ll walk you to your car.”
Scaramouche feels weird having someone act so polite towards him, he doesn’t know how to deal with it, “You don’t have to be nice to me just cause you’re doing someone else a favor.”
Kazuha looks confused for a moment before a wave of realization hits him. “I don’t have to but I do want to. I didn’t have to buy you a drink and sit with you either.” He gives the other a smile, “Is it that abnormal?”
Of course it is. Scaramouche doesn’t exactly have the best reputation for being a nice and friendly person. If he doesn’t like someone he finds it a waste of effort to pretend he does. The thing is he rarely likes anyone.
In return there’s also very few people who like him, or even put up with him. If he’s not alone he’s normally with Nahida, some of her friends put up a friendly facade around him just to keep the peace because they know Nahida’s going to keep him around. They might think he doesn’t notice but he really is aware of how others feel about him.
Scaramouche laughs through his nose as if the answer to Kazuha’s question should be basic knowledge, “I don’t get along with almost anyone, so yeah. Most people are just too soft and can’t put up with me.”
Kazuha questions, “I don’t think you’re that much to put up with, from what I’ve seen. Maybe a bit sarcastic or blunt but.. I don’t know, I don’t see how someone could dislike you for that.”
“Well then you haven’t seen much.”
Kazuha smiles and nods to himself before replying, “That’s very true, but I would like to.”
Scaramouche has that weird twisting feeling inside of him again. He wants to ask Nahida about this, it’s new and he isn’t sure if he likes it.
They walk for a bit in silence before Kazuha asks him another question, “So you live with Nahida, right? How come you moved away from your family so quickly?”
Scaramouche could have said he was in a rather good mood, but this question hit his sore spot and that good mood vanishes instantly, being replaced by a mix of emotions. His family situation has always been messy and he’s only lucky that Nahida was so willing to take him in. Even though a lot of students at their college have a general idea of what happened, he still chooses to never talk about it. If anyone ever tries to bring it up he usually just tells them to fuck off.
However, he has a feeling that Kazuha doesn’t have the slightest idea about it and was only asking out of pure curiosity so he feels like he’s not really deserving of that kind of response.
He doesn’t know what to say. He could tell him he doesn’t want to talk about this topic with someone he hardly knows, but once again doesn’t feel like that’s the right way to go about it. In the past he has had people look down on him because of it, leave him because of it.. It’s not like he asked for it in the first place. Scaramouche worries that dumping so much on him will scare him off.
He isn’t sure why he’s worried about that specifically though. He just has a feeling inside him that he doesn’t want Kazuha to end up being like others from his past have.
He must be showing his uncomfort on his face because the previously smiling Kazuha’s smile drops. He speaks out to him in a distressed tone, like he’s struck a nerve he really didn’t mean to, “Hey, I’m sorry if that’s not something you want to-”
Scaramouche looks at him and can’t hold his gaze, he looks like he cares too much. He settles on staring at the ground instead, “It- It’s complicated, me and my.. family, we-”
It only takes a second before something clicks and Kazuha cuts him off, “Sorry, I think it’s poor manners to ask something personal before sharing my side first. That’s my bad. I actually live with a roommate too, I’m not close with a lot of my family, most of my relatives split apart years ago and…”
Kazuha starts to talk about his family, never asking about Scaramouche’s in return despite what he just said. To which Scaramouche is extremely grateful for.. He didn’t mean to make it so obvious that he didn’t want to talk about it, he didn’t want Kazuha to have to save the situation. It’s been so many years and he still can’t even talk about it, he feels so weak. It’s really pathetic at this point.
Scaramouche is still staring at the ground as he walks and Kazuha has to tilt his head over to enter Scaramouche’s line of vision, smiling at him he says softly, “I’m sorry. You don’t have to force yourself to talk about something if you don’t want to.”
Scaramouche finally looks up to stare at him. The weird feeling he had inside his stomach suddenly didn’t feel that bad anymore and it’s turned his entire body warm. Looking at Kazuha smiling towards him softly he feels his heart begin to race. This whole feeling is so sudden he reaches up to put a hand on his chest and feels how fast it’s beating. For the second time today he seriously feels the need to ask Nahida about this.
In the moment that Scaramouche isn’t paying attention to where he’s going, someone riding their bike is just about to hit him. He doesn’t realize it until it’s too late, but instead of getting hit by this bike he feels a hand wrap around his wrist and pull him.
Kazuha pulled the other directly into himself, successfully avoiding the messy collision that would have taken place otherwise. Scaramouche takes a step back and looks at him, he can’t take the eye contact for some reason and looks down again, mumbling out a “Sorry.”
Kazuha laughs lightly, “It’s okay, just be careful. Are you alright?” Saying that, he lets go of Scaramouche’s wrist and continues walking down the street.
Scaramouche nods, immediately feeling the warmth left on his arm fade away, he so badly wants to feel it again. He stands there dumbly looking at his arm and feels the blood rush to his cheeks at his own thoughts.
“Are you still coming?”
He’s snapped out of his daze and goes to catch up, they walk in a comfortable silence for a while longer before reaching Scaramouche’s car.
He stops before going to unlock it, “This is my stop.” Kazuha nods and steps back so Scaramouche can open the door and get in.
Kazuha seems very sincere when telling him, “Well, I’m very glad I got to meet you. I hope your project goes well.”
That reminds him, “Right.. You didn’t give me Nahida’s things yet.”
“Oh, yes.” Kazuha reaches for his side to grab the bag that he brought with him… Well, the one he originally brought with him. He laughs sheepishly, “Ah, about that, I may or may not have forgotten my bag back at the cafe..”
Scaramouche feels like it’s such a stupid thing, to forget all of your belongings in a public place where it’s so easy for anyone to take, yet he can’t help but find it strangely funny and lets out a laugh. Kazuha feels awkward hearing him laugh genuinely for the first time today, “If you wait here I can run back and grab it?” He offers, putting a hand on the back of his neck.
“Don’t bother..” Scaramouche looks at him and then somewhere in his car, “You can just give it to me.. Another time..”
Kazuha lets out a sight, the defeated look falls from his face and is replaced by a fond smile, “That sounds good.” Hesitating for a moment, “Would you like to take my number?”
Scaramouche feels his face heat up again and can’t even explain why. He hopes it isn’t obvious. “Sure, that’ll make it easier.” He hands Kazuha his phone and watches as he puts himself into his contacts.
Kazuha hands his phone back. Kaedehara Kazuha. Scaramouche reads the name over a few times in his head, thinking it has a nice ring to it. “..I’ll see you around then..?” He didn’t mean for it to sound like a question.
Kazuha nods, “Of course.” A pause, “..I really should go get my stuff though,” He laughs, “See you, Scaramouche.”
Kazuha gives him a final wave and starts to go back the way they came.
Scaramouche shuts his car door and immediately looks into the mirror. His cheeks are entirely flushed, very much obvious. He hits his head on his car steering wheel, causing it to honk and startle him.
Too many new feelings at once. Really, he’s gotta ask Nahida about this.